Seattle Startup Life

Happy Early April Fools Day! Let me introduce my latest blog with an annoucment:

Savan Kong will not be drinking for the entire month of April.

And, no, that wasn’t a joke. I know, I know. My last post was about happy hours and how it’s good for startups. Whatever. You can call me out on it in person if we ever meet.

But for now, onward to more important things. Here are three items that I’ve always wondered about in my startup life:

1. What’s the perfect ratio of PM to engineers? Educated guesses anyone? For example, Linkedin is looking for a Sr. Product Manager for New User Experience. Now, don’t get me wrong, they may actually have a position to fill, but do you really need a Sr. PM for just that facet of the site? Maybe. Maybe not. But wanting to hire a Sr. PM for just that role doesn’t seem like a smart move for a startup.Any advice on the perfect mix of PM to developers?
   Matt Goyer or Bryan Selner from Redfin? Andy Sack from Founders Co-op and Judy’s Book? Kevin Merritt from Blist? Mike Arcuri from Ontela?
2. Will all websites end up being a social network? Fast Company recently re-hauled their site to mimic traditional social networking functionality. With the emergence of behemoth online communities like Linkedin, Facebook, and Myspace, will it only be a matter of time before users demand the ability to communicate and collaborate with each other? A good friend of mine from Lakeside, Matt Johnson, works at Blist. Blist is trying to break into the consumer database market. I know, I know. Savan, databases aren’t super sexy. But you know what? It will be if you can manage sexy data like all of your pictures and information of Scarlett Johansson or Jessica Biel and distribute that information to your fanclub. Hats off to Kevin and his product team for making that move forward. I can’t think of a single web site out there right now that wouldn’t stand to become better by adding one or two social networking features (connections, groups, etc)
3. Why are there so many men compared to women in the VC/investment world? Alyssa Royse, blogger for the PI, recently asked the question: “Where are the women VCs in Seattle?” My first run with the VC/investment world was with Laura Jennings, former Microsoft VP, former Atlas Ventures Partner, and former boss of my mother (we helped raise their children - all very, very cute!). She exposed me to angels, the high-stakes (and losses) of the VC world, and general day to day trade-offs between startups and VC’s. Little did I know while talking to her in my teenage years that she would be the last VC I would meet that’s a woman. I’d personally love to meet more women in this capacity.

• The Seattle Times profiled Lifestyle Wireless. They supposedly send you text messages related to Sports, Lifestyle, and Faith. The only “catch” is that you have to buy cards to activate the service. Who in their right mind would buy such things when you can easily find that information for free using Google? Hello 466453. Also, the barrier to entry is so low that competitors (read 1-2 college students) could easily penetrate this market by coding for 4 months straight if you fed them Ramen and Redbulls. I predict the company will go out of business in a year.
• A friend of a friend (Matt Johnson > Andy Sack and Chris DeVore) started a new venture called Founders Coop. I think it’s a very interesting and exciting idea to help kick-start ideas and bring smart people together. From what I hear, Sack and DeVore know a great deal about the startup world.
• I wish I was going to this: Snap Summit 2.0.
• A great post by Curious Office. I couldn’t agree with them more. Arm Chair QB vs Entrepreneurs.

Myspace invades Seattle!

• Picnik is now on Myspace (I personally love the integration with Flickr; good job guys)
  
• Myspace expands into Seattle. This has me re-thinking selling my condo….

Biking replaces golfing!

• This story is so indicative of many startup soldiers in Pioneer Square.
  

• I’m wondering who will actually print out a Zillow Flyer and give it to a seller as an “educational” tool. Sara Bonert from Zillow, any stats?
• The winners of the SEOmoz contest are posted
• Kevin Merritt always gives great insight to things related to business in his cleaver narrative ways

• Blist gets bigger
• Redfin’s 2nd Red Carpet is around the corner. When you go, tell ‘em Savan sent you and you’ll get a free beer. And remind Bryan Selner and Matt Goyer to change those pin icons on the map so they don’t cover up other pins!
• Wetpaint goes social (though aren’t they social by nature?)
• Expect cool things from Dave Naffziger and his Brand Verity.
• The WTIA has a networking event on March 13th
• Todd Humphrey from CleverSet will be speaking at a NWEN event March 14th
• And finally, how comes Jobster’s blog sucks so bad? The last update was December 21st 2007? Really? With all of that money, you’d think someone can put up a picture of a cat with some witty captions. Maybe someone can send an email to Jessica Scheibach and ask?

It’s been almost 2 months since I’ve left my post at crazy job Redfin and moved into my new digs at Conenza. The transition was an emotional and somewhat painful one; I felt like Zach graduating graduating from Bayside High. I was one of the early guys at Redfin and knew the company inside and out. I made it through 3 rounds of funding, 5 different offices (4 in Pioneer Square), an overhaul of multiple teams, several crazy real estate seasons and an endless amount of product/engineering challenges. The place was home.

So, many ask, why leave? Well, as with everything in life, all good things come to an end. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I felt that I contributed all I could to Redfin and needed a new challenge. I initially wanted to start another company, cashing in on the ideas I had stored in the back of my head for years. But the mortgage payments and bills put an end to that idea pretty quickly. The next best thing for me was to join a fledgling startup. During my two weeks of interviewing, I talked to so many smart people, it was scary. John Sangiovanni and his crew at Zumobi, Kevin Merritt and Matt Johnson running the uber-tight ship at Blist, Dan and Mike serving monster aces in mobile imaging business at Ontella, and so many more. In the end, I decided to take the job at Conenza. All in all, one of the hardest decisions of my life. And in the end, it wasn’t about the technology or the space or even the position, but what really felt right. It doesn’t hurt that the Conenza office is right across the street from Redfin’s as well.

Which leads me to the point behind my newly minted blog: I will probably never leave Pioneer Square. There are too many brains that bring me back here.