Seattle | MO.com on www

May1

“We work hard to make sure everyone feels like they are not working in just another day job, but instead they are working to shape this company… and that not only makes things pretty fun, but is a foundation of our success.”

Amy Balliett

Killer Infographics

Co-founder & Chief Swiss Army Knife

http://www.KillerInfographics.com

Killer Infographics is a boutique data, design and distribution firm located in the heart of Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. In just 2 short years, they have become one of the top infographic design agencies in the world with over 3000 infographic designs to their name and 250+ global clients including Pepsico, Toyota, Dow Jones, Adobe, T-Mobile and more. They offer a turnkey service from research to design to promotion of your static infographic, motion graphic or interactive design.

While Killer Infographics has become a leading infographic agency, it continues to operate as a scrappy startup able to shift focus quickly for its wide array of clientele. Founded in late 2010 by two online marketers, Killer Infographics proudly hosts a team of marketers mixed with some of Seattle’s best designers, to bring a unique level of service and strategy to the infographic industry. We sat down with Killer Infographics co-founder and Chief Swiss Army Knife, Amy Balliett (aptly named based on the many tasks she tackles in a given day), to see what keeps this agency running strong.

MO: You and your partner have bootstrapped the company from day 1. Can you expand on why you’ve never taken funding and even walked away from a high-paying acquisition?

Jan25

“A piece of software can no longer simply provide some value to be wildly successful, it also has to be a pleasure to use.”

Adrian Pike

Stride

CTO

https://StrideApp.com

The team at Stride wants to change the way people think about sales. They were just like you, trying tool after tool to help make the sales process more efficient. But with every new tool they tried, they got further away from their goal — growing their business. That’s why they built Stride.

MO: How does Stride let users focus entirely on managing and closing their deals?

Dec20

“Passion is great, but don’t let it blind you.”

Adam Lieb

Duxter

Founder and CEO

http://www.Duxter.com

Adam Lieb is the Founder and CEO of Duxter, the LinkedIn for Gamers. Duxter is a funded startup in Seattle, WA, poised to be “the next big thing” in gaming. Rather than listen to the conventional wisdom that, “playing games was a waste of time,” Adam turned his passion into business. After starting his first gaming company at age 11, bringing in tens of thousands of dollars selling virtual goods at 13, and building his first million dollar business by 20, Adam founded Duxter, his largest and most prosperous venture yet. Adam believes in challenging the status quo and following your passion.

Nov16

“If you truly believe in your idea, then jump – but think before you do.”

Daniel Pirestani

InDemand

CEO and Founder

http://www.InDemandInterpreting.com

Daniel Pirestani is the CEO and founder of InDemand and creator of Systematech, Inc. (dba InDemand Interpreting), a company dedicated to providing improved patient care for those with limited English proficiency. Daniel is a technology executive in the software industry, with over 15 years of experience growing businesses through technical services in industries such as telecommunications, information technologies, corporate networking, and engineering. He has succeeded in management positions with Fortune 500 companies, such as AT&T, Microsoft, and Best Buy, and was one of the founding members of Northwest Telecom.

Oct9

“Be aware of time wasted and stay focused.”

Red Russak

StartupSeattle

Founder

http://www.StartupSeattle.com

Red Russak is the founder of StartupSeattle, a partnership with Startup Weekend, Microsoft BizSpark, TechStars, and Founder’s Co-op to help startups connect with resources. Under StartupSeattle, Red created a set of web and offline resources, and he has become the hub for Seattle’s technology startup activities. He is passionate about building a sustainable and successful entrepreneurship community. StartupSeattle is focused on supporting entrepreneurship in an organic fashion so as to develop an ecosystem that lasts.

Sep27

“We spent countless hours evaluating all the challenges for merchants who ran unsuccessful promotions and daily deal programs, and we created a smart, yet simple solution that’s win-win for both the consumer and local business owner.”

James Sun

Pirq

CEO

http://www.Pirq.com

James Sun is the CEO of Pirq where he sets and leads the overall business strategy, communication, and execution. Previous to Pirq, he was the founder and CEO of GeoPage.com where he led the company in building a scalable location-based platform for industry-specific commercial and retail applications. James also has Fortune 500 experience where he served as a database programmer at Intel and a management consultant at Deloitte Consulting. As an active angel investor and strategic advisor, he’s helped several startups with strategic business planning, capital investment, international partnerships, and acquisitions.

Pirq has set out to develop a way to help people easily discover restaurant deals near them—wherever they are. In doing so, they’ve re-imagined the deals industry. Pirq has essentially created an entirely new, carefully curated, more relevant source for food-lovers around the world to find amazing deals at their favorite restaurants. Not to mention, a new revenue stream for restaurants, too.

MO: How did you come up with the idea for Pirq?

Sep27

“We focus on helping organizations grow and leverage the potential in their people.”

Peter Jerkewitz

NovusWorks

CEO

http://www.NovusWorks.com/

Peter Jerkewitz is the CEO of NovusWorks, a consulting company that is focused on creating sticky lasting changes that bring improvements in overall business operations. They take a partnership-oriented, hands-on approach to help you achieve your complex business goals, based on strong empathy and a passion for team inclusion and development. The team draws upon decades of experience in project management and business delivery, leadership, team building, creative thinking and strategic insight to help you reach your goals.

