GeekWire
  • Home
  • News
    • Amazon
    • Microsoft
    • Startups
    • Space
    • Science
    • Sports Tech
    • Cloud Tech – presented by Salesforce
    • Geek Life
    • Podcast
    • Apple
    • Google
    • Impact Series
    • Real Estate
    • Civic Innovation
    • App of the Week
    • Geek of the Week – presented by Acumatica
    • Startup Spotlight
    • Geek Home of the Week by Realogics Sotheby’s
    • Working Geek
    • Tech Moves
    • Launch Pads
  • Jobs
  • Events
    • GeekWire Events
    • Community Calendar
  • Resources
    • Memberships
    • Health Benefits
    • GeekWire Startup Resources
    • GeekWire Startup List
    • GeekWire 200
    • Seattle Engineering Centers
    • GeekWire Startup Spaces
    • GeekWire Store
    • Community Calendar
    • Amazon Office Buildings
  • About
    • About GeekWire
    • Email Newsletters
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Sponsors
    • Reprints & Permissions
  • LATEST
  • POPULAR
  • Washington state’s economy ranked highest in the nation despite relatively low investment per capita
  • Popcorn truck Is this the coolest food truck in Seattle? 1931 Model A pops popcorn and produces smiles
  • Certifying online journalists: A bad idea whose time has come?
  • Testing out Toptracer at the driving range: We took a swing at Topgolf’s latest ball-tracking technology
  • Week In Geek Podcast: Amazon cozies up with Best Buy, and trouble for Donkey Kong champion
  • TLDR: A ride-hailing app without surge pricing, meet Apple’s new recycling robot, James Comey to visit Amazon
  • Working Geek: Textio co-founder Jensen Harris taps musical skills to orchestrate harmonious code
  • Will LGBT rights factor in Amazon’s HQ2 decision?
  • SmugMug and Flickr SmugMug acquires Flickr, and a hopeful picture emerges for the once-pioneering photo platform
  • Amazon, Netflix and major studios sue Set TV streaming service alleging ‘mass infringement’ of content
  • GeekWire Calendar Picks: Seattle’s Women in Tech Regatta; A VR film festival; and more
  • Ombraz True shade: Ombraz raises $100K for its unique sunglasses — and commits to tree-planting efforts
  • Geek of the Week: Entrepreneur and ex-poker pro Phil Gordon places his latest bet on Chatbox
  • Tech Moves: Ex-Concur marketing chief jumps from Accolade to Axiom, both led by former Concur execs; PopCap VP lands at eSports startup Taunt
  • Howard Schultz-backed Gatheredtable’s software assets acquired by Medifast
  • Geeks Give Back Award 2018: Vote for the community-powered organization that’s making Seattle a better place
  • James Comey is visiting Amazon for an employees-only event Monday
  • Despite Trump tirade, Amazon consumer chief says U.S. Post Office deal is ‘a terrific partnership’
  • Update: Pivotal goes public at $15 a share, CEO Rob Mee calls it “message of strength and independence”
  • Home improvement data startup Porch emerges from 2-year quiet period, rebounds to 450 people
  • Three years later, Microsoft’s bet on Xbox One backward-compatible games is still paying off
  • Satya Nadella Microsoft, Amazon and Google jockey for title of 2nd most valuable company on the planet
  • Jeff Bezos spends rainy Seattle day whipping up pancakes for Ciara and Russell Wilson
  • Longtime Amazon Web Services customer Netflix said to be cozying up to Google
  • Amazon’s visas for foreign-born workers surge 78% as H-1B approvals shift from Indian IT firms to US tech companies
  • GeekWire Awards 2018: CEO of the Year candidates lead their companies to big growth
  • Apple in Seattle Apple expands again in Seattle as it aims to best rival tech giants in fierce battle for top talent
  • FoundationDB, a very interesting NoSQL database owned by Apple, is now an open-source project
  • Time 100 100 Most Influential People, but just six covers: Microsoft’s Satya Nadella makes Time’s short list
  • Airbus telecom satellite Bill Gates, Airbus and SoftBank invest in satellite video startup that wants to help us ‘see and understand the Earth live and unfiltered’
  • City on Mars There’s only so much time left to look for life on Mars before life arrives from Earth
  • GeekWire Awards 2018: Cast your ballot for one of these rising stars nominated for Young Entrepreneur of the Year
  • GeekWire Awards 2018: Which of these 5 fast-growing companies will become the Next Tech Titan?
  • FCC fines T-Mobile $40M for playing fake ring tones on calls to rural areas with poor reception
  • Amazon starts revealing secret formula behind influential ‘Amazon’s Choice’ selections
  • Startup studio Pioneer Square Labs raises $80M fund, aims to ‘flip VC model on its head’ in Seattle
  • Amazon, Netflix and major studios sue Set TV streaming service alleging ‘mass infringement’ of content
  • Interview: Why former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is holding a ‘shareholder meeting’ for America
  • Stratolaunch plane Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch aims to put the world’s biggest plane in the air this summer
  • After 10 years, RealSelf raises $40M to ‘hit the gas’ and take cosmetic treatment review platform global

Working Geek

Working Geek is a regular feature on GeekWire that profiles technology and business leaders, offering tips, tricks and insights into how busy professionals get work done.

