State of Tech Luncheon 2015

Every year, more than 800 of Washington's top leaders in business, tech, research and government gather for the State of Technology Luncheon.

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Finalists for Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2015 in the Pacific Northwest

EY today announced the finalists for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015 in the Pacific Northwest.

The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.  These business leaders were selected by a panel of independent judges.

Award winners will be announced at a special gala on June 5, 2015 at Sheraton Seattle Hotel.  To find out more about the Pacific Northwest program please visit HERE.  #EOYPNW.

The finalists are:

Avalara, Inc. | Scott McFarlane, Co-Founder & CEO | Bainbridge Island, WA

Avvo | Mark Britton, Founder & CEO | Seattle, WA

barre3 | Sadie Lincoln, Founder & Owner | Portland, OR

Blink UX | Karen Clark Cole, CEO | Seattle, WA

Context Relevant | Stephen Purpura, Founder & CEO | Seattle, WA

Dave's Killer Bread | John Tucker, CEO | Milwaukie, OR

DiscoverOrg | Henry Schuck, CEO | Vancouver, WA

EagleView Technologies | Chris Barrow, President & CEO | Bothell, WA

ExtraHop Networks | Jesse Rothstein, Co-Founder & CEO; Raja Mukerji, Co-Founder & President | Seattle, WA

Hydro Flask | Scott Allan, President & CEO | Bend, OR

Life Flight Network | Michael Griffiths, CEO | Aurora, OR

Limeade | Henry Albrecht, CEO | Bellevue, WA

Picmonkey.com | Jonathan Sposato, CEO | Seattle, WA

PitchBook | John Gabbert, Founder & CEO | Seattle, WA

SET Creative | Sabina Teshler, Owner & CEO | Portland, OR

SmartRG | Jeff McInnis, President & CEO | Vancouver, WA

Smartsheet | Mark Mader, President & CEO | Bellevue, WA

Treehouse | Ryan Carson, Co-Founder & CEO | Portland, OR

Trupanion | Darryl Rawlings, CEO | Seattle, WA

TUNE | Lucas Brown, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer; Lee Brown, Co-Founder & Chief Architect | Seattle, WA

ZoomCare | Dave Sanders, M.D., CEO | Hillsboro, OR

Now in its 29th year, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 145 cities in 60 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year national program.  Award winners in several national categories, as well as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall National Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 14, 2015.

The US Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Monaco, June 2016. Additionally, venture-backed companies that win an Entrepreneur Of The Year Award regionally are also eligible for the Venture Capital Award of Excellence at the national level. The awards are the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Sponsors
Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are sponsored nationally by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America.  In the Pacific Northwest, sponsors also include Merrill Datasite, Union Bank and Scherzer International.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year®
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

e-PLU e-Business Day 2013

DATE:       Tuesday, December 10, 2013

PLACE:     Morken Center for Learning & Technology, Room 103

      Pacific Lutheran University

The School of Business and ePLU E-Commerce & Technology Management Center at Pacific Lutheran University invite you and your colleagues to join us for e-Business Day 2013. Business analytics is a top priority of CIOs and general CxOs for good reason. Effective business analytics – from basic reporting to advanced data mining -- enable enterprises to better understand market demands and innovate effectively.  We will discuss how to turn big data challenges into opportunities for organizations to create and sustain competitive advantage — Come hear from industry experts, share your business ideas and practices, learn about internship opportunities, and network with others!

SCHEDULE:

8:00 AM - Networking (Morken Center Atrium) w/ refreshments

8:30 AM - Dr. Nancy Albers-Miller, Dean, School of Business, Pacific Lutheran University

8:35 AM - Keynote Presentation: Ted Wham, VP, Travel Industry Solutions at Responsys

9:15 AM - Networking Break

9:30 AM - Panel 1: Real-Life Cases: Analytics Technology Helps Businesses to Win Customers and Make Smarter Decisions

Moderator: Justin Foster, Co-Founder/VP Market Development, Liveclicker
Panelist 1: Neil Crist, CEO Venuelabs
Panelist 2: Henry Chou, Onvia
Panelist 3: Josh Howell, EMC
Panelist 4: Aaron Fossum, Society Consulting

10:30 AM - Networking Break (Morken Center Atrium)

10:45 AM - Panel 2: Education and Training of Business Analytics

Moderator: Dr. Chung-Shing Lee, Director of ePLU
Panelist 1: Aaron Fossum, Society Consulting
Panelist 2: Jason Phelps, Microsoft
Panelist 3: Josh Howell, EMC
Panelist 4: Professor Laurie Murphy, PLU Department of CS&CE

12:00 PM - Event Wraps (Dr. Chung-Shing Lee)

12:05 PM - Lunch

For more info:  

Dr. Chung-Shing Lee (李中興)

Professor

School of Business

Pacific Lutheran University

Tacoma, Washington, USA

http://www.plu.edu/busa/contacts/home.php?details=chung-shing-lee

Cyber Monday Linkup on E-Commerce

Bricks and Clicks:

The Cyber Monday
Linkup -
Exploring
E-Commerce
in Tacoma


A panel of experienced E-Commerce leaders led an engaging and educational discussion yesterday on e-commerce and how it fits into their local business today.


