This regularly occurring event features a fireside chat with a Seattle University alumni founder who will share their entrepreneurial journey with Seattle University students, alumni, faculty, and the public. The event is open to the public, and will be held in person.
Friday, October 6, 2023 (4-6pm) with Figurehead Brewing (register here)
Friday, January 26, 2024 (4-6pm)
Friday, April 26, 2024 (4-6pm)
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Figurehead Brewing co-founders Bob Monroe and Jesse Warner met in their Albers MBA leadership class at Albers School of Business and Economics. Almost 15 years later, they’re still using the values-led business principles they learned in class to expand their business, Figurehead Brewing Company.
The number of breweries in Seattle has increased 50% over the last decade, according to the Washington Beer Blog. But today one brewery is closing for every new one that opens. In a crowded and competitive market like Seattle breweries, how can a business stand out and continue to grow?
Bob and Jesse, with their third co-founder Jesse Duncan, are bucking the trend and opening a second taphouse location on Stone Way this fall. Their secret to expansion? Sticking to the same core values they developed when they opened in 2016. Every business decision they make prioritizes their mission to build community.
Join Founder Friday to learn more about the craft brewing industry in Washington State and hear how they use values-based business practices to expand while their competitors are shuttering their doors – and get a taste of some of their most popular brews!
About Figurehead Brewing
Figurehead Brewing was founded in 2016 and truly reflects its neighborhood and the traditions of Northwest brewing. Owners and brewers Bob Monroe, and Jesse Duncan were friends and homebrewers who shared a passion for beer and sharing their latest creations with friends. When they met Jesse Warner that passion grew into Figurehead Brewing Co.
Because they brew in small batches there is always something new to try at Figurehead. The brewers like simple, honest, straightforward, high-quality beer. They especially like to focus on the different combinations of malt and yeast without being too aggressive with the hops. There is an impressive lineup of English and Belgian style ales, perfect after a long trip at sea or a walk-in nearby Discovery Park on a blustery day.
In keeping with their desire to brew beers they can share with their friends and neighbors the Figurehead taproom is a great neighborhood pub. On any given day you'll meet folks from down the street on an evening walk, sailors and dockworkers from the Terminal or cyclists at the end of a 20-mile ride.
Join us for a fireside chat with Heidi Yu, Seattle University MBA 2012, a serial entrepreneur, and CEO & Founder of SocialBook.io. She is a recognized thought leader in the social media marketing industry.
Based in the Bay Area, SocialBook is a VC-backed social media analytics and influencer marketing platform that helps brands identify and engage with relevant influencers. The firm's clients come from all verticals and range from big brands to indie games, DTC (direct to consumer) products, to small- and medium-sized businesses such as Amazon sellers, app developers, and more. Some of the most notable brands it has worked with are Amazon, Walmart, DoorDash, Wix, Wish, Lyft, Alibaba, Shopify, EA, and MachineZone.
Don't miss out on this amazing one-time opportunity to meet Heidi Yu and learn how to build your own brand through social media marketing. Find out more about her personal journey as a founder and lessons learned from her experience building and growing SocialBook.
Heidi was profiled in our custom magazine, the Albers Brief, last year. You can read about her views on social media influencers and the inevitable rise of the creator economy.
eDoula is a revolutionary new app that aims to provide accessible and affordable doula services to expectant parents. Doulas are trained professionals who provide emotional, physical, and informational support to families during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. They are an invaluable resource for parents, but unfortunately, doula services can be expensive and not always accessible to everyone. This is where eDoula comes in, an app that connects expectant parents with certified doulas in their area, allowing them to receive the support they need at an affordable price. The app was founded by Dr. Bettina Paek, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who has seen firsthand the benefits of doula support for her patients.
eDoula launched in 2022 with a version for families and one for caregivers to provide labor support for all families. Dr. Bettina Paek is the CEO of eDoula and is excited about the next growth phase of eDoula.
Bettina is a native of Germany, where she attended undergraduate and medical school at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. She trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal Fetal Medicine at the University Hospital in Munich at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA.
