Category: Speakers

We received the most submissions we’ve ever gotten for an Ignite Seattle, and whittling it down to what you see here was very hard to do. That said, save the date, and hold on to your hats, this is going to be our biggest Ignite EVER!

We’re very happy to present the speaker list for the next Ignite Seattle on June 14th (listed in no particular order):

Beth Goza (@bethgo) Lifecrafting 101: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and “Go with the Flow”
Flow as defined by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning.” After some recent and incredibly upheavaling (not sure if that’s even a word) events in my life, I’ve discovered that “making and doing” are the keys to staying engaged and feeling fully alive.

Matt Harding (@WhereTheHIsMatt) The Imaginary Line of Ancient Cosmic Weirdness

Aimee Cardwell (violet) A tale of two taxis
A lot of us take taxis for business, but how do you find a taxi in a city you’ve never been in before? The Taxi Magic app is truly magic, all over the US (no, I don’t work for them, but it sure does work for me). But what happens when a taxi ride goes wrong? I’ve got the inside story on what happens when you call that “report a driver” number on the inside of every Seattle cab. Statements, hearings, and fines, oh my!

Mark Selander Commut-A-Pult
What if there was a better way to get to work in Seattle? A way to bypass all of the bridges, the freeways, the viaduct. Lightrail? Monorail? Carpooling? No, we’ve been there, it’s time for the future.

It’s time for Commut-A-Pult. Commut-A-Pult is a proposed aerial transport system that will literally launch passengers over the congestion and directly to their destination. Think of it as a Human Cannonball crossbred with a Smart car all with the cachet of Virgin Galactic.

Kim Prohaska (@kimprohaska) “Rocks” Your Mother Wouldn’t Approve Of: Ice Cube Applications for Cocktails
An iPhone without apps is much like a cocktail without ice, no substance, swirl or style. Having worked on consumer marketing side of the booze and restaurant world for nearly seven years, I’ve learned ice cubes have become an art form that geeks of all cocktail tastes can appreciate. Give me five minutes and you will never look at a cocktail the same way, ever again.

Andy Sack (@andysack) Why an incubator matters to the future of Seattle

Vanessa Fox (@vanessafox) Finding the Meaning of Life

Bradley Vickers (@nwrower) How to Row across the North Atlantic, Ration Food and Not Have Your Teammates Eat You
This adventure began with 4 friends from college on the shores of the Puget Sound and took us from New York to England over the course of 71 days in an Ocean Row Boat (29×6’). We rowed by pairs in 2 hour shifts all 24 hours of the day.

We had planned for each rower to have a daily consumption rate of between 7,000-8,500 calories. I miscalculated. My error put our lives in danger and seriously compromised our ability to complete the ocean row we had spent the past 18 months preparing for.

Marcelo Calbucci (@calbucci) The Sniff Test for Events & Conferences
How do you know a conference is worth attending? Or that networking event? How do you know Ignite Seattle is worth attending?

The number of events in tech, startups, entrepreneurship, geekdom and other areas are exploding and a lot of them simply suck. But some don’t. This talk is about using the “sniff test for events,” which is a theory I develop several years ago — before I started doing my own events.

Scott Bright (@scottbright) 5 Simple Rules for Fostering Commercial Innovation
Most people spend more time with their co-workers than their spouse, children, family and friends – so why does corporate culture mostly suck? Here are some observations for nurturing a sustainable spirit of innovation among an entrepreneurial elite, gleaned from over a decade of managing teams and developing breakthrough products for the worlds top brands.

Michelle Broderick (@michellebee) Level Up with Foraging
A beginner’s guide to finding wild edibles in the Northwest that gives you the hows and whys you should want to forage, where and what to forage and perhaps most importantly, how to not kill yourself.

Jeff Shuey (@jshuey) It’s only a little prick
The little prick I’m going to talk about is a needle. A needle and 5 minutes of your life can save 3 lives. During this talk a colleague will be doing a LIVE donation of blood.

In 5 minutes I will inspire the audience to think about giving a pint to save a life. In 5 minutes I will share why I started donating when I was 16 (hint: It was my father). In 5 minutes I will help everyone in the audience realize that they can give a pint and save a life. In 5 minutes I will help people realize how easy it is to give back.

Dan Shapiro (@danshapiro) Hacking birth
Like everything in life, having a baby has certain defaults. As a proud geek parent, you can do better. You’ll hear a technique to get the head of the department as your personal doctor, lighting tips for delivery room photography, and how to hack the special care unit to get a sick kid home faster. You’ll even learn how Dad can help mom with breastfeeding, no nipples required.

Noah Iliinsky (@noahi) How to buy a bicycle
About twice a month, all summer, someone asks me for help or advice on buying a bike. Now, inspired by the famous Rob Gruhl, I’m prepared to give a talk that covers everything you need to know to buy a bicycle.

Ellen Beeman (guonbeeman) Quit your Job, Get a Career
This 5 minute talk will cover how to evaluate, with specific criteria, whether your current job is building or harming your career, why and how you want to build a professional network of your current coworkers, and how those coworkers will get you your next job.