Working Geek: Textio co-founder Jensen Harris taps musical skills to orchestrate harmonious code

by Lisa Stiffler on April 20, 2018April 20, 2018 at 4:11 pmComment

Jensen Harris, co-founder and chief technology officer for Seattle’s Textio, has a passion and talent for classical music — and a music degree from Yale to back it up. But Harris… Read More

Working Geek: iDatalabs CEO Lokesh Dave says startup life actually supports a work-family balance

by Lisa Stiffler on April 12, 2018April 5, 2018 at 4:32 pm 2 Comments

Since college, Lokesh Dave had an itch to start his own tech company. But a Microsoft internship led to a software engineering job, and that cozy bubble proved tough to… Read More

Working Geek: M3 Biotechnology CEO Leen Kawas on shifting from academia to startups

by Lisa Stiffler on April 5, 2018April 18, 2018 at 4:03 pmComment

What do babies and startups have in common? “When you think everything is perfect, the next day something happens,” said Leen Kawas, CEO and president of Seattle’s M3 Biotechnology —… Read More

Working Geek: Nintex CEO Eric Johnson says lemonade, hard knocks, discipline led to success

by Lisa Stiffler on March 29, 2018April 1, 2018 at 3:10 pmComment

Sure, you’ve heard the tales of business execs as youthful capitalists, setting up lemonade stands. But I bet you haven’t heard this twist: When he was an elementary-age entrepreneur, Eric… Read More

Working Geek: Usermind security officer Ted Bardusch on why diverse teams are more functional

by Lisa Stiffler on March 23, 2018March 23, 2018 at 6:57 am 2 Comments

Ted Bardusch remembers the good old days of the 1980s when men and women were more equally represented in the tech field. He sounds wistful when he recalls running engineering teams… Read More

Working Geek: Gensler architect Karen Thomas says Seattle’s the hub of a modern Renaissance

by Lisa Stiffler on March 15, 2018March 14, 2018 at 9:44 amComment

When architect Karen Thomas surveys Seattle’s transformative growth, she sees something even more profound taking place. “What I see happening in Seattle is the closest thing to a modern-day era… Read More

Working Geek: ‘Startup whisperer’ Gillian Muessig shares tips for scoring VC while juggling family life

by Lisa Stiffler on March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 at 4:00 pmComment

Gillian Muessig seems to have acquired more than one life-time’s worth of connections, venture capital experience and insights into how to help women — and really anyone else — succeed… Read More

Working Geek: Bryce Smith, CEO of LevelTen Energy, helps stoke the demand for solar and wind

by Lisa Stiffler on March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 at 8:30 am1 Comment

Microsoft, Amazon, Walmart and other corporations are not only the big dogs in their respective fields, but they also use their size and resources to dominate the use of renewable… Read More

Working Geek: For Avanade’s Pam Maynard, changing time zones is a source of inspiration

by Lisa Stiffler on February 23, 2018February 22, 2018 at 8:41 pmComment

Pam Maynard has some sound advice for globetrotting workers. As president of strategic solutions and innovation for Avanade, a Seattle-based company focused on business technology solutions and managed services provider… Read More

Working Geek: Bryan Mistele, INRIX CEO and traffic expert, has a surefire way to beat congestion

by Lisa Stiffler on February 15, 2018February 15, 2018 at 12:58 pmComment

If your career is focused on transportation and traffic analysis, how are you going to spend your free time? On a boat, of course! When he’s off the clock, Bryan… Read More

Working Geek: Loftium CEO Yifan Zhang defies expectations, eschews workplace egos

by Lisa Stiffler on February 7, 2018February 8, 2018 at 9:15 amComment

Loftium pitched a novel approach to the real estate market last year by offering down payments to home buyers willing to rent out a spare room, and this month the… Read More

Working Geek: CIO Luke Friang’s need for speed keeps pace with Zulily’s quick deals

by Lisa Stiffler on January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 at 10:45 amComment

It’s little surprise that a guy who likes to move fast is helping lead a shopping site that pulses with urgent deals for customers. For seven years, Luke Friang has… Read More

