i3 - November/December 2016 - 59

Justin Siraj

Policy

A T EC H H U B

Seattle
interns," says Pickford. "Also, the
University of Washington teamed up
with an accelerator and a VC fund to
create Startup Hall, a public/private
partnership by the University."

Established Players

urrounded by water, mountains and forests, Seattle is
more than just one of the most picturesque cities in the
northwestern U.S. Home to tech giants like Amazon
and Microsoft, Seattle also offers one of the most bustling technology and startup scenes in the country. The city has a
strong entrepreneurial community, great schools, and a huge
network of financiers and advisors.
According to Business Insider, Seattle
experienced 110 percent deal growth in
2015 and 26 percent average growth
since 2012. "It has a history of great tech
and manufacturing companies that has
created a fertile environment for startups
to grow," says Danny Pickford, CEO and
founder of elarm, a Seattle-based startup.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATT HAGEN; ILLUSTRATION BY ISTOCK

Startup Seattle
Under Seattle's Office of Development,
a program called "StartupSeattle" helps
to foster startup communities, improve
diversity and inclusion in tech and
expand opportunities for entrepreneurs.
"It's a great way to find out about events
and resources like co-working spaces
and classes in the area," says Pickford.
However, like most tech hubs, there is
still space for improvement to truly cater
to entrepreneurs. "It would be great if
startups were given a break on some of the
C TA . t e c h / i 3

Seattle business taxes when they were in
the development phase of their products,"
explains Pickford. Still, Seattle is moving
in the right direction and Washington
received a B+ in the "tax-friendly" category
of CTA's latest Innovation Scorecard.

University of Washington
Located about four miles from the
Space Needle is the University of
Washington. Its Arthur W. Buerk Center
for Entrepreneurship promotes innovative thinking for students. The center
hosts many business and entrepreneur
competitions throughout the year for
its students and also offers an entrepreneurship certificate to help students gain
real-world experience and mentoring
from the best of Seattle's thriving entrepreneurial community
"The University of Washington has an
exceptional engineering program that we
have leveraged to source undergraduate

Companies like Amazon and Microsoft
driving the Seattle technology industry
give entrepreneurs goals to shoot for
and companies to emulate. "They add to
the talent pool. Established companies
not only attract, but actively recruit tech
employees to Seattle," says Stacia Beer,
marketing director of elarm. "Once a
contract is done or it's time to move on,
sometimes people want to stay in the
area and either start their own company
or join smaller companies."
Having tech giants around the city
also contributes to networking opportunities that other cities lack. "Being able
to network and surround ourselves with
experts in the technology and startup
world is a tremendous resource," says
Colette Courtion, founder and CEO of
Joylux, another Seattle startup.
n

The Final Word
Danny Pickford, CEO and Founder,
elarm: "When it's raining you might as
well stay inside and code."
Stacia Beer, marketing director, elarm:
"Seattle is really laid back with a bit of
the pioneer spirit thrown in. It's about
being part of something new that you
can be proud of, pushing boundaries,
and knowing that you are making a
difference."
Colette Courtion, Founder and CEO,
Joylux: "Seattle is a city that is very
conducive to startup companies and
networking. We are very lucky to be
surrounded by pillars in the industry
in healthcare as well as technology.
These organizations act as tremendous
resources to the community as a whole."

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

https://elarm.com/ http://www.joyluxinc.com/ http://foster.uw.edu/centers/buerk-ctr-entrepreneurship/ http://foster.uw.edu/centers/buerk-ctr-entrepreneurship/ http://startupseattle.com/ http://foster.uw.edu/centers/buerk-ctr-entrepreneurship/ http://startupseattle.com/ http://CTA.tech/i3

i3 - November/December 2016

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