Relive the 2015 GeekWire Summit with photos, videos, Twitter reaction

Authors, artists, and astronauts.

Senators, scientists, and superheroes.

CEOs, COOs, and CTOs.

The GeekWire Summit 2015 featured top executives, entrepreneurs, experts, and more than 800 attendees on Thursday and Friday in downtown Seattle this past week.

This was our first time hosting the Summit for two days, doubling the amount of fireside chats, power talks, and “Inventions We Love” segments.

It ended up being a fantastic time as we heard from technology leaders and innovators in a variety of fields, offering up interesting insights into the past, present, and future of their respective industries. We heard from people of all backgrounds and ages — even some impressive youngsters got in on the fun during the “Kids Tech Panel.”

There was also the debut of “The Treasure Trunk” where Summit attendees deciphered a geeky puzzle in order to unlock a trunk filled with fun tech gifts.

I solved the Treasure Trunk puzzle and won the Roomba at the @GeekWire Summit! #gwsummit pic.twitter.com/9zORGvzy3a

— Jim Loter (@jimloter) October 1, 2015

We also enjoyed having Guillaume Wiatr sketch drawings on big murals near the stage inspired by what was being talked about during the interviews and presentations.

And thanks to Bruce Pavitt, the Sub Pop founder and Seattle music scene veteran who was spinning tunes during breaks and intermissions during both days of the Summit, keeping the mood upbeat with his vast catalogue of music tracks.

We’ll be posting videos from each session in the coming days, so stayed tuned for that. For now, we’ve put together a recap of the Summit for those who missed out or those that just want to relive the two-day event. Thanks to Kevin Lisota for snapping these fantastic photos.

And thanks to all of you for attending, and a huge thanks to all of our GeekWire Summit sponsors for helping to make this event happen.

Presenting sponsor: Bank of America, which is partnering with GeekWire on our Geeks Give Back campaign in support of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship.

Gold Sponsors: Wave Business, WSGR, Best Buy, WE, Acumatica, Dice and Vulcan.

Silver Sponsors: OfferUp, Xtreme Consulting Group, EY, Hired, EMC/Isilon, Chef,Flowroute and UPS Connect.

Thursday, 9 a.m. — Top Seattle investors raise $12.5M for new ‘startup studio’ Pioneer Square Labs

Longtime Seattle investor Greg Gottesman was our first on-stage guest on Thursday morning, joining us to reveal the first public details about his new “startup studio” called Pioneer Square Labs.

"We're building on top of the great startup ecosystem that exists here in Seattle" @greggottesman @pioneersqlabs @geekwire #GWSummit

— Julie Sandler (@juliesandler) October 1, 2015

Dear @greggottesman and the Geekwire folks, Katie Holmes rose to stardom in Dawson's Creek not 7th Heaven. #GWSummit

— Dina Bass (@dinabass) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 9:20 a.m. — Former Amazon execs: Working at Amazon a cinch compared to startup life

Former Amazon.com executives Nadia Shouraboura, Dave Cotter, and Sandi Lin shared insights into what it was like working at the Seattle tech giant during a panel moderated by New York Times reporter David Streitfeld, co-author of “Inside Amazon, Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace.”

This #gwsummit panel is with the @nytimes reporter who wrote the Amazon expose and three former employees. Saucy!

— ashmatty (@ashmatty) October 1, 2015

https://twitter.com/stentontoledo/status/649628517362044928

Thursday, 10:20 a.m — Join our Geeks Give Back campaign and help raise money to fund STEM education

Naria Santa Lucia, executive director of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, and University of Washington computer science student Rutha Nuguse kick off the annual Geeks Give Back campaign, a new program GeekWire launched with Bank of America that will help support low and middle-income students in Washington state to pursue STEM degrees. Later on Thursday, Seattle angel investor Gary Rubens said he would match donations to the effort up to $125,000.

Rutha Nuguse, @UW #compsci, & WA @OppScholarship recipient:
"In 10 years, I'll have my own innovation center. And I'll be hiring." #GWSummit

— Frank Catalano (@FrankCatalano) October 1, 2015

"Obsessed with the possibility the computer represented." Inspired by @RNuguse's journey – tears in the 3rd row! #GWSummit

— Roxana Nelson (@roxanameiko) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 10:50 a.m. — For Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff, creating a softer workplace culture was always the goal

Zillow Group CEO Spencer Rascoff discussed everything from the culture at Zillow, his company’s future, and why he likes to tweet.

