Our team was jumping up and down all afternoon/evening and into this morning as our startup company was chosen to be highlighted in GeekWire's Startup Spotlight!  So cool!!!!!!  (So much thanks to John Cook and Monica Nicklesburg for this opportunity).  (*Happy dance!*)

A couple of our favorites from the Geekwire article:
The biggest hurdle we’ve overcome is: “Building and strengthening the team that we are today in such a short time and over distances. It is an ongoing and personal process to commit to each other and the company every day. We’ve embraced a lot of tips and tricks from other entrepreneurs, like Kyle Kesterson, around teaming best practices that have really taken our team to the next level.”

• We have daily Gifting Huddles (daily standup meetings where we talk about 1) what was accomplished in the last 24 hours, 2) what will be accomplished in the next 24 hours, 3) how one is feeling, and 4) committing to each other every day by saying "I'm in!").  We got this format from a fellow entrepreneur, Kyle Kesterson when he gave a talk about company culture.  We were already doing Gifting Huddles, but this format has allowed us to get to the next level of teaming together.
• Walks - We do a lot of brainstorming and thinking while walking together.  It helps us get some blood flowing in our bodies instead of sitting at our desks all day.  Walking also helps us with creative thinking when we are looking for that fresh perspective.
• High fives!  Really, whenever we interact as a team, we end each of our interactions with a high five!  High five's are energizing, fun, and human.  It is one of the first things you learn to do as a very small child - the purity of a high five is something we just love.  When we have our Google Hangout meeting, we will high five too - though, it's not as good as the in-real-life high five.  

Would you rather have Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: “Jobs. He led Apple to really take human and centered design to the next level and set the standard that revolutionized the entire industry. He taught his designers to say no and focus on making one or two things really well. That user and human-centric thinking and innovation is what we find inspiring.”

• We spent a really really really long time as a team talking about this.  All of these business leaders have accomplished so much.  All of them have so much that we will learn from.  And, we would be absolutely honored to have any and all of them in our corner.  
• At the end of the day, we want to show the world how business, design, psychology, process, and technology can be done differently.  We are lucky to be a part of the world today, where so many opportunities are arising.  Crowdfunding is actually exciting and people have embraced it.  Applications and mobile technologies, including responsive design.  We can do a lot of things better, together - interactions that were originally designed 5, 10, 30 years ago can be taken to that next level.  
• We are motivated by our desire to put the human-side of life back at the front and center of business and technology.  Gifting is an extremely human act that has been lost over the years.  With Giftstarter.co - we see it as a step towards doing just that.  

I would love your feedback and thoughts.  Thank you for being with me on this awesome journey.

Arry

The startup journey is one that I am so happily immersed in.  I wake up an hour or two before my alarm clock (yes, BEFORE!) excited for the day ahead, the twists and turns, the Gifting Huddle(s) (what we call our team daily standups where we talk about priorities, status, etc...), sharing with the world and everyone I meet how awesome this company and our product is.  

GiftStarter.co is the web address of our newly soft launched site.  We've kept it generally narrowed and focused on the Seattle market and to our supportive family and friends.  We have specific reasons on why chose the five retailers we've initially launched with: 1) Nordstrom, 2) Costco, 3) REI, 4) Brooks Sports, and 5) Filson.  One reason is because they are local to Seattle - we're a Seattle startup afterall that aspires to grow up to be a bigger great company.  All of these retailers are very customer centric in terms of the customer experience, the focus, and the service they provide.  Quality in terms of the products they offer and their service.  Another common theme for these retailers is the fact that we find that as employers and as members of the community they are a part of, they take care of the human side of business (not just the profit side).  

Support Network: We cannot express how thankful we are individually and as a team for our support network.  For me, my husband is an amazing human and I am most grateful for him.  Every day he cheers me and our team on.  Every evening he earnestly listens to me as I rant and rave about the day's activities and news.  I don't know how I got so lucky to be married to him.  My husband is a gift.  (*wink)

Company: The first few months, we spent it focused on building our team, talking about our company mantra/values/mission/vision, defining what fit is to us in terms of our company/team/product, dreaming about our ideal retail partners, ....   It's amazing.  Absolutely amazing, energizing, and refreshing to have this opportunity to build a company and our first product from the ground up.  

So much more to share - and much more to come.  We have soft launched, and since you are part of the family and friends world to me, we would love it if you would check out our site.  Become a Gift Champion for someone in your life and share that story through the act of gifting for them with your family and friends.  Gift a tent and go camping with your friends.  Gift a barbecue grill for someone's new home and share delicious food together.  Gift an iPad for the gift of digital interaction for your friend the entrepreneur (having access to an ipad has been critical for me).  

Hugs,
Arry