Biznik Blog

The October 08 issue of Seattle Business Monthly came out this week, and Dan and I were recognized in their feature article: Power Players - Top 25 Innovators & Entrepreneurs.

We are wow’ed by the caliber of the other recipients and honored to have been included among them:

• Henry Albrecht, Founder & CEO of Limeade
• Richard Barton, Co-founder, Glassdoor.com
• Darren Berg, Serial Entrepreneur
• Sally Bergesen, Founder of Oiselle Running
• Michael Butler, Chairman & CEO of Cascadia Capital
• Brent Frei, Chairman & Co-founder of Smartsheet
• Vanessa Fox, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Ignition Partners
• Joel Gendelman, Founder & CEO of N2uitive
• Patty Grossman & Leigh Anne Van Dusen, Co-founders of O Ecotextiles
• Anupam Gupta, President & CEO of Mixpo
• John Hafen, CEO of Eyealike
• Mike Harrington, Darrin Massena & Jonathan Sposato, Co-founders of Picnik
• John Hoekman & Dr. Rodney Ho, Co-founders of Impel NeuroPharma
• Jeff Holden & Darren Erik Vengroff, Co-founders of Pelago
• Christopher Hughes & Leanne Mumm Pardo, Co-founders of One Hour Parties
• John Kaestle, CEO of HaloSource
• Brian Lent, CEO Medio Systems
• Andy Liu & David Niu, Co-founders of BuddyTV
• Pascal Stolz, CEO & co-founder of Alerts.com
• Ali & Hadi Partovi, Co-founders of iLike.com
• Dan Shapiro, President & CEO of Ontela
• Mark Tegen, Co-founder of Inventure Chemical
• Michael Weaver, Co-founder of Bionavitas

Here’s what they said about Dan and I:

Seattle’s Top 25 Innovators & Entrepreneurs.
Social Networking - From Solo to Social: Dan McComb & Lara Eve Feltin, Co-founders, Biznik

Dan McComb and Lara Eve Feltin used to think that attending business networking events totally sucked. That was until they founded Biznik, a first-of-its-kind web community dedicated to bringing small businesses and solo entrepreneurs together through a combination of networking, educational and social events.

With a slogan of “business networking that doesn’t suck,” Biznik has seen its member base grow from about 12 friends meeting over coffee in Seattle to more than 15,000 people worldwide, spanning 118 countries. At its second annual networking conference, called “BizJam,” Biznik drew 250 Seattle-area attendees to hear more than 30 speakers provide business tips over two days in July.

Utilizing the best in breed of “web 2.0” technology, the Biznik.com site allows members—many of whom work from home or via laptops in coffee shops—to create personal profiles, send messages, publish and comment on articles, and post photos and videos of themselves, akin to Facebook and MySpace. However, Biznik takes social networking a step further by encouraging members to host events so face-to-face interaction can take place and real business connections can be made.

The powerful combination of web-based networking and in-person events has earned Biznik some industry praise this year, including an Official Honoree designation at the Webby Awards and a Best in Class title at the Interactive Media Awards.

McComb and Feltin value the role Biznik plays in promoting the business success of its members, understanding that, at the “solo-preneur” level, a person’s business becomes an extension of his or her identity. “I just love the fact that we are helping people express themselves in a way that helps them make a living, too,” McComb adds. —Kayvon Sharghi

Member participation directly attributes to Biznik’s success. As a thank you for your participation, we’re inviting two Supporting Members to accompany Dan I and Biznik’s lead developer, John Adair, to a reception hosted by Seattle Business Monthly in honor of the 25 Innovators on October 15 at the Space Needle.

The two Supporting Members will be selected by a drawing at the next monthly Biznik VIP Event on October 13. Those interested in attending the Seattle Business Monthly reception may enter the drawing by putting their business card in a bowl. The drawing will take place at 6:30pm. You must be present to win.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 11:01 am and is filed under News. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.