Event season is in full swing here in Seattle. I thought it’d be useful to give a quick rundown of some of the gatherings our readers might want to attend in the next few weeks. If you want to know the secret to surviving as a startup (or a big company, for that matter), or want to schmooze with the top tech entrepreneurs and investors in town, or learn about how to market your startup, check out the following events, starting today:
—Technology Alliance’s annual “State of Technology” Luncheon in downtown Seattle today features a keynote by Clay Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of such business books as The Innovator’s Dilemma, Disrupting Class, and The Innovator’s Prescription. One of Christensen’s big ideas is that “disruptive” strategies are about entering a market at the low end (with a cheaper and worse product) and gradually working your way up—which goes against the mindset of most startups, which try to develop a better product or service than their competition, and especially the big players. I wrote about an interesting Northwest connection to Christensen’s work on innovation strategy here.
—Seattle 2.0’s annual awards show is this Wednesday evening. If it’s anything like last year’s inaugural bash, it’ll be packed with tech entrepreneurs, software developers, angel investors, venture capitalists, and media. Jonathan Sposato, the former CEO of Picnik (recently acquired by Google), will give the keynote. Sposato and Picnik were the big winners at last year’s event.
—Northwest Entrepreneur Network (NWEN) is hosting an event focused on “brand strategy in the digital age” on May 25. The distinguished speakers will represent the marketing agencies and brand strategy firms Spring Creek Group, Corhouse Branding, Dry Soda, and Jelvetica.
—The Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association is featuring the latest installment of its series of events about how life science innovations can be applied to both domestic and global health problems. On May 25, Lisa Cohen of the Washington Global Health Alliance will moderate a panel with John Kaestle of HaloSource, Karen Hedine of Micronics, and Anne Bugge of SonoSite.
—Twiistup is hosting its second Seattle event on June 2, around “marketing your Internet company.” Neil Patel from Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, and KISSinsights will go over strategies for boosting your company’s Web traffic through search engine optimization. Listen to the man. Ask him questions. He knows what he’s doing.
—Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) is organizing a program on smart fuels on the morning of June 3. It’s part of a series on cleantech and energy, and will feature talks from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington State University, Blue Marble Energy, and Farm Power Northwest.
—A bit further out, TechFlash is putting on an event around VC, entrepreneurship, and financing strategies for startups on June 15. The summit will bring together venture capitalists, angel investors, and tech entrepreneurs to debate the pros and cons of taking outside capital and to explore the future of tech startups.
