The Venture SpotLight turns to Rebecca Lovell today, with the first installment of our interview with her.  Among the many hats she wears, Rebecca is the Chief Business Officer of GeekWire, the tech news site based in Seattle.  In that role, she oversees advertising, sponsorship, planning GeekWire events and generally helping GeekWire connect with the Pacific Northwest technology community.  Some the other roles Rebecca fills: mentor for TechStars and The Founder Institute; community advisor to Startup Weekend; professor of a class on venture capital investing at the University of Washington Foster School of Business; board member of the Northwest Entrepreneur Network; classically trained flutist; self-described “karaoke junkie”; National Merit Scholar; valedictorian of Garfield High School; and former mathlete (ask her about having 75 students create a human mobius strip).

What are the best and worst aspects of your job at GeekWire?  

Best:  I get to work with smart, motivated, passionate geeks and meet with them every day.  I love evangelizing our mission – putting our region on the global map of innovation, where it belongs.  Shining a light on innovation wherever it happens.  Celebrating and supporting geekdom.

Worst:  I am not a patient woman.  I can see where our business can go 6, 12, 18 months from now and can’t wait for rolling out some amazing stuff that I could tell you about, but would have to kill you.  Ordering is important and I don’t want to screw it up.  Along those lines, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes, keeping-the-lights on stuff that is the prelude to greatness.

What advice would you give to someone applying for a job at a startup?  Embrace uncertainty.  You may be applying for a specific job but you will need to be a generalist – a real team player.  That provides huge opportunity but is a big responsibility – you’ve got to call for the ball.  If you see a problem, present a solution, or just fix it.  You’ve got to be nimble and move at the speed of startups.Continue Reading The Venture Spotlight: Rebecca Lovell, GeekWire (Part I)