Reed to Discuss New Business and Technology Innovation, Social Communities and Creativity
MILWAUKEE (JULY 22, 2008) — It’s an exciting time in Milwaukee. Our town is in the midst of a market evolution that will enable a growing number of the area’s professionals and entrepreneurs to draw salaries from creative- and technology- related businesses in the coming years. This shift will change Milwaukee in many positive ways. Three street-level groups dedicated to helping build tomorrow’s Milwaukee by bringing together creative, marketing, technical, entrepreneurial and innovative people to connect, get inspired, learn about the latest businesses and technology trends and work together are Spreenkler, Web414 and Bucketworks.
On August 6, at 5:30 p.m. these groups will come together for their first joint meeting by hosting, at Bucketworks (1340 N. 6th St.), a nationally prominent social network and open source engineer/architect, Harper Reed.
Harper Reed is the Chief Technical Officer of skinnyCorp, an umbrella corporation dedicated to the creation of “interesting web communities.” The company’s most notable business is Threadless, an online social network and creative outlet for designers. The site runs regular design contests that lets the community select the best designs for production on shirts and posters that are then, sold.
Threadless awards thousands of dollars in cash and prizes each week, and has awarded over $1M to artists around the world, as well as generating significant notoriety for winners. Threadless has gained significant national attention and has grown to be a $30M business without professional designers, marketing or brick and mortar retail. Threadless has received extensive media coverage in publications like Inc. magazine, which quoted MIT’s Eric von Hippel, calling the company a "’perfect example’ of a new way of thinking about innovation.”
The ways Reed and his colleagues think about innovation and act upon those thoughts will be well received by the people who make up the Spreenkler, Web414 and Bucketworks groups, who, themselves, drive to engage in, create and launch progressive technologies, businesses and ideas. Other skinnyCorp businesses include: NakedandAngry, YayHooray, and ExtraTasty, as well as their “day dream” projects: I Park Like an Idiot, PoopFace, MeEveryday and Lunchtime Photo Safari.
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Web414 consists of amateurs and professionals interested in building and improving the web today and in the future.
Spreenkler is a fast-growing, influential group of creative, innovative professionals dedicated to creating a better Milwaukee. Spreenkler helps startups bring ideas to life, provides growing businesses with guidance to keep ideas on track and connects resources, information and people in organizations of all types and sizes.
Bucketworks, located at 1340 N. 6th St. in Milwaukee, Wis., is the world’s first health club for the brain, its mission is to provide a supportive and empowering environment for people to share and explore their passions for art, theatre, dance, business, technology and leadership.
Special thanks to Moander Law Firm, which is dedicated to working directly with small businesses, for bringing Harper Reed to Milwaukee.
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Interested Media, please contact Al Krueger @ 414.331.8987 or al@cometbranding.com.
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