The tech sector in Washington accounts for 22% of the state economy and ranks first…
Weekly News Roundup: February 6, 2015
Seattle Ties for Eighth Nationally in Tech-Enabled Transportation Options
GeekWire | Frank Catalano | Feb. 5
http://www.geekwire.com/2015/seattle-ties-eighth-nationally-tech-enabled-transportation-options/
“A new report places Seattle in the top ten U.S. cities with innovative transportation options. The report, released by the Washington Public Interest Research Group (WashPIRG) Foundation and Frontier Group, says that Seattle has nine of 11 ‘technology-enabled transportation services’ that ‘make it easier to conveniently get around without owning a car.’ That puts Seattle in a four-way tie for eighth place in the report’s Innovative Transportation Index, alongside San Diego, Minneapolis and Denver, but behind Portland (in seventh place)… Still, a tie for eighth gives Seattle the label of ‘abundant choices,’ joining 18 other cities with that ranking…’These services make it easier to conveniently get around without owning a car,’ the report’s authors note. ‘That is increasingly what city dwellers – and Millennials especially – say they want. These services individually help travelers, but more importantly, they work together to become more than the sum of their parts.’”
Net Neutrality Wins: the FCC Will Propose Strong Title II Regulation
The Verge | T.C. Sottek | Feb. 4
“FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler revealed his plan to reclassify ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Telcommunications Act. It’s a striking victory for net neutrality advocates who have been fighting for years to solidify internet protections using Title II authority…‘I am submitting to my colleagues the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the FCC,’ Wheeler wrote. ‘These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services.’ The biggest revelation from the proposal is the decision to lump wireless networks in with wired broadband…’I propose to fully apply — for the first time ever — those bright-line rules to mobile broadband,’ Wheeler wrote. ‘My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone’s permission.’ Including wireless providers in the rules is a hugely important move, since we’ve seen that the biggest players have been willing and able to abuse internet openness… After more than a decade of using the wrong words to protect net neutrality, the FCC is using the right ones. And with the telecommunications giants already revealing their legal strategy to fight it, former FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s warning that reclassification would result in “World War III” is looking prescient. The battle begins.”
This Man is the Reason Commercialization Won’t Stop When Michael Young Leaves UW
Puget Sound Business Journal | Rachel Lerman | Feb. 4
“The University of Washington is broadening its commercialization efforts, and that won’t stop when President Michael Young steps down. The reason? Vikram Jandhyala. Jandhyala – whose title is vice provost for innovation – is seen as a driving force for this transformation at the university. Now, with Young’s departure, many are looking to him to lead the charge. Students from all departments on campus should be connecting with the outside community, whether that be companies, government or foundations, and partnering with them, Jandhyala said. ‘We have all this expertise in the university,’ he said. ‘We’re looking at how we can take this outward into the community.’ This is the next step for the university’s commercialization efforts. Rather than focusing solely on companies with intellectual property that could potentially be converted into businesses, Jandhyala said the school will emphasize commercialization across the campus…A lot of the momentum was already there with Young’s leadership, and the university’s outside partnerships. But Jandhyala will be the one to bring the new innovation programs across the university and the city. ‘It’s really taken on a life of its own,’ he said. ‘I’m really excited to grow it.’”
5 Qualities Veteran Angel Investors are Looking for Before They Back a Startup
Puget Sound Business Journal | Jacob Demmitt | Feb. 4
“Gregg Bennett and Dan Rosen know what it takes for a startup to nab a check from a scrupulous angel investor — because they’re exactly that. They’ve both been investing in startups around the Seattle area for 25 years and have been some of the first to pump money into companies such as Clarisonic and Coinstar…[Jacob Demmitt] asked them what qualities they look for in the startups they back. Here’s what they had to say:
- Potential – ‘I think every deal should return 10 times my money in three to five years,’ Bennett said. ‘That’s the minimum threshold that I’m looking for.’
- Integrity – Seattle is a small city, and Bennett and Rosen say it’s pretty easy to hear what a company founder has done in the past.