"Always hire better than yourself. You should want those reporting to you to outshine you." – @spencerrascoff #GWSummit

— Becauz.com (@BecauzLLC) October 1, 2015

Spencer Rascoff gave shout out to @JohnLegere engagement to social media as part of his transparency in leadership #GWSummit @Logic2020

— Jason Fujioka (@Fuj_in_Seattle) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 11:25 a.m. — Xbox chief Phil Spencer on how Microsoft recovered from early Xbox One blunders

Xbox chief Phil Spencer discussed a number of interesting insights into Microsoft’s gaming arm, touching on topics like Minecraft, Halo 5, and the company’s early mistakes with the Xbox One launch.

The humility of Phil Spencer (@XboxP3 ) from @Xbox is making me a @Microsoft fan again! #GWSummit

— Salim Hemdani (@shemdani) October 1, 2015

Phil Spencer, Microsoft, on buying #Minecraft & its players' role: "You don't own Minecraft. You manage, you curate it." #GWSummit #edtech

— Frank Catalano (@FrankCatalano) October 1, 2015

Great to so many people from the local Seattle tech community at #gwsummit today.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 1 p.m. — Nick Hanauer to tech community: Step up your social and civic engagement

Nick Hanauer, co-founder of venture capital firm Second Avenue Partners and founder of Civic Ventures, offered up opinions on minimum wage, gun control, and a number of other topics he is passionate about.

@NickHanauer Fireside chat at #GWSummit is brutally honest and fascinating.

— David L. Allen (@cougardave92) October 1, 2015

Inspiring wisdom from @nickhanauer encouraging tech community to be engaged in civic challenges @geekwire #GWSummit

— Penny Harwood (@PenelopeHarwood) October 1, 2015

.@NickHanauer giving an amazing talk. "The minimum wage is the most powerful tool we have to raise everyone up" #GWSummit

— ⎝ EvangelistNinja ⎠ (@EvangelistNinja) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 1:30 p.m. — Reporter John Markoff and Microsoft Research head Peter Lee talk self-driving cars, robots taking the SAT and the AI of Hollywood

In one of the more geeky chats of the day, New York Times reporter John Markoff and Microsoft Research VP Peter Lee dove deep into the world of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on our future.

Loved hearing about the future of deep-learning and AI with @peteratmsr and @markoff #GWSummit

— Roxana Nelson (@roxanameiko) October 1, 2015

Peter Lee and John Markoff talking about laundry folding robots! #gwsummit @geekwire

— Charles Gust (@CharlesMGust) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 2:10 pm. — Red planet vs. blue planet: Lori Garver looks ahead to Mars and the future of space

Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver joined freelance journalist Alan Boyle on stage for a space-related chat that included topics like sending astronauts to Mars and discovering a blue planet around an alien sun.

.@Lori_Garver: What a rover on Mars can do in 100 days, a human on Mars could do in one. #GWSummit

— Sol Villarreal (@solv17) October 1, 2015

Former NASA Deputy Administrator @Lori_Garver
on #space and the search for life, the strategy is summed up as, "Follow the water." #GWSummit

— Frank Catalano (@FrankCatalano) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 2:55 p.m. — GeekWire Summit 2015: Here are 4 inventions we love

It was so fun hearing four Pacific Northwest-based entrepreneurs describe their products on stage during our first “Inventions We Love” segment. Participating companies included Excy, Wigl, PebbleBee, and You Kick Ass, which ultimately won the audience favorite award.

New products featured on the inventions panel at #GWSummit – @wiglbot @mypebblebee @excyfit and @YouKickAssHero – awesome products!!

— Allison Milton (@allisonmilton) October 1, 2015

Very clever company, http://t.co/2iD5YiFhpU feels like 3D Barbies personalized for geeks. #GWSUMMIT

— Buzz Bruggeman (@Buzzmodo) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 3:30 p.m. — Glassdoor CEO Robert Hohman

Glassdoor CEO Robert Huhman talked about his 8-year-old company, a leader of the online employment community on recruiting and managing top employees, and building successful businesses in the modern tech economy.

