Today we’re excited to announce details of our next GeekWire Meetup, starting at 5 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle. Tickets are available here.
At GeekWire, we enjoy getting the community together and sparking conversation, whether we’re diving into the future of innovation or trash-talking about ping pong. And we’ve got a special place in our hearts for tech startups, so at this meetup we’re particularly excited to bring you a live version of our popular Elevator Pitch feature.
The evening will feature pre-selected startups pitching their hearts out to a panel of investor judges and all of you. Whether you’re sweating under the bright lights on stage with a mic in your hand or sipping a beverage in the audience with hundreds of your closest friends in the tech community, one thing is true: we can all learn a thing or two about what it takes to make it from the likes of judges Rich Barton, Jonathan Sposato and Dan Shapiro.
Come get inspired by startup presentations, informed by the judges’ insights, and connected with techies, entrepreneurs, and the people who love them.
Stay tuned to GeekWire for details on the evening’s contestants. This portion of the meetup will run 5-7 PM.
But wait, there’s more. We’ve locked up an evening at one of Seattle’s most venerated concert venues, including their big stage and killer sound system. Not to mention an audience of passionate techies who might just get inspired to grab the mic themselves and/or give back to the tech community. So instead of letting that go to waste, after the Elevator Pitch, you have the option to stick around for Karaoke for a Cause (7-9 PM). Belt out your favorite tunes, and bid on local tech celebs to perform for you. Curious to hear the vocal stylings of such favorites as Elevator Pitch judges Jonathan Sposato and Dan Shapiro, as well as SEOmoz CEO Rand Fishkin? Everything has a price. Bid high enough and you can even override their own song selection and choose your own for them to perform.
All ticket proceeds from Karaoke for a Cause (as well all the money raised from bidding) will go directly to local non-profit Year Up Puget Sound. They’re working hard to close the opportunity divide for young adults in our region and provide them the technical training and career opportunities to succeed. We couldn’t be happier to indulge in one of the tech community’s favorite past-times –karaoke– in support of this cause.
Have any other tech celebs you’d love to see on stage? Comment here to nominate your favorites and we’ll do our best to turn them out for the evening’s festivities. Hope to see you there, Tuesday, October 23: 5-7 PM (Meetup and Elevator Pitch), and/or 7-9 PM, Karaoke for a Cause. Register here.
Thanks to our sponsors Microsoft Outlook, DLA Piper, Microsoft User Research, Silicon Valley Bank and Turnstone. Contact me at rebecca@geekwire.com for sponsorship opportunities.
