Today’s article in the NY Times, ’Seattle Taps Its Inner Silicon Valley, was of interest to me as it highlights what has become very evident to those of us immersed in the technology industry here – Seattle is a hotbed for technology innovation and development.
Author John Markoff touches on the impact companies such as Microsoft, RealNetworks and Amazon have had in the growing Seattle tech industry. These companies and others in the area have been responsible for providing a platform (financial and otherwise), for entrepreneurs to create and innovate. The result is a long list of companies that have evolved from start-ups to established businesses, such as Big Fish Games, Isilon Systems, F5, Cranium (sold to Hasbro), among others – which will shed another round of entrepreneurs into the great Northwest.
Evidence of this inspiration can be seen by viewing the Seattle Start-up Index . This long list includes a number of companies to watch in 2008. *Some* of the companies I believe are worth watching include,
Inrix
Illumita
Mpire
Paperspine
Sparkplug
Sweat365
TalentSpring
Visible Technologies
In the spirit of full disclosure, some of these are clients of Communiqué PR.
So hats off to all the entrepreneurs who foster ’Seattleís inner Silicon Valley.