Takeaway from yesterday's @bobhohman from @Glassdoor People want to work for leaders that inspire them and care about them. #GWSummit

— Catherine Waszak (@CatherineWaszak) October 2, 2015

"You can't ask people to sacrifice relationships."@Glassdoor's @bobhohman on the importance of work-life balance #futureofwork #GWSummit

— Denny Mountain Media (@DennyMountain) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 4 p.m. — 500 Startups co-founder Dave McClure: 90 percent of VCs are going to look like idiots in 10 years

Brady Forrest, Vice President of Highway1, and Dave McClure, Co-founder of 500 Startups, wrapped up Thursday with an energetic discussion about venture capital, a potential tech bubble, and their new Syfy reality show, “Bazillion Dollar Club.”

 

.@brady on what the Seattle startup scene needs most: more angel money invested in early-stage startups. #GWSummit

— Sol Villarreal (@solv17) October 1, 2015

Dave McClure, @500Startups on good #startup areas: "There are opportunities in education … we just haven't tapped into." #GWSummit #edtech

— Frank Catalano (@FrankCatalano) October 1, 2015

.@davemcclure predicts visual marketing via @Pinterest, @YouTube on #mobile will be top tech in 2018 #GWSummit

— David Rollison (@OhHaiDRol) October 1, 2015

Thursday, 5 p.m. — Opening Night Party at Sullivan’s Steakhouse

GeekWire Summit speakers, attendees and other VIPs gathered after Thursday’s sessions to eat, drink, and network at Sullivan’s Steakhouse. We also brought in a fun retro gaming arcade, where people played pinball, Pac-Man, and more.

Friday, 9 a.m. — DocuSign’s Tom Gonser on his decision to be founder and chief strategist, but not CEO

DocuSign founder Tom Gosner joined GeekWire reporter Tricia Duryee on stage to talk about handing over the CEO reins of his electronic signature company and the transition for DocuSign from a startup to a multi-national.

.@DocuSign @tgonser "You don't have to be the CEO when you found a company." Do what you're passionate about within the company. #GWSummit

— Megan Nelson (@megannels) October 2, 2015

@tgonser glad to get a glimpse of your vision for @DocuSign. Your passion is remarkable #GWSummit #technology #change #founders #Seattle

— Ashley Hum (@Ashley_Hum) October 2, 2015

Friday, 9:30 a.m. — Asteroids, plagues and why science needs more sex appeal: Our futurists take on the good and bad in tech

Science fiction writers, technologists, and a former astronaut came together for a fascinating chat about the future of science and space in a discussion moderated by GeekWire columnist Frank Catalano. Panelists included Hugo-award winning sci-fi writer Nancy Kress; computer scientist, futurist, and award-winning author Ramez Naam and former NASA astronaut and Sentinel Mission CEO Ed Lu.

We are overdue for the next new plague – vastly underprepared- Nancy Kress #GWsummit

— ⚡️Kathy E Gill (@kegill) October 2, 2015

"I think California already claimed that water they found on Mars," – @ramez at #GWSummit

— ashmatty (@ashmatty) October 2, 2015

"I think we need to motivate kids to WANT to study Science" – Former Astronaut @astroEdLu gets the importance of #STEMeducation #GWSummit

— WA Opp Scholarship (@OppScholarship) October 2, 2015

Friday, 10:20 a.m. — Geeks Give Back announcement with University of Washington student neurobiology student Mahdi Ramadan

Our second Geeks Give Back announcement featured UW stuent Mahdi Ramadan, who told his personal story and how, with the help of Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, he overcame struggles to make it to the UW.

Another inspiring speech by a recipient of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship – Mahdi Ramadan. #gwsummit #damascusrose

— Psalm Terry (@psalmterry) October 2, 2015

Friday, 10:55 a.m. — Power Talk with Dr. Jim Olson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

@DrJimOlson talking cancer technology at #GWSummit Fascinating and gives me hope. Plus gritty photos of cancer tumors. Cancer sucks.