- Expertise – Bennett said most successful young companies are first led by someone who is some kind of domain expert.
- Coachability – Bennett said you can surround a startup with all the experts in the world, but it’s not going to help if the founders aren’t going to listen to their advice.
- No ‘me-too companies’ – Bennett added a quickGooglesearch often shows him a company is jumping into a sea of startups doing the same thing. ‘You have to step back and say, well what are we going to add that’s different?’”
Diversity in Tech: 10 Data Points You Should Know
TechRepublic | Lyndsey Gilpin | Feb. 4
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/diversity-in-tech-10-data-points-you-should-know/
“Blacks and Hispanics are the fastest-growing populations in the country. In 2013, 13.2% of the total US population was black and 17% were Hispanic, according to Census Bureau data, and it predicts non-Hispanic whites will cease being the majority in 2044. Despite this growth, minorities are consistently underrepresented and underserved in many ways. There are great initiatives trying to tackle this problem, and they are gaining great momentum. AllStarCode is a nonprofit that prepares young men of color for careers in the tech industry; YesWeCode helps low-opportunity youth become programmers. Intel recently allocated $300 million to increase workplace diversity by 2020. To put the problem in perspective, [Lyndsey Gilpin] gathered some of the most relevant data about diversity in the tech industry and compiled it into this list.”
View the full list here.
Seattle a Top City for ‘Advanced Industries’
Seattle PI | Aubrey Cohen | Feb. 3
“Seattle is the second-best metro area in the U.S. for “advanced industries,” according to a new report. The category takes in 50 industries, including aircraft production, power generation, architecture, computer systems design, medical laboratories and telecommunications. These industries employ about 12.3 million workers, or about 9 percent of the nation’s workforce, yet account for 60 percent of the nation’s exports and generate about 17 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, the Brookings Institution reported… In the Seattle area, the average annual wage was $113,160 in 2013 in advanced industries, compared with $63,180 in other jobs. While jobs in advanced industries are available for workers of all education levels, the channel to train workers is too narrow. The report says more needs to be done to increase the pool of skilled workers.”
Why Isn’t Seattle a Bigger Biotech Draw?
Puget Sound Business Journal | Annie Zak | Feb. 3
“Even though four of the six Seattle-area companies to go public in 2014 were biotechs, and despite the early success of Seattle’s Juno Theraputics, it’s hard for young biotech companies here to get enough venture capital funding and hire more of the nation’s top talent. Gregory Demopulos, CEO of Seattle biopharmaceutical company Omeros, said that even with a strong pipeline it’s crucial to have the right people to bring products to the finish line. ‘The science we have is second to none, but you still have to execute,’ said Demopulos. ‘That’s largely driven by your people. So it’s a focus on attracting and retaining really high quality people to carry it out’…‘There are fewer biotech companies here in the Northwest than in other hubs,’ he said, ‘and that makes recruiting more challenging. There aren’t enough candidates locally…The solution, Rivera said, partly comes down to education and policy. If Washington state wants to look within its borders for biotech workers, it should invest more in education, especially STEM education. And if legislators want biotech companies to come here and stay here, he said, they should renew the state’s research and development tax credits which expired in December.”
Google Gives $775,000 to Nonprofit for Tech Diversity
Wall Street Journal | Douglas Macmillan | Feb. 2
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/02/02/google-gives-775000-to-nonprofit-for-tech-diversity/
“Google is giving a boost to a nonprofit that provides mentorship to minorities entering the tech workforce. CODE2040 said Monday it received $775,000 in grants from the tech giant to support the launch of free training programs for more than 5,000 black and Latino college engineering students over the next two years… One of Google’s grants will help CODE2040 create a program aimed at training black and Latino students how to apply for an interview for a technical job or internship. Laura Weidman Powers, the group’s co-founder and chief executive, said minorities are often at a disadvantage when seeking out and interviewing for jobs because they lack instruction on how to prepare. “One of the reasons that there is this opportunity gap for black and Latino engineers is that they have a smaller relevant network and fewer resources and insight around what’s required to get jobs in tech,” Powers said. The technical-applicant program will begin this year and provide mentorship and training during one-day workshops, where students interact with tech professionals, and through an online course.”