To have a larger impact on how maternal healthcare is delivered she pursued a Leadership Executive MBA at Seattle University. She won the 2019 Seattle University Harriet Stephenson Business Plan Competition for a labor support app now called eDoula.
Thomas Angel is Co-Founder and President of Altitude Beverages, a functional beverage company based in Bend, Oregon. Before starting the functional beverage brand, he worked at Boeing for seven years in various roles, with his last position deputy to the President of Boeing China. He earned a degree in international business and economics in 2013 from the Albers School of Business and Economics.
In 2020, Fortune Business Insights projected that the global ready to drink (RTD) coffee market would hit $42.4 billion by 2027. 'Future growth opportunities in the market lie in the clean and functional market positioning [of these drinks],' the research firm said.
Altitude Beverages is poised to be part of this growing phenomenon. Co-founder Thomas Angel, International Business & Economics '13, is Colombian and coffee has always been an integral part of his life. He started the business with wife Laura, a fellow Colombian, after encountering a specific pain point in the functional ingredient space.
'Like many functional ingredient users, we added these powders to our morning coffee. Thus the inspiration for Altitude was born: a routine-based functional beverage that actually tastes good, is accessible, and doesn't cost a fortune to drink daily.' Altitude Beverages is sold online and available at retailers across California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
Daniela Applegate is the co-founder and Head of Marketing at rThreat, a cybersecurity startup headquartered in Bellingham, WA. Daniela's background is in design, marketing, branding, and e-learning with over 8 years of working experience under her belt. Prior to joining rThreat, she worked in the higher education and e-learning space for organizations like Seattle University and the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. Her unique combination of design, marketing, and curriculum development skills empowers her role at rThreat to educate the security industry on the importance of continuous security validation using real-world threats.
Daniela is a proud Latina in tech, and an advocate for women and POC who are interested in a career in cybersecurity. She was a previous Founders Live Seattle pitch competition winner, a finalist in the Women in Cloud #CloudInnovateHER Pitch Challenge, a cohort 7 member of the Women in Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator, and a Seattle University Jones Progress Award winner.
About rThreat
Founded in 2020, rThreat is a breach and attack emulation SaaS platform that challenges your cyber defenses using real-world and custom threats in a secure environment. Think of rThreat as your live fire exercise for cyber attacks.
Our continuous, automated, and realistic controls validation capability allows the CISO to finally answer the perpetual question: Are we secure?
rThreat provides cost-effective, on-demand, and automated capabilities with built-in threat intelligence so organizations can easily implement continuous security validation and remediation. We also develop and provide custom, unknown malware that reflect the most sophisticated blackhat attack methodologies seen in the wild.
The methodologies we use to run our tests provide security teams a true-to-life, realistic assessment of whether or not cyber defenses are configured and working properly. Security and business leaders seeking honest answers about the state of their programs will find rThreat’s platform a critical component of their risk management strategy.
A lover of words, growing things, and eating them, Audra once moonlit as a Currency & Interest Rate Derivatives Marketer on Wall Street. As Founder, President, and OG (Original Girl) of Girl Meets Dirt she now runs a successful specialty food company with 15 employees on Orcas Island that has recently acquired a winery license and will launch a line of naturally fermented orchard fruit sparkling wines in 2022. Having moved to Orcas Island after 10 years in New York City, she spent two years getting her hands dirty, seeking rootedness, and teaching herself to preserve fruit. When a neighbor told her the lore of 100-year old orchards not a stone’s throw away, she knew she’d found a story she needed to tell. A mom of two, native of the Pacific Northwest and natural sugar shaker, she has a BA in Economics from Seattle University and is a graduate of the university’s Honors Program. She also has an MA in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from Columbia University.
Girl Meets Dirt was born of the land. Grew limbs through storms, gained strength with rain, knowledge with history, rootedness with dirt under her fingernails. Seedlings rose, and bore fruit. And she watched, curious & hungry, and learned the art of stretching bounty into winter. This is where the story ends (it always ends) but begins anew – with worn muddy boots and kitchen clogs – a journey in steps, stems, pear seeds, plum pits, and apple flesh. A journey to the fruit of the matter & back, on one island farmette.
