There’s nothing quite like a trip to Seattle in December - for a Dubliner like me, the wet and dreary weather offers a gentle reminder of home! I traveled up to Redmond last week to meet Jim Kayler, a colleague from Wisconsin, for a scheduled interview on Channel 9 about InnerWorkings.

The interview is titled Teaching developers: A peek inside the inner workings of InnerWorkings and it runs to just under 30 minutes. Both Jim and I didn’t quite know what to expect — a friendly chat or a serious interrogation — but we both agreed it was a really enjoyable experience. I encourage you to check it out and let us know what you think:

It was fun to meet Charles Torre, one of the originators of the Channel 9 experience, and a very good interviewer. Charles moves around easily between deep technical subjects, product architecture, startup growing pains, and general business topics. It’s always a bit disquieting to see (and hear) yourself on camera, but the whole interview was a blast and hats off to Charles and the production crew for making it flow so smoothly.

I spent some time researching Channel 9 before our interview, and it’s hard not to be impressed with the site’s pedigree; the same can be said for the talented cast of 9 characters who founded it. After spending some time with Charles and the team, it’s clear that they hold fast to their 9 core principles. This approach is centered on emphasizing ‘the conversation’ by setting PR and spin aside to speak directly to the Channel 9 audience about technologies and industry trends that matter.

The one guiding principle that I found present as a viewer and participant is that people and their stories really matter on Channel 9. Companies aren’t just about product launches, milestones, and press releases — it really is about people working hard to make an idea become a reality. Maybe that’s a better definition of a business than anything you’ll find in a shareholder report or analyst briefing.

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