— David L. Allen (@cougardave92) October 2, 2015

https://twitter.com/stentontoledo/status/650008297064415233

Amazing and jaw dropping work with highly targeted cancer therapies by Dr Jim Olsen of Fred Hutch – #GWSummit

— Deep Dhillon (@zang0) October 2, 2015

Friday, 11:15 a.m. — Here’s what changed — and what didn’t — at Concur after its $8.3 billion acquisition by SAP

Fresh off the company’s purchase by SAP, the leaders of tech powerhouse Concur shared insights from building a successful company, and life after the acquisition.

#GWSummit "If we want to live in a world of diversity, we have to push up to create it." Elena Donio @elenadonio – Concur

— Jen Mallory (@jenmallory) October 2, 2015

"Great software and great solutions are invisible. They happen automatically." — @Concur CEO Steve Singh. #gwsummit

— Taylor Soper (@Taylor_Soper) October 2, 2015

Always enjoy #GWSummit. Thx @toddbishop @johnhcook for helping build Seattle tech community. @elenadonio you are as always incredible.

— Steve Singh (@SteveSSingh) October 2, 2015

Friday, 1 p.m. — Tech-savvy Sen. Maria Cantwell says Hillary Clinton needs to respond faster in the digital age

Sen. Maria Cantwell dug into her tech background to offer presidential candidate Hilary Clinton some free campaign advice: “I think you have to respond more rapidly.”

Maria Cantwell says we used Al Gore for our first 14.4k streaming because he is so monotone @SenatorCantwell #gwsummit @Logic2020 @algore

— Jason Fujioka (@Fuj_in_Seattle) October 2, 2015

Friday, 1:15 p.m. — Power Talk: Analyzing disasters on social media

Kate Starbird, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington, discussed the emerging field of crisis informatics — the study of how information-communication technologies are used during crisis events.

Here's former @WNBA star @katestarbird teaching us about social computing during crisis events. What a talented woman. #GWSummit

— ashmatty (@ashmatty) October 2, 2015

Friday, 1:35 p.m. — Head engineers talk about hiring, innovating and building world-class products in Seattle

Top technical leaders shared insights on hiring, innovating and building world-class products in an ultra-competitive industry. University of Washington computer science professor Ed Lazowska led the discussion with top technologists, including Redfin CTO Bridget Frey, Socrata CTO Deep Dhillon and Tim Prouty, head of Seattle software engineering at Uber.

https://twitter.com/sleuth/status/650050929245315076

Amazing talk on engineering mid day at the #gwsummit!

— ⎝ EvangelistNinja ⎠ (@EvangelistNinja) October 2, 2015

Friday, 2:15 p.m. — Kids Tech Panel

We invited four special guests to share their unique insights on technology and the future.

Kids Tech Panel #GWSummit these kids are incredible!!!!!!

— Laura Doehle (@LauraDoehle) October 2, 2015

"Don't speculate, rely on data" – Rebecca, age 10. Wise words from a future innovator! #GWSummit @geekwire

— Redfin (@Redfin) October 2, 2015

Friday, 2:55 p.m. — Inventions We Love

Our second “Inventions We Love” segment included presentations from Glowforge, Vicis, Illumagear and the MSR SE200 Community Chlorine Maker, which ultimately took home the audience favorite award.

"Well, I don't think we need the app for that one." SE200 wins @geekwire Inventions We Love Vote with roaring audience applause! #gwsummit

— PATH (@PATHtweets) October 2, 2015

"Inventions We Love". Vicis. New philosophy in head protection equipment. @DamonHuard has a sledgehammer! #gwsummit

— Charles Gust (@CharlesMGust) October 2, 2015

 

Friday, 3:30 p.m. — Nike COO: We’re talking about opening a Seattle engineering center

We closed out the Summit with a sports-filled chat that featured Nike COO Eric Sprunk, who shared insight into the culture and innovation at Nike.

 

On Nike's future in tech: No matter the device consumer wears, Nike wants to own the ecosystem + build better experience for them #GWSummit

— Natalie Beaulieu (@NatalieBeau1ieu) October 2, 2015

"Leaders create an environment where everyone feels they can show up and do their best." @Nike COO Eric Sprunk #GWSummit

— Megan Nelson (@megannels) October 3, 2015

I love that @geekwire is asking @Nike COO about work-life balance. Did I mention it's a man? #leanintogether #leanin #gwsummit

— Julie Smith (@smJulie) October 2, 2015