The best insights, observations, comments, tweets and random zingers we heard this week. “Windows really is a beautiful metaphor for computing and with the new logo we wanted to celebrate the idea of a window, in perspective.” –Microsoft’s Sam Moreau in a blog post describing the concepts behind the company’s new Windows logo. “Whenever you answer something,… Read More…
Zillow’s Rich Barton: Why 50-50 equity splits between co-founders are extremely dangerous

Entrepreneurs need to be flexible and pick themselves up even after things don’t go as planned, because invariably things will take unexpected turns during the startup journey. Those were some of the words of advice from Zillow co-founder and former Expedia CEO Rich Barton who addressed a crowd of entrepreneurs today at The Startup Conference… Read More…
Startup vet Tony Wright thinks big with Tomo, a mobile app to aid ‘on-the-ground’ travelers

Over the years, Seattle entrepreneur Tony Wright has learned a few things about what he likes and doesn’t like about startup companies. And what it boils down to is something he terms “give-a-fuckness” — or in other (more PG) words something that really matters. “I get excited by software that I’m going to use, that’s… Read More…
Tech CEO report card: Approval ratings drop for Ballmer, Bezos and others

Glassdoor.com is rolling out its annual “Naughty and Nice” list for technology CEOs. And, as it turns out, it looks like some of the biggest names in tech will be getting a big lump of coal in their stockings. It was an especially tough year for some Seattle tech CEOs. The approval ratings of Microsoft CEO… Read More…
Entrepreneur alleges that Benchmark stole his idea

Entrepreneurs sometimes fear pitching their ideas to investors out of concern that the business concepts will get stolen. There’s not much an entrepreneur can do, however, given that most venture capital firms refuse to sign non disclosure agreements. But a nasty legal situation is unfolding in California over stolen ideas at a startup, and everyone… Read More…
Demo Day: Advice from ‘The Godfathers’ of Seattle tech (Video)

A few weeks ago, Andy Sack and other members of TechStars made a plea to the entrepreneurial titans of Seattle to attend Demo Day, the investment pitch session in which 10 startup companies from the incubator strut their stuff. It was a bold attempt to get the likes of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and other so-called… Read More…
Bill Gates was lucky … and good

Was Bill Gates just a lucky upper middle class kid who happened to stumble into the PC revolution? Or was there something else at work that made him one of the biggest entrepreneurial successes on the planet? A new book by author James Collins — known for his business titles such as “Good to Great”… Read More…
Video: Zillow co-founder Rich Barton’s Seattle rallying cry

Zillow co-founder Rich Barton thinks Seattle needs to do more to support its own technology products and entrepreneurial ventures, emulating the “high RPM spin-cycle” that’s so prevalent in Silicon Valley. “But what bugs me is any old thing down there (in Silicon Valley), especially something that includes a viral component, everything gets a shake. Like… Read More…
‘Closet revolutionary’ Rich Barton of Zillow on startups and swinging for the fences

It was kind of fitting that on a night that the St. Louis Cardinals won game six of the World Series with a dramatic walk-off home run, that Seattle entrepreneur Rich Barton used a baseball metaphor to explain his startup ethos. The featured speaker at the GeekWire Meetup in downtown Seattle, Barton — who’s hit… Read More…
Rich Barton lends hand to Nextdoor, a social network for neighbors

Back in 2007, Zillow unveiled a new offering called Neighborhood Pages that was designed to better connect home owners to their local communities. The idea didn’t really take off. But fast-forward four years, and Zillow co-founder Rich Barton is back at it. This time, the Internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist at Benchmark Capital is tossing… Read More…































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