Ignite Seattle

Here’s my mini review of Ignite Seattle that I attended tonight. I was so tired I only stayed for the first half of talks. I’ll have to catch the 2nd half when the videos are posted online.

Scotto Moore – “Make art not content” Scott was fantastic. His slides didn’t overwhelm and his preparation impeccable. But it was his delivery that really set him apart from the others. He moved through his slides at a very fast pace but every one was interesting. There was no filler. Probably the best of the night that I saw.

Deepak Singh – “Small medicine: Nanotechnology and biology” Maybe it’s because I was sitting near the back of the room, but I had a tough time understanding Scott. Others seemed to enjoy his talk a lot. He started right into his topic and I knew nothing about nanotechnology so I was lost right from the start. I’d like to see this one again.

Maegan Ashworth – “No, not skin: Epidemiology for the layman” I really enjoyed Maegan’s talk. The slides got a way from her a bit but her content was fascinating. I’d like to see her do this again and I hope that she’s chosen to present at Gnomedex. I won’t soon forget her slide showing the glass of alcohol and the damaged lung. The crowd loved her. Very fascinating talk.

Rob Gruhl – “How to buy a new car” I think this might go down as the most popular talk of the night. Rob was so prepared and so concise that his delivery was perfectly suited to the medium. He was funny yet provided very valuable information such as selling your car instead of trading at the dealer, secure your own financing and walking out of the deal the minute they jerk you around. This is the talk I will remember a month from now.

HB Siegel – “Werewolf Strategy” Have you been in the middle of a conversation when someone starts talking about World of Warcraft or other complex game you’ve never played and you have no idea what they are talking about? That’s how I felt listening to this talk. Siegel was well-prepared and had interesting slides. But I could not figure out the rules to this crazy game for the life of me. It sounded me to me that the goal of the game was to get 13 to 17 people around the table and yell at each other.

Dave McClure – “Startup metrics for Pirates: AARRR!” Although his slides were a mess at times Dave is one of the best public speakers I’ve seen. His delivery was fantastic. Much of his content was over my head but his explanations helped me understand what entrepreneurs should focus on. Does Dave do this for a living? He seemed like a pro.  

Shawn Murphy – “Hacking Chocolate” I had no idea what to expect from Shawn. The content seemed out of place when I heard the topic but turned out to be great for this event. He started out slow but really hit his stride after a minute into his talk. You could tell that Shawn really loves chocolate! I loved his list of spices and other foods that go well with chocolate such as cinnamon and exotic fruits. His slides were great and he had a good grasp of his content. Excellent.

–Randy Stewart also covered the evening and has a good number of links