Last week, over 1,200 people assembled in the Seattle area for the inaugural Seattle Tech Week, which ended up having more than 40 events, even though we launched the idea a mere three weeks before the day we chose to host our own kickoff party.
By launching what we called the beta year, we aimed to bring together tech enthusiasts, investors, founders, and innovators at tech companies big and small from around the globe to mingle in Seattle’s buzzing tech ecosystem. It quickly became clear, however, that branding it the beta was not necessary — we should have known that Seattle would want to hit the ground running just like the SF and LA Tech Weeks organized by our friends at a16z. Thank you to all the event hosts and attendees that made the week a huge success — we look forward to an even bigger event next year!!
What started out as a 3-ish day beta Tech Week quickly became a full-blown week with events scheduled through Friday night. A major topic of conversation heard throughout all the events was, of course, AI and generative AI. We had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of individuals passionate about technology and innovation. We found it very encouraging that throughout the week, this event brought out a much broader set of the community than we’ve had the pleasure of interacting with at other events that happen throughout the year — happy hours, hackathons, etc. — underscoring the depth of the tech community in the PNW.
As part of the Seattle Tech Week festivities, dozens of VC firms, tech companies, and others from the Seattle tech ecosystem hosted events ranging from ”Pitch and Run” (run by Ascend) to FUSE’s “Pickleball ‘Net’working” to “Supercharging Your Startup With AI” (run by Trilogy Equity Partners, Unlock Venture Partners, and Stifel Bank – and written about in GeekWire) to Women in Tech Regatta’s to “Women in Tech Walky Talky,” where dozens of women came together to walk and talk — because studies have shown that you’re twice as creative while out walking than slumped behind a desk! Walkers were paired together to help each other “unstick” something in their professional lives! Graham Walker and SVB hosted a women-only brunch the day before. It was a completely “sold out” crowd of over 200 women with the aim of helping women founders and investors in the Seattle area make more connections.
“There is still a long way to go to close the gender gaps, but our vibrant community is making tons of impact to nurture and support each other,” one attendee wrote on LinkedIn after the event.
In the theme of exercise, the morning run around Green Lake with Ascend GP Kirby Winfield was a great success. At least 50 people joined in on the fun. People grouped up with roughly 2 investors to every 5-7 founders from different verticals, including fintech, gaming, sustainability, and AI.
With Pickleball being all the rage right now — it seemed only natural that someone organized some matches! We were glad that FUSE jumped in and took that on. It was a terrific way to bring together our vibrant Seattle tech community of operators, investors, and builders. They were able to bring their A-game and network in between games.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest theme of the week really was AI. Google led an AI Discussion and Happy Hour where founders were able to hear from Google Head of VC Partnerships Raghav Baldania and GM & VP of Engineering Amit Zavery about accelerating the future of generative AI — and from Typeface Founder & CEO Abhay Parasnis. A lot of founder lessons were shared during that conversation (If you missed it – you can catch some insights from Abhay in the podcast we shared after they announced their last funding round.) And many conversations about ChatGPT vs. Bard or how you’re using AI tools were overheard!
It became very clear during the week’s events that people are excited to build with AI. Many are starting with personal pain points and scaling quickly and easily with AI. But most recognize that AI won’t change everything and that they need to be thoughtful in an industry-by-industry way to see how different stakeholders will leverage AI. Many that we talked to agreed that partnerships with giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google will empower smaller companies — AI tools are being enabled by the hyperscalers much like the cloud enabled companies to scale without building infra. And, of course, there were a number of AI + Biotech events — and it is no surprise that GenAI is being thought of as a superpower to help cure disease! But most also recognize that the economics of drug development are still daunting. You can read more about how founders are using generative AI in this write-up by GeekWire from the kickoff party.
During Seattle Tech Week, companies showcased demos, hosted meetups, and got very creative. The Room Podcast’s Madison McIlwain (Yes – related to our very own Matt McIlwain) even brought the Room Podcast to Seattle for their first-ever “on location” event! And Startup Haven Ventures and Incisive Ventures hosted a poker game and dinner, the proceeds of which went to the Fred Hutch!
During some of the other events, some nuggets that were shared with founders included:
- Personal connections with investors are essential. Openly inquire about weaknesses to foster a more transparent relationship.
- Inquire about both successful and unsuccessful past portfolio companies.
- Interview potential investors to find out about their typical areas of investment and what they have achieved. This ensures alignment with your startup’s goals and vision.
We received plenty of feedback that Seattle Tech Week needs to be planned further in advance next year — and don’t worry — that was the plan all along! We couldn’t be more thrilled about the turnout of this “beta” year! TF Labs said it well — #SeattleTechWeek may have come to an end, but the momentum and energy gained from the events will undoubtedly carry forward.
If you’re a passionate founder or want-to-be founder — keep in touch!
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