Pub trivia with a tech twist? CrowdGame’s iPad app connects many players at once

trivially-app

Steve Cellini didn’t set out to create yet another mobile trivia app. After all, there are already plenty of those floating around. Instead, the Seattle entrepreneur and brains behind CrowdGame wants to transform the way people deliver trivia questions, removing the old-fashioned paper-and-pen systems that most folks have used for years. As Cellini sees it,… Read More…

MercyCorps connects geeks from Gaza to Seattle

gaza-11

We’ve got more than our share of tech-geeks here in Seattle. You know, the guys who work at startups, or Microsoft or Amazon, creating the next-generation of computer and web products. But we can’t claim geeks as our own. You’ll find them anywhere there’s an electric current and a connection to the Internet, even in… Read More…

Maker of the fastest espresso machine in the world perks up with $6.5 million in funding

Concordia's X6 espresso machine

Now here’s an entrepreneurial story that’s perfectly brewed for Seattle. Concordia Coffee Systems on Monday announced that it raised $6.5 million in fresh funding from Marker Hill Capital, Fluke Capital Partners, Swiftsure Capital and several Seattle angel investors, money that it will use to continue to develop and market its line of self-serve espresso machines. Concordia,… Read More…

Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman: Why you should do a startup right now (and not one in a ‘stinky, little niche’)

kelmansmall

Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman is known for his colorful, erudite and oftentimes controversial remarks when it comes to startups, business and entrepreneurship. And so it was with some anticipation that I attended Kelman’s talk Monday night at the Get a Real Job Fair in Seattle. Kelman joked that he had a really juicy keynote in store until… Read More…

7 Tips: Convert readers of your blog into paying customers

blog-bigstock11_A_Blog_Sign_1944622

Blogs are great at making your Web site visible and findable on search engines. Most entrepreneurs can do the work themselves or hire talent to make that happen. What’s a little more difficult to pull off is actually converting those visitors and readers to customers. I understand, because when I started off in this business… Read More…

15 New Year Resolutions for Entrepreneurs

resolution-newyear1

I’m sure by now your 2012 plan, budget and professional objectives are baked and ready to go. Ideally, some of those objectives are reflected in your personal goals and New Year Resolutions as well. But for those still writing goals and resolutions, as well as the rest of you, here are several collected from business… Read More…

How to use marketing research tactics to grow your startup

cash

When it comes to building a product that people will love and actually pay money to buy, you have to know your customer inside and out. Unfortunately too many entrepreneurs and startups are ignoring this very basic truth because they believe it costs too much money to gather market research. Others are ignoring it because… Read More…

Fifty gems for entrepreneurs thinking about making the leap

fifty1

One of my favorite things about covering the technology community is the ability to tell the stories of entrepreneurs — the little upstarts that are trying to change the world. On GeekWire, we make a regular habit of featuring these folks through our regular Startup Spotlight profiles. It’s a fun column to put together, and I often… Read More…

Glassybaby founder Lee Rhodes chosen as Entrepreneur of the Year

rhodes-glassy1

Entrepreneur Magazine has chosen Glassybaby founder Lee Rhodes as Entrepreneur of 2011. She’s the first woman to receive the honor, and the first from the Pacific Northwest. The magazine, which plans to honor Rhodes and two others next month at a ceremony in California, says her mission of easing “the struggles of cancer patients makes… Read More…

Four tips for startup survival

survivor-sign1

It’s not a pretty picture. While sixty-six percent of new businesses will survive to the two-year mark, less than half will reach four years. And how they reach those four years is less than inspiring. Most are working their tail off to just keep the lights on. Despite those numbers, new businesses are started every… Read More…