The Most Influential People in Seattle Tech and Business – seattlemet.com

The early Amazon investor propels Seattle techs virtuous circle.

In the spring of 1995, as a favor for a friend, Tom Alberg started poring over 47 single-spaced pages. The subject? An online internet bookstore. It does a good job describing our vision, Jeff Bezos scribbled at the top of his typed business plan.

Alberg wishes he could say he knew what was to come. It wasnt brilliantly obviousat least not to methat Amazon would be as big as it is today, Alberg writes in his book Flywheels, published this fall.

Still, the McCaw Cellular Communications lawyer saw enough potential in the idea, and the founder, to eventually throw down $50,000 of his own money and become a full-time investor. Bezos named him an advisory director, beginning a 23-year run on Amazons board that gave Alberg a major say in the e-commerce giants rise.

Today, Alberg is a force of his own. Shortly after his angel bet on Amazon, he cofounded a venture capital firm, Madrona Venture Group, whose investments now make or break founders dreams. Name a successful Seattle startup, like Redfin or Rover, and chances are Madronas backed them.

In Silicon Valley, success begat wealth, which led to increased investment, which spurred new firms, and begat more success. Alberg wondered if he could create a similar economic flywheel here.

Such funding wasnt always available. When Alberg and company started the firm, they aimed to fill a critical financing gap in the local tech ecosystem. Despite Microsofts success, the area lacked the deep-pocketed risk-takers to foster a thriving startup scene. In Silicon Valley, success begat wealth, which led to increased investment, which spurred new firms, and begat more success. Alberg wondered if he could create a similar economic flywheel here.

He formed the Alliance of Angels to encourage more seed funders and direct pitches from entrepreneurs. Later, he raised money for the computer science school at the University of Washington. Madrona has invested in about 20 startups emerging from the program. Hes a guy that cant fail to see the future, Challenge Seattle CEO Chris Gregoire said during an interview with GeekWire last year.

So what does Alberg see next? While he hopes the citys tech and political leaders can move past their squabbles to help solve pressing housing and public safety problems, hes more confident about the economic developments to come: He believes biotech and artificial intelligence, especially autonomous vehicles, will drive our next period of technological growth. If history serves, entrepreneurs and investors will line up to join him for that ride.

The Intentionalist founder built a directory to help Seattle consumers find and support local businesses owned by women, people of color, veterans, or members of the LGBTQ community. Her companys next move to bolster a more inclusive local economy? Becoming a payment platform. It functions as a gift card intermediary, making it easier for customers to spend money at places that arent otherwise equipped for those types of transactions.

Hows this for a swerve: a tech company that might actually narrow pay gaps. The Smartsheet cofounder earned a GeekWire startup CEO of the year nom for her work at Syndio, which creates software to eliminate unlawful salary discrepancies due to gender and race. Salesforce and Nordstrom are clients.

While the former Washington governor still holds plenty of sway in the political realm, she helms an alliance of CEOs from the regions largest employersbasically a whos-who of our corporate elite. The Challenge Seattle leader wrangles collaboration from these competitive types, shaping our economic future in the process.

The Seattle establishment shivers every time Jeff Bezoss handpicked successor refers to Amazons HQ1 location as Puget Sound. Hes acknowledged that a rough relationship with city council means Seattles largest employer will increasingly look to grow in Bellevue, but his attachment to South Lake Union will ultimately determine the fate of many small businesses in its orb.

A lack of diversity in the tech world motivated this one-time Microsoftie to cofound a different kind of startup. For nearly 25 years, Technology Access Foundation has equipped children in historically underserved communities with the STEM skills to compete with other job applicants. Because, in this economy, workforce development cant start soon enough.

Self-awareness is hard to come by among the ranks of the Big Five, but Microsofts CEO has solidified the software giants place among techs elite by embracing its nerdiness. Cloud computing has driven the business back from the brink of irrelevance after mobile phone and search engine snafus. A TikTok deal recently falling through was only fitting.

The Gravity Payments CEO isnt bashful about his decision to pay all of his employees at least $70,000. Seven years later, its still right there in his Twitter bio. His credit-card processing company may not be the utopia he paints, but his criticisms of one-percenters and corporate America sound increasingly prescient as more and more workers quit during these Zoom times.

Satyas subordinate shapes Microsofts public image maybe even more than the man in charge. The companys president and de facto diplomat finesses relationships with bigwigs in DC and Silicon Valley while backing everything from journalisms role in democracy to local facial recognition bans. The boss must be happy: The lawyer added vice chair to his title this year.

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The Most Influential People in Seattle Tech and Business - seattlemet.com