Tech in 2015: Apple Watch, IPOs, Startups, Amazon, Microsoft, T-Mobile and More Key Stories to Watch

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/tech-2015-apple-watch-ipos-startups-amazon-microsoft-key-stories-watch/

Seattle’s Startup Scene, GeekWire | John Cook | Jan. 2

“Seattle’s startup community continues to produce groundbreaking companies, but two core challenges remain, and they will continue to surface in 2015: Talent and capital. Amazon.com’s growth in Seattle, along with the arrival of large technology companies such as Alibaba, Dropbox, Apple and Twitter, is making it especially tough for up-and-coming companies to attract engineers and developers. That problem will likely continue in 2015, putting strains on early-stage companies. The capital markets are relatively strong right now in the tech industry, but the Seattle startup community has been hurt in recent years as the number of homegrown venture capital firms has dwindled. That means the angel community and investors from outside the region have had to step up. A fresh injection of capital in the region could do wonders. Just imagine what the startup ecosystem would look like in Seattle if three homegrown venture capital or super angel funds — created by top-notch technologists or investors — were formed with $50 million each? That could dramatically alter an already dynamic startup ecosystem.”

Amazon Growth: Is it Sustainable? , GeekWire | Blair Hanley Frank | Jan 2

“Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has cited the societal benefits of expanding in downtown Seattle, vs. the suburbs. Amazon has been hiring at a rapid pace, reaching nearly 150,000 employees worldwide as of September — an increase of nearly 40,000 employees over the prior 12 months. The company is expanding with a massive new complex of office buildings across four blocks on the northern edge of downtown Seattle. The company is growing so quickly that it needs developers to build 30 new residential buildings in and around downtown Seattle, with at least 200 units each, just to accommodate its employees in the coming years. All of this comes as the company maintains a tenuous relationship with Wall Street, testing the patience of investors with a lack of consistent profits. No, we never elected Jeff Bezos as mayor, but like it or not, Seattle’s future is now intertwined with Amazon’s fate.”

 

Tearing Toward a High-tech Future, Seattle Wonders How to Keep It Real

Seattle Times | Jon Talton | Jan. 2

http://seattletimes.com/html/pacificnw/2025254368_0104newcomersthemeessay1xml.html

“The old end up in a foreign country even if they never leave their home, or so an expression goes. Many Seattleites are feeling that way in just the few years since the Great Recession. South Lake Union has been transformed from a shabby commercial district into one of the hottest and most visionary real estate ventures in America, its new mid-rise buildings anchoring one of the most important companies in the world. Skyscrapers are replacing car dealers in and around the Denny Triangle. Downtown’s face-lift is so dramatic that at one point last year 100 projects were permitted, under construction or recently completed. Bulldozers are taking down those familiar three-story brick apartment buildings to begin work on apartment towers. Salty, beloved old Ballard has become one of the nation’s most coveted and expensive cool urban neighborhoods…Even as much of America continues to limp back from the Great Recession, Seattle has essentially reached what economists consider full employment. It is among the nation’s big engines of startups. And the icons of the Puget Sound economy, from Starbucks and Amazon to Boeing and Microsoft, are thriving.”

 

LinkedIn Proves the U.S. Has a STEM Problem

Fast Company | Kevin Zawacki | Dec. 30

http://www.fastcompany.com/3040218/elasticity/linkedin-proves-the-us-has-a-stem-problem

“At first, the numbers appear reassuring—the U.S. remains the top destination for foreign science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals. But lurking deeper in the data is a second, troubling statistic: Fewer of these bright workers are migrating to the U.S. each year. Instead, they’re putting down roots in East Asia and other growing regions. The numbers come from a new study led by LinkedIn, Stanford University and other institutions in the U.S. and Europe. The study parsed LinkedIn users’ work histories stretching over two-and-a-half decades, focusing on professionals in the computer, mathematics, engineering and architecture fields. The findings? In the ‘90s, these professionals were increasingly likely to leave home and make their way to the U.S.—but the probability of STEM workers migrating to the U.S. dropped from 37% to 15% between 2000 and 2012, according to the study. (The probability of non-STEM workers migrating dipped from 25% to 13%—not as steep a decline.)”

 

Silicon Valley Tech Giants Continue to Open (and Expand) Seattle Outposts

Puget Sound Business Journal | Jacob Demmitt | Dec. 29

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2014/12/silicon-valley-tech-giants-continue-to-open-and.html?ana=e_tf&s=newsletter&ed=2014-12-29&u=ls5d+7OJRUaWfkIJW6OjBA0fe38366&t=1419894924

“Silicon Valley tech giants have been migrating north for years, opening Seattle-area offices and dipping their feet into the Pacific Northwestern talent pool. Microsoft and Amazon attract a lot of technologists to the area. And where talent goes, companies follow. The trend has already raised the profile of the area’s tech scene and is showing no signs of slowing down as it continues to snowball. Google has been building up its presence here for a decade. Last year, the company announced plans to double the size of its Kirkland office with 180,000 square feet of additional space and about 1,000 more employees. Twitter officially acknowledged its Seattle office and gave tours for the first time this year. The northern migration continued into 2014, as Apple, Alibaba, Dropbox, Oracle and Hewlett Packard all made moves in Seattle over the past year.”

 

From STEM to C-Suite, Steps to Improve Technology’s Gender Balance

Xconomy | Jan Davis | Dec. 26

http://www.xconomy.com/raleigh-durham/2014/12/26/from-stem-to-c-suite-steps-to-improve-technologys-gender-balance/

“Gender and diversity problems certainly aren’t new for either the technology community or for business in general. Over the past several decades, women and minorities have worked to gain access to higher levels within organizations, and many white males already in senior roles have also worked to address these issues. However, progress has been slow, and that pace doesn’t appear likely to change in the short term. In tech, the issue is especially complex because too many girls drop out of STEM, and therefore, too few young women are prepared to become programmers or even software product managers…First, like Matt Williamson, CEO of Durham, NC, company Windsor Circle, you recognize the totally young, white male organization is not what you think is right, and you take action. Matt reached out to his hiring managers to make the company’s values clear, which has led to the hiring of more diverse candidates…Second, successful participants in the tech community—especially women and minorities—need to come together to provide role models for girls and coaching/advising for young women and minority members to make sure there is a better future supply of female candidates.”

 

Coding Companies Fill a Technology Skills Gap

U.S. News | Allie Bidwell | Dec. 22

http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/12/22/coding-companies-fill-a-gap-between-higher-education-and-the-workforce

“The Seattle-based trade school [Code Fellows] offers intensive eight-week development accelerator programs for individuals who want to build up their coding and software development skills to a more professional level. For more inexperienced job-seekers, Code Fellows also offers four-week foundation boot camps in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle that also can serve as a feeder into the accelerator program. The boot camp and development accelerator programs cost $5,000 and $10,000, respectively, still far less than the typical cost of a college degree…Of the more than 300 graduates Code Fellows has produced since launching in January 2013, more than 80 percent received a job offer within three months of graduating, with an average starting salary of $75,600…Another 18 percent of graduates go on to create their own companies…many similar companies are materializing, seeking to fill a gap between what employers need and what colleges and universities are producing. Ada Developers Academy is a yearlong, intensive training school for women that’s tuition-free and based in the Seattle area, with a goal similar to Code Fellows.”