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.

NWEA Becomes Element 8

At its annual Cleantech Leadership Forum, Northwest Energy Angels officially became Element 8.

Its new name, image and messaging were chosen to better communicate to investors and entrepreneurs not just what they do, but why they do it -- to create a healthier and more sustainable planet.

Accompanying the new name is a completely re-designed website www.element8angels.com in which Element 8 tries to speak very directly to everyone whose expertise we can leverage, and with whom they can partner, to achieve the mission.

Northwest Energy Angels was founded in 2006, as the very first angel funding group exclusively focused on clean technology and sustainability.  Since that time, its investors and portfolio have grown until it became clear that the name, and its generic acronym NWEA, no longer reflected their full scope. 

Our 43 portfolio companies represent a wide range of products, services, and market sectors and are located all across North America.  Element 8 sees abundant opportunities to create a prosperous and brighter future. They were motivated to craft a name and brand that does not unintentionally limit the perception of its scope. And better yet, the Element 8 name conveys the future they intend to help create, and its aspirations for a sustainable and healthy planet. 

Element 8, the atomic expression for Oxygen, is a wonderful metaphor.  It evokes the aspirations of our work-clean air, clean water, an abundant element essential for life and health. And Oxygen is a change agent, as is the organization, sparking the fuel of monetary investments, as well as guiding and mentoring early-stage companies.

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WA Names Tech Sector Leads

Department of Commerce Director Brian Bonlender recently named Maura Little  and Will Saunders  to the sector lead team in the Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness.  All told, the three target industries they will focus on represent more than $35 billion in payroll for residents of Washington State: Information and Communication Technology and Life Sciences.

“Our sector-based economic development strategy is a reflection of the fact that we face intense international and interstate competition for good jobs. We have to be constantly vigilant about identifying opportunities and strategies for cultivating employers in Washington,” said Bonlender.  “We can’t rely on luck for the next Boeing, Microsoft or Amazon to develop here.”

Little joined the Department of Commerce as the Life Sciences and Global Health sector lead. She has deep background in the life sciences field, including liaison work for then-Congressman Jay Inslee with industry leaders and helping to draft and pass related legislation. After that, Little was Washington State Director of Government Relations for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network working on healthcare and other life-science issues at a state level.

Saunders brings more than a decade of experience in the information and communications technology field to his position of sector lead for the industry.  Most recently, Saunders has been the director of the Washington State Broadband Office since 2010 and has worked with app developers, educators, public and private providers and economic development agencies across the state.
Sector-based economic development heads the list of Commerce’s five core strategies for job creation, Bonlender said.

Little and Saunders join Kristine Reeves (Military and Defense), Alex Pietsch (Aerospace) and Steve Sewell (Maritime) to represent the State of Washington in their respective industry sectors.  They are tasked with identifying and pursuing new economic development strategies that keep Washington State in the forefront of these key industries, and advance the Governor’s goal of targeted company recruitment, retention and expansion.
 
The Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness supports the Governor’s Working Washington Jobs Agenda, which recognizes that these sectors are critical to our future prosperity --  if these industries are doing well, our economy will be doing well.

Clean Tech Defense Symposium Set

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