Supporting technology companies in Washinton State
I had two interesting meetings today. One was with Ken Myer, President and CEO of the Washington’s Technology Association and the other was Nathan Kaiser over at nPost. Both Ken and Nathan are working hard to bring value, services and camaraderie to information workers across the state. Nathan’s organization is a grass roots effort that has grown steadily over the last few years. His events draw hundreds of up and coming entrepreneurs and diligent techies who share beer, business cards and stories in a typically casual environment. Silicon Valley has dozens of these kinds of events each month but in Seattle there just aren’t enough of them. I’m glad guys like Nathan give their own time to do this as a very appreciated side project.
Earlier this month I was a panelist at the WSA 2008 Predictions Dinner - my first WSA event in years. Frankly, I seem to recall years ago that the whole WSA thing seemed a bit staid for my tastes but Ken is an energetic and ambitious guy who has great plans for the non-profit. He started as CEO about a year ago and he’s constantly trying to add new value for members, bring on new board members who provide fresh perspective and grow the base such that everyone benefits. He pointed out that there are more than 1,000 member companies representing more than 80,000 technology sector employees. Of those companies, 75% are less than 100 employees. No wonder that offerings such as Group Purchasing Cooperative - where members can purchase essential products & services such as health insurance, telecommunications, payroll services and more are so popular! But Ken’s working really hard to continue adding more value that appeals to an even broader base of technology constituents in Washington State. I’m excited to watch the WSA roll out new programs and network more closely with technology entrepreneurs here. If done right, the WSA offerings could one day be a start-up staple for just about anyone looking to cut costs and gain access to a wealth of other benefits. Better still, we’ll see offerings that appeal to even more of the LARGER companies who would bring additional perspective to the membership base. This is a healthy effort for Washington and I’m glad that Ken is driving.
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