Alyssa and Nick, this is just the beginning…

13 Nov 2011 | 19 Comments | posted by Peter Chee | in thinkspace team

Seattle Geek Roast Recap – November 11, 2011

Photos Credit: Brandon Bleek Photography

Two weeks ago I sat in the office with Alyssa and said “I have a proposal, I’m wondering if you and Nick would allow us to try and do a fundraiser for you guys. Shauna and I were on the phone last night and we thought it might be good to do something different — create an event called Seattle Geek Roast and blend it together with an fundraiser/auction”. Alyssa, thank you for saying “yes”. That really took a lot of courage for both you and Nick to agree to do that. If I were in your shoes, I don’t know what I would have done if someone asked me that same question.

Borderline Between Chaos and Order

Sometimes I’m a bit naive when taking on things. It’s a double edged sword – I pretty much believe that anything can be done if you put your mind to it and I sometimes I get into situations that can be clearly beyond my abilities. I tend to envision what would be the most amazing thing possible and then go for it. Things tend to be on the borderline of chaos and order and that seems to be ok with me. The one thing that I will say is that I’ve always found ways to surround myself with people that are way smarter than me and I just get out of their way.

It’s Not Me… It’s The Volunteers

All throughout the evening of Seattle Geek Roast, people kept saying nice things to me about what I did for Alyssa and Nick. Everyone was amazed that this event was planned in less than two weeks. Firstly, it’s not just me. It’s the volunteers… all 37+ of them. After launching the website “www.seattlegeekroast.com” in two days (kudos to Savannah Bridge for designing the Seattle Geek Roast header), we created a volunteer page that had 37 volunteer positions listed on it and in less than 2 days we had nearly 30 positions filled. Please check out the list of amazing volunteers (to see exactly the role), these people are the one’s that really made this event possible. Please stop thanking me and thank them. One person that clearly needs a shout out is Shonda Kearns. She jumped in during the last five days, worked around the clock, and carried me across the finish line.

The Amazing Volunteers:

Lisa Collins, Jay Collins, Debbie Isaman, Jacki Magnotti, Justine Magnotti, Mario Magnotti, Michelle Magnotti, Linda Magnotti, Melody Kieffer, Robyn Vaccaro, Scott Dowling, Derek Delconte, Danielle Bartoletti, Mieka Miller, Meredith Teague, Mike Ma, Brian Warnock, Heather Fernandez, Rebecca Dufek, Matt Ebert, Brandon Bleek, Joshua Hicks, Kelly Clay, Adam Wozney, Karianne Stinson, Kristi Waite, Savannah Bridge, Martin Thall, Miriam Kelly, Shonda Kearns.

What I Cherish The Most

Over the last two whirlwind weeks of planning this event, the memories that I will cherish the most are the individual conversations that I got to have with a lot of special people. I risk leaving a lot of people out but I’m going to highlight a few.

  • Shauna Causey: Heart of Gold, Creative Thinker. Giver. The perspective to keep this event light-hearted even though this situation is off-the-chart serious was exactly what was needed.
  • Daniel Angellar (Marriott): Your conversation with Alyssa and I nearly brought me to tears. You have an abundance of generosity, sincerity, and compassion.
  • Linda Benson (HopeLink): The conversation with Alyssa and I was strengthening. What you do everyday for people inspired me so that I could try to do same thing for one day for Alyssa and Nick.

I have to highlight these individuals because they gave unconditionally even when they knew they couldn’t even attend the event on 11.11.11.

Reminisce In The Moment

Our first speaker at Seattle Geek Roast, Bill Wixey (Q13 Fox News Achor), said something that completely resonated with me. He said “It’s hard to believe, but cancer can be a blessing in some ways. It makes you realize what you have. It makes you present and wistful. You actually REMINISCE IN THE MOMENT if that makes any sense.” In the context of “reminisce in the moment” I can relate. I felt that same way when my identical twin boys were being delivered one month pre-mature. I remember reflecting at that moment in the delivery room looking down at my wife, I don’t know whether or not these two babies are going to be healthy or not, but, we’re blessed and this is going to change our lives forever.

[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyKSitfjFWM]

It Takes A Village to Cure a Cancer Patient

Our second speaker was My Tam Nguyen. My conversation with My Tam a week earlier made me tear up. My Tam is 27 years old and told me her story and what she lives through when she goes through chemotherapy. She described it as both mentally and physically challenging (and the word challenging is being completely understated). My Tam says “It’s when we’re at the point of living and dying that we learn the true meaning of life”. Through her speech, she talked about community — that is what one of the things that helped her get through this. She brought up the quote “It takes a village to raise a child” and said “It takes a village to cure a cancer patient”.

