GeekWire

Veteran tech executive Scott Moore, CEO of Seattle startup AdLightning, joins GeekWire's John Cook and Mike Lewis to discuss the challenges facing downtown Seattle after the pandemic. AdLightning left its headquarters in the Gibraltar building last March and exited the lease in August. The company is currently working remote, and Moore says he’s committed to getting another office at some point. But when he does, Moore says, the office won’t be in downtown Seattle.

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The Seattle area was already experiencing a massive homelessness, mental health and economic disparity crisis prior to COVID-19 hitting.

The pandemic simply exacerbated the issues. But even though the region has been knocked to its knees, several Washington state leaders hold out hope that lessons learned from the pandemic and racial justice reckoning of the past 12 months can lead to a more connected, vibrant and inclusive community.

It's going to take every ounce of strength and will to drive the change, but it can happen, they say. Listen to why they are hopeful in this special episode of the GeekWire podcast, drawn from GeekWire's new Civic Conversations event which took place Thursday afternoon.

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Check out the premiere episode of Day 2, GeekWire's new podcast about Amazon. To hear future episodes, be sure sure to subscribe to Day 2 from GeekWire wherever you listen.

What happens when Amazon makes its own, cheaper version of a product another company painstakingly developed? On the debut episode of Day 2, "Amazon Jungle" author Jason Boyce and GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop speak Peter Dering of Peak Design, whose company issued a savagely funny video mocking Amazon for knocking off its popular camera bag. As you'll hear, Dering's take on the issue is much more evolved and pragmatic than a sound bite on a news segment might suggest. Read more.

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When we reached out to entrepreneur and angel investor Spencer Rascoff on Tuesday with notes about appearing on the GeekWire podcast — an appearance that was scheduled several weeks ago — we mentioned possible discussion topics around SPACs, real estate trends and any other big tech news events of the week. And then we made the age-old journalistic error, pointing out that it had been a "pretty slow news week so far, but I am sure something will pop in the next day or two that might make life interesting."

Indeed it did. But we had no idea that this week's big news would actually involve the former Zillow CEO.

On Thursday, Rascoff — operating through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) known as Supernova — announced the acquisition of Offerpad, a 6-year-old real estate company that, like Zillow, is moving fast to transform the way people buy and sell homes. The deal, which values Offerpad at $3 billion, is fascinating on so many levels with interesting subplots.

Obviously, we had a lot to talk about with Rascoff when he joined the show Thursday afternoon, discussing the inner workings of the Offerpad deal, dissecting SPAC mania and learning why the longtime entrepreneur took issue with parts of our original story.

We also heard about a number of Rascoff's side hustle entrepreneurial projects, including a stealthy new social network he's building with his 15-year-old daughter and a fast-growing startup called Pacaso that's bringing a fractional ownership model to vacation homes.  

Known for an intense working pace, Rascoff also provides hacks on how to better manage your day-to-day work life — hint, he swears by 15-minute meetings and heavy use of Slack. And he offers a few tips for home buyers in this red-hot real estate market. The Los Angeles resident even shares why he calls his venture capital groups 75 & Sunny — yes it harkens back to the many dark and rainy days he spent in Seattle. 

Ex-Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff leads SPAC deal to acquire Offerpad, a rival to his former employer

Ex-Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff jumps back into real estate, launches startup with former colleagues to help people buy second homes

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This week we're presenting a new episode of the GeekWire podcast 2025: Tomorrow, Today featuring a discussion with Julie Sandler of Pioneer Square Labs. It's one in a series of conversations with technology investors on the 2025 podcast. Find more episodes at geekwire.com/2025podcast. We'll be back next week with our regular weekly show.

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We're sharing this special episode of the GeekWire Health Tech podcast featuring our interview with Walter Isaacson about his new book, "The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and the Future of the Human Race." Hear more episodes of GeekWire's Health Tech Podcast at geekwire.com/healthtech. Read more: ‘The Code Breaker’ author Walter Isaacson on the genetic revolution, regional hubs and ethical lines

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This Sunday, March 7, will mark 10 years since GeekWire’s launch. Looking back, we couldn’t have picked a better decade as GeekWire’s first, given our focus on Seattle and Pacific Northwest innovation.

This was the moment that Seattle tech came into its own. We’ve covered the rise of the cloud, Amazon’s boom, Microsoft’s rebirth, the arrival of Silicon Valley engineering centers, disputes, mergers, IPOs, and the emergence of thousands of startups. And in the past year, we’ve covered Seattle as a center of the scientific and philanthropic response to a world-changing pandemic. What happens here matters everywhere. This has become our mantra.

We’ve worked hard, with a great team, and we’ve survived our share of challenges and struggles. But the reason GeekWire is still standing as a profitable media venture is this community, and all of you as readers, sources, listeners, members, sponsors, and supporters. Thank you. GeekWire has been fortunate to get to tell the world about this place for the past 10 years, and we're still at it. We can’t wait to see (and report!) what happens next.

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GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.

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What happens when Amazon becomes an integral part of a community? And what does the outcome say about the tech giant's larger impact on the world?

This week we explore the double-edged sword of the company's rapidly expanding fulfillment and distribution network, through the lens of its large footprint in Southern California's Inland Empire. We also consider the future of its workforce in the buildup to a pivotal union vote in Alabama, and growing wave of robotics and automation.

Our guest is journalist Erika Hayasaki, whose piece, “Amazon’s Great Labor Awakening", in the Feb. 21 issue of the New York Times Magazine, explores the impact of the pandemic and Amazon’s unprecedented growth on its workforce through the lens of the place where she lives, Hayasaki is a freelance writer based in Southern California who teaches in the Literary Journalism Program at the University of California, Irvine

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This week on the show: Amazon vs. Shopify, and what the Seattle tech giant's acquisition of e-commerce startup Selz says about its larger ambitions in retail. Our guest commentator is Jason Boyce, founder & CEO, Avenue7Media, and the co-author of The Amazon Jungle: The Seller’s Survival Guide for Thriving on the World’s Most Perilous E-Commerce Marketplace. Hosted by Todd Bishop; edited by Curt Milton; theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. 

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More than 25 years after Bill Gates’ first book, The Road Ahead, foretold the impact of personal computers and digital technology on our lives, the Microsoft co-founder is back with his third book, this time with a warning and a call to action for the world. 

In “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," due out Tuesday, Gates presents an ambitious but achievable plan for saving the planet, including scientific and technological breakthroughs, and unprecedented efforts on a global scale. 

On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, Gates speaks with GeekWire reporter Lisa Stiffler about the book, his reasons for focusing on the climate, and even the potential for collaborating with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on the issue.

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