Girl Meets Dirt is an Orcas Island-based, fruit preserves company & winery specializing in heirloom jams, shrubs, bitters & petillant natural made from heritage island fruit. The bounty of orchard fruit in the San Juan Islands and their capacity to feed this community for over 135 years is our inspiration. To keep the agricultural legacy of the islands alive and continue to support the orchard economy, we have stewardship arrangements with island growers. Our effort is to preserve the community, the trees and their fruit by sharing the magic of simple, old-school varietals, preserved for enjoyment throughout the year. We have a growing wholesale & distribution business, selling our preserves to specialty food & cheese shops, as well as grocers across the country. We also have a retail shop, online store and do weekly seasonal farmers markets in San Juan County. We are an 8-time Good Food Awards Winner and pride ourselves in making exceptional, unique, handcrafted preserves, and now wine! Woman-owned and operated, island grown.
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COLINA BRUCE, CEO, of Noir Lux Candle Co graduated from Seattle University in 2015 with a Master’s degree focused in Nonprofit Leadership, using her strong community and social services skills in her day to day business ventures. Colina is an experienced director with a demonstrated history, serving as an advocate of educational equity for ALL students and families, working directly with students, families and schools to promote strategies that stimulate inclusive environments and practices linked to student achievement. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Event Management, Fundraising, Leadership, and Student Development, Colina aims to build a strong community of business leaders from all backgrounds with her skillset.
Noir Lux Candle Co is a black-owned, woman-owned business, specializing in handcrafted natural wooden wick candles, poured in small batches. Noir Lux believes in self-care, good vibes, and nostalgia, and they have a little something for everybody.
The Seattle University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) presents the fifth FOUNDER FRIDAY with Ryan Schmid, President and CEO of Vera Whole Health on May 21, 2021.
Ryan Schmid, Co-founder, President and CEO of Vera Whole Health earned his MBA at the Seattle University Albers School of Business and Economics. Ryan entered the 2007 Harriet Stephenson Business Plan Competition and was the Grand Prize Winner. Ryan is set on transforming the reactive sick care system into a life-giving, life-empowering industry, and believes that at the foundation of this new, transformed healthcare system is empathy.
Vera Whole Health, founded in 2008, is a provider of healthcare service that delivers comprehensive, intelligent primary care to employees via employer-funded worksite clinics. It's advanced primary care model is designed to help people achieve optimum social, psychological and physical well-being. This model also supports a wide range of populations through informatics, referral management and care coordination, and clinically-integrated health coaching. The company also specializes in Health Coaching, Patient Engagement, Benefit Strategies and Virtual Care.
The Seattle University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) presents the fourth FOUNDER FRIDAY with Dr. Ann Jarris, Co-Founder and CEO of Discovery Health MD on February 19, 2021.
Dr. Ann Jarris, Co-Founder and CEO of Discovery Health MD earned her Leadership Executive MBA at the Seattle University Albers School of Business and Economics. As an alum, Dr. Jarris entered the 2017 Harriet Stephenson Business Plan Competition and was the Grand Prize Winner. She also participated in the Jones Progress Awards, an alumni business accelerator also by the SeattleU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center and received $10,000 and six months of expert business coaching. Dr. Jarris leads the innovation and research efforts at Discovery Health MD, and is experienced in occupational, emergency, wilderness, and virtual medicine.
Discovery Health MD, founded in 2016, is a medical risk management service for the commercial maritime industry, serving the men and women who make their living at sea. Their comprehensive suite of services help protects the health and livelihoods of mariners – while mitigating financial risks for companies. Through decades of experience providing medical support to vessels at sea, and consulting as an expert in maritime claims, the co-founders observed a new approach to medical support at sea. The company consists of highly experienced physicians in maritime, emergency and travel medicine who have a deep understanding of the medical, regulatory, and legal issues affecting the commercial maritime industry.
The Seattle University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) presents the third FOUNDER FRIDAY with Robb Monkman, CEO of React Mobile on November 6, 2020.