[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUhbGo-299c]

Fun and Full of Laughter

The seven geeks that put themselves out there for public voting have to be recognized. Chris Pirillo, Jenni Hogan, Kevin Urie, Jeremiah Andrick, Andrew Edwards, Shauna Causey, and Brian M. Westbrook. Thank you so much for participating in that. It certainly kept the event fun and entertaining. Also keeping it fun was auctioneer, Larry Snyder, who allowed me to toe-the-line between insanity and order. I’m happy to now have a new friend with a huge heart for others. Larry is awesome and exactly the right person to run our auction. Our Emcee was @BMW (Brian W. Westbrook) and he was absolutely brillant. Between Brian and Larry they managed to keep the flow of the event in complete balance. I must say the one of the most funny things that happened was during the public voting — Jenni Hogan (KIRO7 News Anchor) tweeted out:

That easily instigated a flurry of votes for Jenni having a reverse psychology effect on her fans.

Startups Are a Roller Coaster Ride, Seattle Geek Roast Was No Different

We had all the ups and downs of a startup. Here are some of the random roller-coaster things that occured:

  • This is going to be HUGE!
  • Is anyone going to register?
  • Where’s break-even on ticket sales again?
  • Pivot! We’re going to lose money on the event, axe the food! Change the time!
  • Why is sales the most difficult thing in a startup?
  • We’re getting press! Woo-hoo, it’s going to be HUGE!
  • Uh oh, we suddenly are way over budget on food? How did that happen?!
  • A few miracle donors help us out with food sponsorships!
  • Officially SOLD OUT! #GeekRoast!!!!!

Attendance and Donations

We had 272 ticket sales of which 40 people selected “I’m so bummed! I can’t attend but here’s my donation!”. We had a ton of people register at the door and bring a guest or two. The actual attendance count is unknown but it seemed like we had 280+ people. The total number of auction donations was over 130+ items! The big sponsors were: The Marriott, Archive Solutions Providers, Heinz Marketing, Swift Creek Games, Passport Unlimited, Design Labratory, Brian Franklin of PMF Investments, and Spring Creek Group. Dessert was donated by Little Prague Bakery! Thank you all so much! We also ran all of our auction credit card payments through “Credit Card Terminal for iPad” — big thanks to Derek Delconte with Innerfence. I think that really helped out as we didn’t have to clear payments at the end of the night. We raised approximately $50,000 from the event!

Photos Credit: Brandon Bleek Photography

For me, the outcome of Seattle Geek Roast is way beyond what I had ever hoped for. I don’t know how else to say this but to all the volunteers, auction donors, supporters, friends and family, I really don’t know how to adequately thank each of you for your generosity and support for Alyssa and Nick.

Photos Credit: Brandon Bleek Photography

I’ve always believed that family and friends are pretty much the most important thing when it’s all said and done. It’s always been about the relationships. During the last two weeks as I’ve had heart-to-heart conversations with a lot of people and I think it really crystalized at the event – it is all about the human heart and human spirit… everything else can be taken away from you and that is what I saw a lot of from each of you whether you attended the event or not.

Alyssa and Nick, this is just the beginning – our support for you both doesn’t stop with this event. The community that surrounds you will be with you every step of the way. You both mean so much to us and our thoughts and prayers are with you now and on November 22, 2011 (Nick’s surgery date).

Nick & Alyssa Magnotti at Seattle Geek Roast:

[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/oFOMJszFsWk]

Ways to Continue to Give:

  • Write a check to “Nick Magnotti Benevolent Fund” and mail your check to Thinkspace, c/o Nick Magnotti Fund, 8201 164th Ave NE, Suite 200 Redmond, WA 98052
  • Drop off your check at any BECU Branch and say it’s for the “Nick Magnotti Benevolent Fund”.
  • Go to NCF Seattle and click on “Benevolence & Ministry Funds” on the right hand side of the website and find the “Donate” button next to “Nick Magnotti Fund”.

[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/cepEgw4cq40]

Here are more of the photos from the night from Brandon Bleek Photography.

Our Star Wars Characters:

Other links:

Videos from #GeekRoast @billwixey @mytamn @alyssamag @pchee

11 Nov 2011 | 1 Comment | posted by Peter Chee | in events

For those of you that missed Seattle Geek Roast or want to watch some of the highlights here are four video clips of Nick and Alyssa sharing their story and providing an update of what they have been going through over the last week. Bill Wixey, Q13 FOX News Anchor, shares his story as a cancer survivor. My Tam Nguyen, shares her story about her battle with cancer. It was quite an inspiring evening — you can read the recap if you’d like. The last video is of me addressing the standing room only crowd.

Nick & Alyssa Magnotti at Seattle Geek Roast:

[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/oFOMJszFsWk]

Bill Wixey at Seattle Geek Roast:

[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyKSitfjFWM]

My Tam Nguyen at Seattle Geek Roast:

[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUhbGo-299c]

Peter Chee at Seattle Geek Roast:

[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/cepEgw4cq40]

Ways to Continue to Give:

  • Write a check to “Nick Magnotti Benevolent Fund” and mail your check to Thinkspace, c/o Nick Magnotti Fund, 8201 164th Ave NE, Suite 200 Redmond, WA 98052
  • Drop off your check at any BECU Branch and say it’s for the “Nick Magnotti Benevolent Fund”.
  • Go to NCF Seattle and click on “Benevolence & Ministry Funds” on the right hand side of the website and find the “Donate” button next to “Nick Magnotti Fund”.

