FROM: Marcelo Calbucci <marcelo@calbucci.com>TO: [Entrepreneurs, Investors, Service Providers, Startups & Enthusiasts of Seattle Startups]SUBJECT: The Seattle Startup industry tipping point of 2011 (your help is welcomed!)It wasn’t that long ago the Seattle startup industry was not even a blimp on the radar, not that other regions were that much better. We were coming from the big dip after the Tech Bubble. At the end of 2004 I’ve made the jump, head first, from corporate life into entrepreneurship. It was a desert. There weren’t many people for me to talk to. Early-stage investment activity was as low as it could be. Online resources were scarce and there wasn’t a “community”.
Fast forward to today and not a week goes by without a half-dozen events for tech startups and entrepreneurs. There are a couple hundred blogs in Seattle from entrepreneurs, investors, lawyers and marketers. The Seattle 2.0 registers more than 500 startups and another 100 or 200 are not even listed there. As a region, we made enough strides to be the number one option for fast growing startups to expand outside their HQ and find great talent. Facebook, Hulu, Zynga and others chose Seattle as their second home. Not Boston, not New York, not Bangalore or Hyderabad, not Beijing or Shanghai.
All that happened in a semi-organic way. There hasn’t been a State-driven mandate to facilitate tech startups’ life. There hasn’t been a single organization or person responsible for it to happen, forcing an agenda upon all of us. However, there have been a few dozen people who made a tremendous amount of difference. I won’t name names because inevitably I will forget a few, but your friends know who you are and I know who you are. Some of you have done it publicly and loudly (like me), but most have done it quietly in their own way. Either way, you’ve made a difference for a lot of people in 2010 and I thank you for that.
I get asked the question why I’m so devoted to the Seattle Startup community every once in a while. The first few times I gave superficial answers while I searched for the real reason. Last year clarity came to me and it’s quite simple: I do it for me and for my family. I deeply believe in the power of the collective, in the power of people working together to benefit all, but also to benefit themselves as individuals. I want to make an impact in my own life and the only way I know (and believe on) how to do that is by creating a strong ecosystem to support my goals.
I have very big goals. I have very ambitious goals that I could never imagine how to achieve them without a very strong group of people around me. I keep sustaining Seattle 2.0 (and another half-dozen organizations I’m involved with) because it’s part of the mesh that makes this industry stronger each day. My plan for 2011 is to do more; to help more entrepreneurs, existing and future; to help more investors, both VCs, angels, and those who want to become angels; to help the lawyers, the recruiters and the marketers and anyone who spends more time than they should just to help others. At the same time I’m dedicated to build a Startup Lab and a couple of startups this year.
I have no doubt in my mind that 2011 will be an extraordinary year for tech startups in Seattle. It’s a buildup that has been happening for the last five years. If you like predictions, I predict the number of exits will double, the number of early-stage investment will grow dramatically, and the number of people who choose a life of building a startup, instead of working their entire career in a corporate office, will go off the charts.
Join me on making Seattle greater by going one extra mile. Help one more entrepreneur by providing valuable and sincere advice. Make one extra introduction between a founder and an investor. Invest in one additional deal. Provide your services at a deep discount for one startup you believe in. Sponsor one more event than the previous year. The tipping point is just around the corner, and that one thing you do could be the action that take us over the edge into a solid tech town with a stronger startup culture. We all will benefit from it. You’ll benefit from it.
Welcome to 2011. It’ll be great!
-Marcelo
WESTERN DIGITAL VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC
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