Robb Monkman, founder and CEO of React Mobile, earned his MBA at the Seattle University Albers School of Business and Economics. As an alum, Robb participated in the Jones Progress Awards, an alumni business accelerator run by the SeattleU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center and received $10,000 and six months of expert business coaching. Robb is the visionary for the React Mobile team and sets the strategic direction for the company. Robb's passion for safety and commitment to helping others is the backbone of the organization.
React Mobile, founded in 2013, is a global leader in providing panic button solutions to help organizations protect their employees. Their best in class hospitality safety platform helps hotels keep their employees safe and allows management to deploy resources to the exact location of an emergency within seconds of an alert, getting help to where they need it fast. In an emergency quick response times are essential. Hoteliers realize that housekeeping staff that needs to enter into guest rooms alone can sometimes find themselves in vulnerable situations. Having help available at the press of a button is not only reassuring to staff it could potentially prevent serious emergencies or additional liability from occurring in the first place.
The Seattle University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) presents the second FOUNDER FRIDAY with Madeline Haydon, CEO of nutpods on January 24 at ATLAS Workbase.
Madeline Haydon, founder and CEO of nutpods - a plant-based creamer with an online cult following – launched her company in 2013 while earning her MBA at the Seattle University Albers School of Business and Economics and placing as a Finalist in the Harriet Stephenson Business Plan Competition run by the SeattleU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center. Madeline and her husband (nutpods CFO Geoff Haydon) launched nutpods with a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 and brought the product line to market on Amazon in 2015, where it quickly became the #1 best-selling alternative creamer. After growing by 250% the previous year, nutpods raised $33 million in private capital funding in July 2019 to expand its online brand presence.
About ATLAS Workbase: Co-founded by SeattleU Albers LEMBA alum Bill Sechter, ATLAS Workbase is “the place to conduct business” In Seattle. ATLAS is an intentionally designed premium workspace for the local business community, providing coworking, shared workspace, conference rooms, meeting space, and event venues with everything you need at your fingertips and the flexibility to use it when you need it, ATLAS provides an experience curated with personalized services that make your day better and more productive.
The Seattle University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) presented the first FOUNDER FRIDAY with Caleb Carr, CEO of Vita Inclinata Technologies on October 11, 2019 at WeWork Labs.
Caleb Carr, Founder and CEO of Vita Inclinata Technologies, won the $10,000 Grand Prize in the 2018 Harriet Stephenson Business Plan Competition as a student at Seattle University. 18 months later, Vita Inclinata Technologies has a valuation of $150million and is raising a Series B round. One of his secrets? Building a team of a team of investors and advisors
About Vita: Vita Inclinata Technologies (“Vita”) was founded to save lives. In 2009, founder Caleb Carr watched as a friend died because a helicopter was unable to rescue him due to the swinging of the helicopter hoisting system. Vita’s initial mission was founded following the death of a member of a local search and rescue crew member. After the team member went into Cardiac Arrest, founder Caleb Carr and his search and rescue team called the Oregon National Guard to rescue him. When the helicopter arrived, the hoist started to lower a basket. However, due to the high winds that night, the swinging basket couldn’t get through the trees below. After multiple attempts of trying to get the basket down to Caleb’s friend, the helicopter pilot called off the mission, and his friend died minutes later.
Simply put, Vita is out to ensure a lack of technology, like was exhibited so long ago, will never be the difference between life and death. Vita is pioneering new innovative hardware solutions for daily safety problems in aerospace, construction, and other dangerous industries. Vita’s first product, the Load Stability System was created to solve the deadly swinging of helicopter hoisting and sling load systems.
About WeWork Labs: WeWork Labs is The We Company’s global platform for early-stage startups and forward-thinking enterprise companies. We empower inventive humans and organizations to impact the present and influence the future. We start with thoughtfully designed spaces that inspire our global community of entrepreneurs to experiment, collaborate and grow. Within these spaces we foster meaningful connections between start-ups and the educational, mentorship and financial resources needed to drive their businesses forward.