What is the name of your organization? Sqoop, Inc.

What is your name? Bill Hankes

What is your role in the organization? Founder & CEO

When did you pitch at First Look Forum? November 2014 (Bellingham)

How has your business grown (financially & otherwise) since you presented at First Look Forum?           “After only a few months in the market, Sqoop has not only attracted reporters from some of the most influential publications in the country as users, but most importantly, those reporters have published nationally significant news as a result of using Sqoop. Everything from Boeing using 3D printing in its manufacturing process (GeekWire) to what Google is doing with its $500 million investment in MagicLeap (Business Insider) to Virgin America insiders “”dumping”” their stock (Motley Fool) to USA Today breaking the news of Google’s new CFO’s pay package a full 11 minutes ahead of Bloomberg and the rest of the pack.

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from participating in First Look Forum? Sqoop was pre-beta at the time of our FLF presentation, and we have learned two really important lessons since that time:

1. Our story and pitch have evolved after hearing how our customers and industry insiders talk about us. Frankly, they do a better job than we do.

2. Traction not only matters for the business, but it brings our story to life in a way that our slides never could.

What advice would you give to future First Look Forum applicants?       

FLF presentations should be a reflection of how the applicants are solving their customers pain. Bring that solution to life in the form of story telling that uses customer language or visuals.

No amount of soap-boxing can replace the market authenticity of the customers own words.

What is your Twitter handle? @bhankes

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Learn more about sqoop by checking out their website: http://sqoop.com/