John Cook

On Geek at Sea, John Cook of GeekWire says access to the best sources comes from staying in the relationship after a fight. CEOs get angry about the tone of a story, or about coverage of a lawsuit or a layoff. He has been in the Seattle tech community long enough that some well-known executives who were furious with him, or with GeekWire, are now reliable sources. He credits his mother, a newspaper reporter, for the habit of not dropping the relationship. The people who are upset with you today, he says, can be the ones who tell you what is actually happening tomorrow.

John says that if people aren't getting mad, it means they are not doing their job well enough. Journalist's job is not to be a PR person or a marketing department for a company. Their job is to produce honest and factual reporting.

John Cook and Todd Bishop have been rooted in the Seattle startup community for a long time, and in many instances they have been connected with the founders for a long time too. People respect their role as a media organization that tells an honest story.

John believes it is currently under attack and that it is critical to our democracy to have a free press that is respected and able to operate on its own.

Asked on Geek at Sea what he would do if GeekWire were sold, John Cook says he would slow down, spend more time with his family, and then get restless. He loves the media business. He calls it fascinating, and he loves telling stories and connecting people through those stories. He would stay near media, perhaps by helping the next reporters and media founders. He also says a free press is under attack, hopes that is temporary, and calls a free press imperative to democracy. Storytelling plus that civic stake is why he does not picture himself retired from the work.

On Geek at Sea, GeekWire co-founder John Cook says he is satisfied, and that he tries not to forget how unusual that is. What he has been given, a company built around work he loves and the freedom to do it, is not what most people get, and he thinks he has to use it. That knowledge is part of what makes him happy. He describes himself as not a materialistic person. Satisfaction comes from his family, his friends, having fun, and doing a good job at GeekWire. The rest, he says, is clutter. The advice is to keep that order.

Start earlier in the process. Don't let fear and the potential of change hold you back. Mix things up an do not become too comfortable.

John remembers working non-stop and not eating had detrimental impacts during the 2 year period of starting GeekWire. He began playing soccer in the middle of the day, running some, drinking smoothies every morning and realized he was much happier. Healthy body and healthy mind go hand-in-hand.

John Cook sees dramatic shifts and anticipates that work will look much different in 20-30 years compared to now. Our society is becoming more entrepreneurial.

John wants to instill a work ethic in a deep and meaningful way as his parents demonstrated for him. He hopes to stress the value of entrepreneurship and being a constant learner.

GeekWire has an interesting perspective since they work on the front-lines of entrepreneurship. Much of what they write and talk about (artificial intelligence, space travel, etc.) are things that may come to fruition during his son's lifetime. John wants his son to be exposed to all of the cool things that GeekWire covers by taking him on assignment and allowing him to participate.

John and Todd (co-founders) come from traditional, news-driven journalistic backgrounds. While there is baggage with their legacy media background, their "new school" thinking and commitment to high-quality journalism makes for a desirable combination.

When you are committed to high quality journalism, and your platform is flexible and nimble, it is possible to build a community with high level of trust, and to create an experience that people love.

Flexibility and moving fast are key in the new media world. Geekwire has the benefit of being an online platform that is not dependent on overhead like a traditional newspaper would. There is no printing press, no trucks delivering physical papers. The platform that they have chosen allows Geekwire to tell stories in various creative ways.

Right now, GeekWire has many new opportunities ahead, which has made the current season nearly as busy as it was in the beginning. Media is a hard business and an ever-changing business.

John Cook tells Geek at Sea that the strain at home shows up when GeekWire pulls him in too many directions to do all of it well. Asked what his son makes of that, Cook says there is a give and take. His son likes some of what his father does and recognizes it. Other parts bother him, especially the times Cook cannot be present. Cook calls that a struggle, then wonders whether he feels it more sharply than his son does, because he is the one keeping score. The balance he describes is the same one he has been negotiating since he co-founded GeekWire and became a father in the same season of his life.

Find time wherever you can.

John Cook's wife, for example, handles their son's morning routine, while John works. The extra time then enables John to walk his kid to school. Then, John and his wife walk to his office together, for some extra quality time.

John Cook loved the the flexibility of remote work while starting Geekwire, but he also admits it was a constant battle to not be distracted in front of his family.

Geekwire is a Seattle tech publication that covers the intersection of technology, culture, innovation and all things related to the geek world. They launched on March 7, 2011.

A company valued at $1 billion or more. On GeekWire, John Cook and Todd Bishop use that line as the threshold for a giant startup that might later go public. The news that prompts the definition is Seattle's newest one: Outreach, a sales and marketing automation company run by Manny Medina. A $114 million round had just put Outreach at a $1.1 billion valuation. The episode then traces connections among other huge private and newly public companies, including Uber, Lyft, and Convoy. Unicorn, in their telling, is a valuation milestone, not a promise that the company will last.

The hiring process of a cook is effective and fair. They set up a station for you to work for the restaurant for a day, feed you afterward, and give you an offer if they were satisfied with your work.