Seattle Startup Life

Going to see Radiohead today at the Whiteriver. It should be a great concert regardless of the weather. Plus, it’s nice sometimes to vary my weekly routine. And now onto the links…

• The next wave of young billionaires. I’m jealous.
• YUI 3.0 Preview Release.
• Trust customers over VCs.

29 Etruria St. A402
Seattle, WA

• 1 bedroom/ 1 bathroom, top floor condo. (square footage: 686)
• Minutes from Fremont, Downtown and Queen Anne.
• Remodeled with high-end appliances, including Bosh dishwasher, refrigerator, oven (w/ hood) and microwave.
• Granite counter-tops surround kitchen and breakfast bar.
• New garbage disposer, Slate Granite sink, and kitchen faucet
• 2 separate decks with view of Aurora bridge
• Living room beams with abundance of light; fireplace includes custom made marble mantel.
• Bathroom features all new Kohlers sink and matching toilet.
• Rooftop deck access for bbq and gatherings

You know you are the startup type when you get really excited about meeting successful business people! Since starting here, I’ve met a ton of interesting investors and VC’s that I would have never been able to interact with in any other setting. Scott Oki, Bill Bryant - even our very own executive management team - all have blown me away.

So, the bottom line is, if get goosebumps whenever you run into one of these people, you know you are a startup junkie.

Envious as ever, Pamela and Lily are headed to Shambhala Music Festival this weekend. I wish I was going. The Glitch Mob will kill it!

•  “Sombering” VC stats from Andy Sack
• Teachstreet is a great site! (another Madrona company)
• Maveron invests in a juice company. I wonder if that’s a conflict of interest for Howard Schultz.

• It seems like Flipping Websites is the new trend. The New York Times paints a pretty picture for how people buy up mediocre websites, add some content and graphics to them, and flip them into money making machines. However, after working in this industry for a significant amount of time, I’d venture to say that the instantaneous glitz and glamor of “flipping” properties is far from simple. It takes a significant amount of time, sweat, dedeication, and sacrifice to get a web property to the point of critical mass - and even more effort sustaining that growth.
• Curious Office is such a great blog. They’ve recently written about “the subtleties of raising money“. They give GREAT pointers for young entrepreneurs like me that want to take their business game to the next level. Here’s probably the greatest line in the blog:
  • The important thing to remember when raising money is that people aren’t betting on the plan you’re pitching even if they don’t realize it. They are responding to the energy in the room and they are betting on you. Even for investors with deep pockets and large funds, the process of a successful pitch is largely a process of risk mitigation. The best way to mitigate risk for the investor is not to convince them that the market is huge or that your approach is original. It is to believe in what you are doing with every fiber of your being. It is important that people look you in the eye and see that whether or not they invest, you will move forward and you will succeed.
• Speaking of VC-loving, Voyager Capital, my main man Tony Audino’s former place he called home, just invested in Sensys Networks
• The Club House for Startups, right here in the heart of P. Square.
• Conenza is in the process of hiring a dream team of people to build great community products. Matt Hulett paints a nice picture of a “Startup Pitcrew” in his blog. Great pointers, Matt.

We just released a new version of our site today. Check out Conenza.com

Matt & I & other startup friends are meeting this Thursday at 6pm at Owl & Thistle in Pioneer Square to talk shop - hope you can join us.

Drink,  Talk, Learn.

When: July 12th, Saturday, 7:00 - 10:00 PM
Where: Showbox SODO, 1700 1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98134
What else?:DJ El Toro, Light Appetizers, Drink Tickets, Door Prizes and more…
RSVP?: Tickets will be released through Eventbrite, 21+ Only
Socialize: Facebook, MySpace, Meetup and Upcoming
Press Passes: Please inquire through events [at] mashable |dot| com for Press Passes

The brains over at Zaaz are putting together a very interesting and insightful event called Perspectives on Social Media. If you have even an inkling of interest in social media, communities, and web technologies, I’d invite you to attend this event. Unfortunately, I’ll be just coming back from Los Angeles during this time.

My good buddy, David Eraker, just released a new version of Mindsite. The visuals and flow have all been updated to look and feel super clean. Here’s a quick synopsis of what they do:

Mindsite offers free access to clinical resources to help you overcome the confusion surrounding mental health diagnoses and treatments.

• Get diagnosed online by taking our surveys developed by Harvard Medical School for the World Health Organization to test for symptoms of most mental health disorders.

• Research signs and symptoms with free access to the DSM-IV, the manual used by medical professionals to diagnose, describe, and categorize mental health disorders.

• Learn from our community by asking questions, or browse original articles and videos posted by people like you.

I highly recommend checking out the site if you’ve got the time.