The Linkup, hosted by the William Factory Small Business Incubator in Tacoma, included both large and small businesses in the South Sound area. Some were doing business both online and offline, others were pure online businesses only. One was literally started in a garage, while others started as extensions of an existing business. The panel also included a local e-commerce developer, consultant and college offering E-Commerce classes.

With online sales growing at record rates, nationally, local business leaders, including both the Tacoma-Pierce Co. Chamber and City of Tacoma, are concerned with how much of that business is happening locally.

Online shoppers in the United States spent $36.3 billion in the third quarter of 2011, up a huge 13.1% from the same period a year ago. This was the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth for e-commerce spending, according to data released this month by ComScore Inc., a provider of global Internet information.

For over two hours, the panel discussed the state of local e-commerce, and brainstormed ideas on how to increase local e-business, e-jobs and e-educational resources in our area. The discussion was appropriately streamed online, and broadcast live by co-sponsor KLAY Talk/News Radio, drawing listeners from throughout the region. A live 'Remote Tweetcast' was also sponsored by the Business Examiner.

The panelists included a broad cross-section of local businesses:

- Retail: The Pacific Northwest Shop – Bill Evans, CEO

- Tools: Carbide Processors - Tom Walz, CEO

- Jewelry: ArtBeads.com – Devin Kimura, CEO

- Books: Thrift Recycling – Phil McMullin, CEO

- Non-profit:­­ World Vision - Kile Rury, E-Commerce Manager

- Software: Skoot / Business Internet Services - Janine Terrano, CEO

- Consulting: Kaufmann Kreative - Bill Kaufmann, CEO

- Education: DeVry University (e-Commerce MBA program) - Bob Bunge

Each participant was invited to discuss their online program today, how they started, challenges they’ve faced, and where they’re going (or hope to go) in the future. Conversation also included operational e-commerce topics such as the cloud, web platforms, development, security, staffing, international sales, online marketing, staffing and shipping challenges.

It was apparent that there are some exciting success stories in the area. Lakewood based Thrift Recycling sells over 5 million books online annually, with a staff of only 2 people locally. Tacoma’s Pacific Northwest Shop generates about 25% of its sales online. ArtBeads.com in Gig Harbor is 100% online, and sells over 27,000 different items – imported from all over the world.

Both challenges and opportunities remain. Tacoma’s Carbide Processors CEO Tom Walz was particularly concerned about the challenges of finding e-Commerce savvy employees locally, and recently recruited two people from out of the area to help manage his operations.

Although the UW Institute of Technology in Tacoma doesn’t offer any courses on e-Commerce, there are programs at PLU and DeVry that may help to start filling the gap. The recent opening of Amazon’s fulfillment center in Spanaway, and the e-Commerce training program at Tacoma Goodwill created by Bill Kaufmann may help provide staffing solutions also.

The growth of local e-Commerce may well be described as a chicken-or-egg dilemma. Without local e-commerce businesses, Tacoma isn’t attracting local e-commerce support. Yet without such “go local” support, e-commerce business in the Tacoma area lags behind the national growth trends.

An exciting go-local economic e-growth opportunity is waiting to happen here in America’s formerly Most Wired City.

Bill Kaufmann, CEO / E-Commerce and Marketing Director,
Kaufmann Kreative E-Commerce & Marketing

Cyber Monday Linkup: Tacoma's E-Commerce Forum
http://linkd.in/tUUElz
An opportunity to Explore E-Commerce in Tacoma

Join us for an exciting, engaging and educational Forum where an experienced panel of South Puget Sound E-Commerce leaders will lead a discussion on e-commerce and where it fits in local business today.

Whether you have an existing business or are a budding entrepreneur, you'll gain invaluable insights on how these companies grew their e-Commerce business, the challenges they've faced, lessons they've learned, and where they're going in the future.

The Forum will also explore what can be done to help incubate more e-business, e-jobs and e-educational resources in the Tacoma and South Sound area.

Sponsors include the Tacoma-Pierce Co. Chamber, Click! Network, and KLAY AM Radio. KLAY AM News/Talk Radio will broadcast and stream the discussion live.

E-commerce exhibitor displays will also be available during the Forum to help companies or entrepreneurs interested in ecomm with questions on security, logistics, connectivity, education, development, etc. The cost is just $300 and includes a significant radio promotion package the week prior (Thanksgiving week, including Black Friday!).

If you're interested in being an exhibitor, contact Bill Kaufmann at: Bill@KaufmannKreative.com or 253-572-5221

If you're interested in attending, please add a comment to this page or on Linkedin (see URL above) so we have a count.

Thanks, and we hope you can join us!

When: November 28, 2011 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Where: William Factory Business Incubator, Tacoma
1423 E 29th St,

Tacoma, WA 98404

http://williamfactory.com/events.php