Resources for Creating an Internship Program

27 Sep 2011 | No Comments | posted by Kristin Eide | in hiring, internships, small business

Over the weekend, I blogged about why small business owners should consider hiring an intern. Here are a few more suggestions and resources for developing a successful internship program:

  • Figure out what type of internship you want to create. It’s important to be specific so your internship applicants are clear about what type of opportunity they are applying for. Ask your team what areas they need help with. Is it a marketing internship? Sales internship? Design internship? etc.
  • Decide what skills you are looking for in a potential intern. Remember, you’re recruiting students who have very little workplace experience. Therefore, you need to look for success in specific classes and campus involvement. For example, if you are hiring a marketing intern you may want to look for journalism students with fantastic writing skills. If you’re looking for a sales intern, you might want to look for students who have volunteered time fundraising for a non-profit. It’s important to read between the lines when looking at academic resumes.
  • Reach out to specific departments at your local university for  student recommendations. This is where your network comes in handy. Ask your employees who have graduated more recently for help. If you were involved with a greek organization in college, sending an email to your local chapter’s president or academic chair is a great first step.
  • Check out InternMatch‘s slide deck on writing a great internship description:

For those of you who’ve had success hiring an intern for your small business, what resources were valuable to you?

 

Deep Domain – Saving Healthcare Software & Keeping Costs Low

26 Sep 2011 | No Comments | posted by Kristie Price | in member spotlight, technology, thinkspace member

 

Deep DomainDeep Domain, Inc. began in 2007, a small startup in Redmond, WA but the fifth business of  Howard Mahran. Deep Domain is a software company with a focus in healthcare. They’ve set out to help hospitals and clinics easily get information out of their electronic medical records systems.

With Deep Domain it’s possible to create an application that will run on top of multiple platforms without customization. They make getting information easier and simplify the process. There is now a way to reduce the time and cost to develop and run applications.

Deep Domain applies logic or “domain expertise” to hospital records and then provides the data to reporting software. If doctors want to pull all the information on their diabetic patients, they’d use Deep Domain to pull the data more easily. There’s no extra coding or IT work for hospitals and wait time for sensitive information is dramatically reduced.

In Deep Domain’s software they provide portable domain knowledge that anyone can plug into a system. It’s independent and agnostic to the systems that are running. This means someone at one hospital that’s using a certain system can use exactly the same domain logic over at another hospital. The programmers don’t have to program that code. Ladies and gentlemen, domain expertise is now bundled.

This frees a hospital’s IT team to focus on the look and feel of the information, creating a better user experience. “All of sudden the effort to get information goes way down. About 80% of the workload goes down,” says Mahran. Translation? Doctor’s get the information they need sooner rather than later. Sounds like a win-win for everyone.

“Data is a mess at hospitals—they can’t get to it easily. So we wanted to make it cheaper and faster” says Mahran.

Sound like Deep Domain has done just that.

The Five Things You Should Do Every Day

25 Sep 2011 | No Comments | posted by thinkspace | in entrepreneurship, productivity, thinkspace member

More execution, less talkThis is a guest post from one of our members, Matt Heinz from Heinz Marketing. Read more from Matt on his blog, Matt on Marketing.

It’s incredibly easy to get sucked into the day, every day. You can get lost in email, lost in meetings, lost in your RSS feed or social networks. You can feel busy, pulled in a thousand directions, and yet not make forward progress for yourself, your team or your business.

The trick, of course, is to go into the day with a plan, with priorities, and stay focused on what’s most important. You have to be both focused and disciplined to get the most important work done and ignore distractions (both external and internal) that will derail you.

As part of your daily routine, I recommend ensuring the following five things become core to how you build value, deliver external results, and improve yourself for future success.

Learn
Devote time to learning from others – live, online, in books and magazines, via podcasts and Webinars. Scan the email newsletters you receive (and have them auto-filtered into a special folder as to not distract from core work in your primary inbox). However you do it, devote time each day to making yourself better and smarter.

Build
In other words, create something. Make something new that will attract more people to you, and help you make more money. This isn’t just for software developers and manufacturers. This is for those who write white papers, design email templates, build new landing pages, and test new sales scripts. No matter your role, the more you build, the more likely you’ll have something that furthers your objectives and sales targets.

Network
It would be easy to combine this with the “Learn” objective above, because a huge part of meeting new people and staying in touch is what you learn from them, in a variety of ways and contexts. Network in a way that helps you meet new people every day – online and offline – and provide immediate value back to them in the process.

Sell
Your product, your services, your abilities, your ideas. Selling doesn’t always require the exchange of money. Have a great new idea but need your manager’s approval to move forward? Sell it. Need an extra round of funding for your start-up to finish that new product? Sell it. Need to drive higher response for your next lead generation Webinar? Sell.

Do
This is the catch-all, and it’s easy to think of almost anything as “doing”. But checking your email doesn’t count. Setting up another meeting doesn’t count either. Define your “doing” based on external impact. What are you doing that has real, directional impact on your business, your customers, your own personal and professional aspirations? Define that narrowly, specifically, and start doing.