Peter brings over 20 years of diverse experience into every conversation and situation. After a nearly 19 year successful career at Microsoft and Amazon.com, Peter began efforts to form NovusWorks in the fall of 2010. He is proud to have worked in a variety of roles, ranging from the individual contributor roles of technical customer support, core developer, test developer and release manager, to the leadership roles of Director of Release Management, Group Program Manager, and Product Unit Manager, responsible for entire product areas. In each of these roles, he learned how businesses and teams work, great leadership skills, and how to respect and leverage each role for what it contributes to ensure success.

MO: What inspired you to start NovusWorks?

Sep5

“We just started with our passion for quotes and ended up building a media platform with a larger population than Germany.”

David Aronchick

Hark

CEO

http://www.Hark.com

Hark is the world’s one and only platform to access, via desktop or mobile, more than three million sound bites, quotes and images spanning pop culture new and old. Additionally, the Hark platform connects content creators – including movie and television studios – with their audiences via the distribution of legal audio content that can be played on any device and shared through social channels including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and more.

David Aronchick, CEO of Hark, has been in the technology industry for 14 years. During this time, he has founded three companies and worked at Microsoft on a variety of teams including Windows Client, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Exchange and IP Ventures. As CEO of Hark, Aronchick has helped create the world’s largest platform for pop culture sound bites. Aronchick holds a BA from Dartmouth College.

MO: Where did the idea for Hark come from?

Mar27

“Spend enough time on the questionnaire before you start programming: that’s the way to create effective and user-friendly surveys.”

Mike Pritchard

5 Circles Research

President & CEO

http://www.5circles.com/

Mike Pritchard, principal of 5 Circles Research, started consulting in 1993 to share the experience gained during his career at technology companies Intel, ICL, and Sperry Gyroscope. 5 Circles Research provides market research services for new product introduction, market sizing and validation, pricing, and customer satisfaction.

5 Circles Research was started as a marketing and technology consulting practice and evolved into a dedicated market research company. The client list includes technology, retail, online, non-profits, food, services, and of course start-ups. Companies such as Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Borders, Amazon, Sharp, Puzzazz, Revollex, Attune Foods, Hylands, have benefited from Mike’s market research skills and business acumen as they explored new opportunities, developed effective strategies, and brought new products and services to market, and also worked on acquisitions, being acquired, or seeking funding.

MO: What inspired you to start 5 Circles Research? Have you always had an entrepreneurial streak?

Mar16

“The most important element in starting a great customer relationship is to eliminate for them the element of perceived risk in working with you…”

David Dallaire

Fennec Consulting

Founder & Principal

http://fennec.co/

David Dallaire, is the Founder and Principal of Fennec Consulting. David is an accomplished problem-solver with a twenty-year international career spanning a diverse set of industries, cultures and disciplines. He has spent his career helping start successful new businesses, streamline and consolidate operations at others and helping both old and new build brands that are ready for the demands of an increasingly demanding global consumer profile.

Fennec Consulting is a consultancy firm with a global reach providing services in Business Planning, Strategic Planning, Marketing Strategy, Brand Development and Interim Management Services. Based in Seattle and serving markets in the US, Asia, Japan and Eastern Europe, they help their clients grow through building an organization focused on creating loyal and profitable customer relationships.

MO: What inspires you both personally and professionally?

Mar9

“Don’t spend six months developing your idea before you show it to somebody. Be wide open with it.”

Jason Karas

Trover

Co-Founder & CEO

http://www.trover.com/

Mike: Hey everyone, thanks for joining me. I’m Mike Sullivan. This is MO.com With me today is Jason Karas of Trover. Trover is a really cool app. I actually checked it out. It’s described as a discovery network designed to allow people to share location specific discoveries. It is pretty cool. I’ll let Jason talk more about it.

Jason, thanks for joining us, and can you tell me a little bit about your background and kind of how you got your start?

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Spotlight: Seattle, Washington

Spotlight Interview: Gordon Logan

Spotlight Interview: David Allen

Spotlight Interview: Chris Babel

“We work hard to make sure everyone feels like they are not working in just another day job, but instead they are working to shape this company… and that not only makes things pretty fun, but is a foundation of our success.”

“A piece of software can no longer simply provide some value to be wildly successful, it also has to be a pleasure to use.”

“Passion is great, but don’t let it blind you.”

“If you truly believe in your idea, then jump – but think before you do.”

“Be aware of time wasted and stay focused.”

“We spent countless hours evaluating all the challenges for merchants who ran unsuccessful promotions and daily deal programs, and we created a smart, yet simple solution that’s win-win for both the consumer and local business owner.”

“We focus on helping organizations grow and leverage the potential in their people.”

“Spend enough time on the questionnaire before you start programming: that’s the way to create effective and user-friendly surveys.”

“The most important element in starting a great customer relationship is to eliminate for them the element of perceived risk in working with you…”

“Don’t spend six months developing your idea before you show it to somebody. Be wide open with it.”

MO Partners

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