Working Geek: The Climate Corporation’s Brian Zimmer digs helping farmers through digital tools

by Lisa Stiffler on January 26, 2018January 25, 2018 at 5:41 pmComment

With increasing demands to feed the world’s growing human population and the tumult of climate change as a backdrop, farming is a daunting business. There are shifting weather conditions, soil fertility,… Read More

Video

Working Geek: Vehicle Research Institute’s Eric Leonhardt is driven to innovate

by Lisa Stiffler on January 19, 2018January 19, 2018 at 11:54 amComment

We could all be driving electric vehicles or cars that get 100 miles-per-gallon or more if the members of Western Washington University’s Vehicle Research Institute were in charge. Going all… Read More

Working Geek: Microsoft’s Harini Gokul looks for women to have more impact, but not more pressure

by Lisa Stiffler on January 11, 2018January 12, 2018 at 8:11 am1 Comment

Microsoft’s Harini Gokul is eager for women to excel in their careers and in charitable work, finding the places where they can have the greatest impact. But she also doesn’t want… Read More

Working Geek: Amazon’s Cynthia Williams wants to help female entrepreneurs as leader of marketplace business

by Lisa Stiffler on January 7, 2018January 7, 2018 at 10:55 amComment

Cynthia Williams wants to use Amazon’s massive reach to help small entrepreneurs — particularly women-run businesses. “Women have always worked hard. Entrepreneurship gives them the opportunity to work hard and to… Read More

Working Geek: Each day is different for Megan Dahlen, incubating Microsoft’s new ventures

by Lisa Stiffler on December 27, 2017December 28, 2017 at 3:28 pmComment

It’s great to have a job where you’re not stamping out the same widgets everyday, and Megan Dahlen has taken that love of new professional challenges to an extreme. As… Read More

Working Geek: Neal Myrick, head of Tableau Foundation, helps NGOs do good with data

by Lisa Stiffler on December 22, 2017December 22, 2017 at 8:37 amComment

In the three years since Seattle-based Tableau launched its foundation, the philanthropic arm of the data visualization company has made some meaningful progress. Tableau Foundation has awarded $20.5 million in… Read More

Rebekah Bastian

Working Geek: Zillow VP Rebekah Bastian uses aerial acrobatics to help balance kids and career with social-issue focus

by Lisa Stiffler on December 15, 2017December 18, 2017 at 8:42 amComment

In her first 12 years at Zillow Group, Rebekah Bastian juggled career and a variety of volunteering and mentoring roles. She also incorporated do-gooding endeavors into her job as VP… Read More

Working Geek: Kymeta CEO Nathan Kundtz, satellite internet pioneer, schedules every minute of his day

by Lisa Stiffler on December 6, 2017December 6, 2017 at 2:15 pmComment

A perusal of Kymeta’s news coverage suggests that the launch and growth of this Redmond, Wash.-based satellite antenna company has been one success after another. The business, which spun out of… Read More

Working Geek: Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson believes data science can help with affordable housing challenges

by Lisa Stiffler on November 30, 2017December 1, 2017 at 12:03 pmComment

Nela Richardson understands that buying a house can be driven by emotions. But Redfin’s chief economist urges buyers to shop with their head, as well as their heart — particularly… Read More

Working Geek: When Seattle’s ’90s rock scene failed him, Geocaching’s Sean Boots found lasting success with the next hot ticket

by Lisa Stiffler on November 22, 2017November 22, 2017 at 11:40 amComment

Back in the 1990s, Sean Boots thought he was on the path to a promising musical career. He was the front man for a pop quartet called the Amateur Lovers.… Read More

Working Geek: Pogo Rides CEO Melissa Lehman aims to help working parents maintain their sanity

by Lisa Stiffler on November 16, 2017November 16, 2017 at 3:07 pm1 Comment

A few years ago, when Melissa Lehman looked around at her fellow working parents she was astounded — and maybe a little troubled — by what she saw. Her parent… Read More

Working Geek: Threshold Communications’ Rick Crabbe can recruit talent everywhere by letting employees work anywhere

by Lisa Stiffler on November 9, 2017November 9, 2017 at 1:54 pmComment

Since Threshold Communications opened its (virtual) doors in 2001, the global voice and data service provider has operated almost entirely as a telecommuting company. Initially, it was a matter of… Read More

Working Geek: CleanTech Alliance CEO Tom Ranken on tweets, Scouts and rock ‘n’ roll

by Lisa Stiffler on October 31, 2017October 30, 2017 at 4:20 pmComment

Next week, Tom Ranken, president and CEO of the CleanTech Alliance, will help the Seattle-based organization celebrate its 10-year anniversary. The group supports clean-tech businesses across the Northwest, and has… Read More

Working Geek: The surprising stress-reliever that helps Fjuri co-founder Paulo Resende unplug

by Monica Nickelsburg on October 21, 2017October 20, 2017 at 2:39 pmComment

In February, Paulo Resende left a 15-year career at Microsoft to start a marketing firm helping Fortune 500 companies improve their branding with fellow Microsoft vet Thom Gruhler. Together they… Read More

