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Opinion: It’s time for Seattle to believe in Seattle
[Editor’s Note: Jacob Colker is co-founder and co-managing director of AI House.]
Seattle is one of the most talented, creative and inventive places in the world. But if we want the rest of the country to see us that way, we have to start acting like we believe it ourselves.
First, we need more pride around here.
Let’s talk about what it means to be proud.
My mother grew up in Tarnów, Poland. She escaped communism and came to the United States in 1978 looking for a better life. She found one, built a family, and has lived in America for nearly 50 years.
But my mom is still very, very Polish.
Several times a year, I get a message: “Jakub. Did you see this?”
I already know what’s coming.
Some Polish person did something. A Polish athlete won something. A Polish scientist discovered something. Some guy with a Polish grandmother finished third in a regional Nebraska chess tournament. Doesn’t matter. Poland.
“Jakub. Look at this person.”
Okay, Mom. Who is she?
“POLISH.”
That’s it. That’s the story.
And I love it, because Mom has this completely indestructible pride in where she comes from. Plenty of us know someone like this: a Greek mom, Vietnamese dad, Indian uncle or Nigerian aunt. Somebody from their corner of the world did something great, and you are going to hear about it.
There is power in that instinct. Not because your people are better, but because you believe your place matters.
Seattle could use more of that.
We are almost pathologically humble. Our response to notable achievements is often a polite nod before everybody gets back to our regularly scheduled Seattle freeze.
That humility is working against us.
Second, Seattle is awesome and the evidence is everywhere.
I see Seattle’s potential every day working alongside dozens of entrepreneurs building startups. Some of the most ambitious and talented people in the world are already here.
We have many billion-dollar startups across the region and more than 200,000 people working across technology, science, space, health and startups. That is more than enough talent to build yet a dozen more unicorns.
Nearly 40% of the world flies every day on airplanes built here. Blue Origin and SpaceX build rockets here. Starbucks, Amazon, Costco, REI and Nordstrom reshaped how the world shops. Microsoft helped put computing into our homes. AWS and Azure helped make the cloud the infrastructure of modern life. The University of Washington ranks among the world’s best. Seattle medical breakthroughs have helped save tens of millions of lives. We are pushing forward fusion energy, aerospace and maritime innovation. And let’s not forget: we just won the darn Super Bowl.
And so, so much more.
So why, despite all the evidence, do we still seem to have a communal case of imposter syndrome?
This is not a city lacking accomplishments.
It is a city with a branding problem.
Third, we have let other people tell our story for far too long. This ends, today.
Cities have brands whether they intend to or not. Silicon Valley is where ambitious people build companies. Nashville is music. Los Angeles for film and television.
Seattle’s cultural humility mostly assumes our accomplishments speak for themselves.
They don’t.
Reputation gets built one story at a time. You hear one story and it is interesting. You hear 10 and you notice a pattern. You hear 50 and your beliefs begin to change: That’s where important science happens. That’s where talented people live. That’s where I should invest, build or work.
Those beliefs shape real decisions about where people move, where companies get built and where investors put their money.
So to fix Seattle’s branding problem, here’s what we need to do.
Step 1: Let’s tell one clear story — Seattle’s talent pool is ridiculous.
Seattle is where deep technical talent meets deep domain expertise to build consequential things: AI, aerospace, cloud computing, medicine, fusion, robotics, maritime technology and enterprise software.
We do not need 50 slogans. We do not need another consultant-led branding exercise. We need one simple idea that people outside this region can remember: Seattle’s talent pool is ridiculous.
There is a reason some of the world’s most important companies have built major engineering centers, research hubs and second headquarters here for decades. They come for the talent.
And that talent is why Seattle will not just participate in the future. We will lead in building it.
Step 2: Let’s use the megaphones we already have.
Seattle already has outlets (including this one) telling this story — publications, podcasts and social channels that document the region’s startups, breakthroughs and product launches.
Every day, startups are raising money, scientists are making breakthroughs, companies are launching products, engineers are building technology and institutions are pushing this region forward.
That is not just tech news. That is the raw material of Seattle’s reputation. So let’s use it.
When you read or hear about a Seattle startup doing something remarkable, share it. When you see a story about a breakthrough at Fred Hutch or the University of Washington, send it to someone outside the region. When a local company raises money, lands a major customer or gets acquired, don’t just scroll past it. Amplify it.
Step 3: Let’s treat every local win as Seattle’s win.
When a local robotics company ships something remarkable, that is Seattle’s story.
When a maritime startup reinvents how ports operate, that is Seattle’s story.
When our AI research labs, or hometown heroes in Amazon and Microsoft, create breakthroughs, that is Seattle’s story.
When a biotech company lands a major breakthrough, when a game studio creates a global hit, when a clean-energy company reaches a milestone, that is Seattle’s story.
Our companies, universities, hospitals, labs, investors, civic organizations and business leaders should act like an amplification network for one another. Stop treating somebody else’s success as somebody else’s news.
Their win is our collective proof.
Step 4: Let’s put Seattle on the label.
Founders need to say where they are building. “Made with ❤️in Seattle” should be on the bottom of every website. Put Seattle in the press release. Put it in the LinkedIn post. Mention it onstage. Say it in interviews. Tell investors. Tell customers.
Silicon Valley companies have spent decades attaching their success to their geography. We should do the same. If you build something extraordinary here, make sure the world knows it was built here.
Step 5: Let’s do a better job of selling Seattle.
Every venture capitalist, founder, executive and civic leader in this region should be able to explain in 60 seconds why somebody should build a company here.
Not defend Seattle. Not apologize for Seattle. Sell Seattle.
Reminder: It’s the talent.
(And also cream cheese on hot dogs.)
When investors and founders from New York, Boston or San Francisco come to town, show them the region. Introduce them to engineers, researchers and entrepreneurs. Bring them into the community. Let them see what is happening.
The best branding campaign is somebody getting on a plane home saying, I had no idea all of this was happening in Seattle.
If we’re going to succeed, we need to believe first.
Insert all the Ted Lasso jokes you want, but this stuff matters.
There is no giant Seattle marketing department coming to save us. There is no national referee who will eventually review the evidence and declare that Seattle deserves more respect.
When somebody here does something extraordinary, act like it. Read the story. Share the post. Send the article to your team. Text it to your friend in New York. Put it in the group chat. Bring it up over dinner. Tell your kids.
Basically, become my Polish mother.
My mom doesn’t give a hoot that Kraków ranks No. 6 on some list or Warsaw is No. 8 on another. She doesn’t need a clickbait listicle to tell her Poland matters. She already believes it does.
We have to build our reputation ourselves. The good news is that we already have everything we need: extraordinary companies, world-class institutions, ambitious people, groundbreaking science and media documenting it all.
What we have been missing is the confidence to start being more loud. Stories become patterns, patterns become reputation, and reputation becomes gravity.
Gravity is what creates influence and respect.
Pride is not something somebody else gives you. You don’t wait until the rest of the country decides your home is important. YOU decide it is. Then you act like it.
Let’s get to work.
