GeekWire, a Seattle news outlet, has beat Amazon to the punch and setup their HQ2. They’ve gone ahead and chosen Pittsburgh as the new base of operations for the month of February. The GeekWire team will be working out of Beauty Shoppe‘s Butler Street Lofts co-working space.
A coalition of Pittsburgh companies including the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Allegheny Conference had successfully pitched GeekWire and it was there time to celebrate. Birchmere Ventures, a venture capitalist firm base in the Strip District, hosted the party which fielded startups from around the region. Alphalab Gear and CMU being the heavy hitters to show up.
As for the party? It was 6/10.
Networking was catching up rather than making money. The attendees overwhelmed the GeekWire team with story pitches. People didn’t realize reporters from The Incline, Pittsburgh Business Times, etc were there as well. Birchemere was reorganized removing tables and desks for much needed space. They did lay out an impressive feast with food from Gaucho and Kaya. Good food and company. Everyone had a good time despite the event needing more direction.