Bellevue Could Become the First City to Launch a Startup Crowdfunding Platform
Puget Sound Business Journal | Jacob Demmitt | Feb. 2
“The city of Bellevue is considering a plan to launch a website that takes advantage of Washington state’s new crowdfunding bill and provides a way for local companies to raise money from small-dollar investors…It’s unique in that it would let anyone — not just millionaires — invest and buy equity in local companies. Consultants are looking at the idea now and plan to release a feasibility study sometime this month. If they report it’s a good idea, Councilmember Lynne Robinson said she’s ready to start moving forward on the plans in the coming months…Instead of having a few wealthy backers placing big bets their business ideas, startups can now solicit small investments from a big group of average Joes. Every investor gets a small equity stake, and all those small checks put together provide the company the funding it needs to get started…Companies would then write a post that describes what they do, who they are and how much they’re trying to raise. Would-be investors, who must also be based in Washington state, can peruse the site and make small investments in the companies they like…In the end, Robinson said she hopes the site will ‘give people with great ideas the opportunity to get funded and to succeed — and set roots in Bellevue and stay here.’”
School Leaders Mostly Mystified by Computer Science Education
The Journal | Dian Schaffhauser | Feb. 2
“Low-income schools are less likely than higher income schools to offer computer science (CS) classes. In all schools where computer science courses are part of the curriculum, there is no standardized set of learning standards. And most of the time CS classes are categorized as electives with a vocational slant. These results and others surfaced in a survey administered by the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), a membership organization that promotes the teaching of computer science and other computing disciplines. The survey was issued online to 20,000 secondary school leaders across the country; 503 people responded. Of those, 77.5 percent reported that their schools offer CS courses…Of the 27 percent of schools where a majority of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, six of 10 have CS courses. In the 44 percent of schools where the majority of students don’t qualify for free lunch, eight of 10 offer CS classes…Because the ‘development’ of a computer scientist is a multi-year ‘pathway,’ the fact that students in lower income schools have little or no access to CS over the course of their high school years “puts them at a disadvantage for both future college and career pursuits” and perpetuates a ‘vicious circle’ for students who are economically disadvantaged. There’s still a ‘huge misunderstanding of what CS is and what it isn’t’ at the high school level, the report said. Without a standardized set of CS offerings, colleges and universities ‘will continue to resist adding CS courses as accepted math or science credits for admission.’ At the same time, students in those schools without a solid CS program will enter college ‘woefully behind’ others.”
Click here to see study data summary
Mayor Ed Murray Explains Why Seattle is Perfect for Startups, Entrepreneurs
GeekWire | Taylor Soper | Jan. 30
http://www.geekwire.com/2015/seattle-mayor-ed-murray-explains-city-perfect-startups-entrepreneurs/
“Seattle is already a world-renowned technology and innovation hub. But Mayor Ed Murray wants more. Murray opened up GeekWire Startup Day 2015 by talking about what separates his city from others in the world when it comes to starting a company and thriving. ‘Technology and the IT sector should only grow in Seattle even larger than it is now,’ Murray said. The mayor first noted the entrepreneurs and investors in the crowd at Startup Day. ‘It’s the talent and creativity you bring to this city, state, and to this region,’ Murray said. ‘We have an unusually incredible culture when it comes to just you’…He also spoke about the University of Washington — ‘we wouldn’t be as successful without it’ — and touted the region’s livability…Finally, Murray — naturally — talked about public policy. He called the Seattle area ‘incredibly tolerant’ — a place where voters gave women the right to vote before it became a national law, a place where public housing became integrated before anywhere else, a place that has the most diverse zip code in the U.S. ‘That type of diversity and tolerance we have for new people who come here, that type of diversity is the reason we want you here and we believe you can grow best here,’ Murray said.”
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