From CD-ROM to dot-com, Expedia celebrates 15 years

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Fifteen years ago, Expedia took flight under the wings of Microsoft as a maker of CD-ROM travel guides. Today, it is a giant of online travel, with more than 2,000 employees in Bellevue and a market value of $7.7 billion. Expedia celebrated 15 years in business last week with presentations by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and… Read More…

Here’s who is coming to the GeekWire Meetup, are you?

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TeachStreet founder Dave Schappell will be there, so will some of the goofy geeks from Giant Thinkwell. And word is that 96-year-old Geek of the Week, the legendary Bill Sleeper, also will make an appearance. That’s right, the first ever GeekWire Meetup is just around the corner, a week from today. We’re expecting more than… Read More…

The first ever GeekWire Meetup: Oct. 27 with Zillow’s Rich Barton

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When you cover the technology industry every day like we do, it can be a bit hard to break away from the daily grind. But every time we do, we end up learning something new; bumping into someone interesting; or finding that special nugget of a story. Since starting GeekWire last March, we haven’t exactly… Read More…

Travel photo service Trover arrives on Android

Trover's mobile app

Trover launched its iPhone app to much fanfare three months ago, creating an easy way for travelers to share their photographic memories of cool spots around the globe. Now, the Seattle company is looking to build on its initial success with the launch of a new Android app. “The launch of Trover on Android represents… Read More…

Internet kings celebrated on … old-fashioned billboards

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King of the Web is a quirky Web-based competition where individuals compete to win monthly online elections by posting funny or offbeat videos on the site. It’s kind of like American Idol — for the YouTube generation. But when it comes to congratulating the winners, King of the Web is taking a very low-tech approach…. Read More…

Rich Barton unveils Trover, a new way to explore the world through photos

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Rich Barton may be best known for Zillow or Expedia. But the 44-year-old entrepreneur-turned-venture capitalist has a few other things up his sleeve. And one of those is officially launching today. Trover, as the Seattle upstart is known, describes itself as a “mobile discovery network.” What’s that? Essentially, it is a free mobile application that allows individuals… Read More…

Rich Barton on Zillow’s IPO: It’s a ‘great accelerant’ for the business

Rich Barton; Spencer Rascoff; and Lloyd Frink

As CEO of Expedia in 1999, Rich Barton missed out on the excitement of the company’s initial public offering. After all, the online travel company priced shares on the day that Barton’s first child was born, and the high-tech executive wisely chose to be with his wife in a hospital room instead of on Wall… Read More…

Zillow boosts IPO price range to $16 to $18, aims to raise $71 million

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Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and Executive Chairman Rich Barton must have a polished pitch on their IPO road show. The Seattle online real estate company today boosted its proposed IPO offering price to a range of $16 to $18 per share, up from the initial $12 to $14 range that the company initially set earlier… Read More…

Room 77 checks in with $10.5M

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We’ve seen a lot of activity in the online travel space recently, including new cash for Seattle startup Buuteeq and the launch of Adam Doppelt’s Dwellable. Now, Room 77 — a Sunnyvale, California startup whose investors have deep connections in the Seattle tech community — has raised an additional $10.5 million. Backers of the company… Read More…

Ex-Expedia CEO Blachford joins Technology Crossover Ventures

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Former Expedia CEO Erik Blachford has been named a venture partner at Technology Crossover Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm with stakes in companies such as Groupon, Facebook and Zillow.com. TCV has done well in Seattle over the years, backing RealNetworks, VacationSpot.com, Motricity, WhitePages and Blachford’s former employer, Expedia. Blachford, a well known angel… Read More…