Working Geek: Swatee Surve’s startup uses video games to help people manage chronic health conditions

by Monica Nickelsburg on October 9, 2017October 9, 2017 at 2:47 pmComment

Swatee Surve is reimagining the way patients manage chronic health conditions and keep their healthcare providers up-to-date. That’s the mission of her startup, Litesprite, which helps users manage illnesses with… Read More

Working Geek: 9 technology execs share their favorite apps and software tools

by Monica Nickelsburg on September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 at 7:36 amComment

Slack, Evernote, Microsoft Office, Google Suite. Those are a few of the most popular apps that the busy executives featured in our Working Geek series use to stay organized. With… Read More

Working Geek: Bitlume CEO Lakshmi Shankar is building a new type of video startup

by Monica Nickelsburg on September 23, 2017September 23, 2017 at 9:27 amComment

When Lakshmi Shankar was working as a technology consultant she noticed a recurring problem. Clients often had trouble integrating paid video content with paywall and subscription tools. The problem was… Read More

Working Geek: Brian Paulen leads tech consulting firm West Monroe Partners’ Seattle operation

by Monica Nickelsburg on September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 at 2:05 pmComment

Brian Paulen has been advising clients on how they can use technology to improve their business operations for nearly 20 years. He spent eight of those years as CEO of… Read More

  • Older
Watch: GeekWire's Elevator Pitch

GeekWire Newsletters

Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Geek Home of the WeekSee More

Canterbury Neighborhood Classic in Seattle’s Madison Park
$2,850,000 | 4 Beds | 3 Full & 2 Half Baths

Featured SponsorSee More

Knoll

Send Us a Tip

Have a scoop that you'd like GeekWire to cover? Let us know.

Send Us a Tip

Job Listings on GeekWorkSee More

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.
Software Development Manager – Backend
Software Development Manager – BackendOfferUp
Technical Lead, Site Reliability
Technical Lead, Site ReliabilityAmperity
Manager of Software Engineering Distributed Systems (Private Cloud)
Manager of Software Engineering Distributed Systems (Private Cloud)Salesforce

See MoreMember Message

Fuel Talent: Fueling Companies & Igniting Careers!

Become a Member for exclusive benefits.

See MoreGeekWire Events

GeekWire Awards 2018, presented by Wave Business GeekWire Cloud Summit GeekWire Summit 2018

Community Events

Sat 21

IoT Hackathon @ T-Mobile

April 20 @ 6:00 pm - April 22 @ 12:30 pm
Sun 22

Game Changers Conference

April 22 @ 12:30 pm - April 24 @ 1:00 pm
Mon 23

Women In Tech Regatta

April 23 @ 6:00 pm - April 27 @ 9:00 pm
See More Events

GeekWire Radio

GeekWire airs on KIRO-FM in Seattle (97.3) at 2 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sundays.

See MoreStartup Resources

For more helpful startup resources, see the GeekWire Service Provider Directory.
Summit Law Group
Legal Services
Affirma Consulting
Consulting | IT Services | Software Development | Technology Services

See MoreSeattle Engineering Centers

Track companies with engineering centers in the Seattle region
ServiceNow
Cloud Computing
Jawbone
Hardware | Wearables

A Word From Our Sponsors

Take your career to the next level. Information session May 8th 4:30-6:00 pm
Story-Telling and People: The Essence of Digital Transformation Read More
GeekWire Awards 2018: Tickets on sale, community voting now open Purchase your tickets and vote here.
Come here. Get there. Find your fit. Explore Foster’s work-compatible MBA programs.
Sirqul and Catalyst Workplace Activation Reveal the Future of Smart Offices in Seattle Read More
Take your career to the next level. Information session May 8th 4:30-6:00 pm
Story-Telling and People: The Essence of Digital Transformation Read More
GeekWire Awards 2018: Tickets on sale, community voting now open Purchase your tickets and vote here.
Come here. Get there. Find your fit. Explore Foster’s work-compatible MBA programs.
Sirqul and Catalyst Workplace Activation Reveal the Future of Smart Offices in Seattle Read More

About

  • About GeekWire
  • Contact Us
  • Ask About Advertising
  • Send Us a Tip
  • Apply for Startup Spotlight
  • Apply for Geek of the Week
  • Become a GeekWire Member
  • Join Our Startup List
  • Reprints and Permissions

Follow

GeekWire Newsletters

Catch every headline in your inbox

GeekWire Apps

  • iOS
  • Android
  • Apple News
  • Google Play Newsstand

GeekWire Developer Blog

Return to Top of Page
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
© 2011-2018 GeekWire, LLC