It’s time to introduce the two newest members of the TeachStreet morale team:  Abbey Road the morkie (maltese yorkie mix) and Stella the French Bulldog. Ever since it’s been a whole lot of cute as they run around our office bringing everyone joy. We couldn’t keep the cuteness to ourselves — so here’s a video:

Of course, we’re also now fully embroiled in puppy training — if you need to find a trainer check out some of our Dog Training listings!

Wow — if my Mom knew what NPR Morning Edition was, she’d be really impressed — I told her that we’re going to be on the show tomorrow morning, and she asked what NPR was (sigh).  But, for the rest of the world beyond lovely Leesport, PA, we couldn’t be more excited — I mean, NPR Morning Edition is the pinnacle, right?!?  Or, at least, it’s a pretty darn good basecamp!

NPR’s Yuki Noguchi and Wendy Kaufman reached out in the last few weeks to ask for TeachStreet’s response to Chris Anderson’s new book, ‘Free: The Future of a Radical Price’ — they noticed that we very recently moved from an all-free model to one where we charge performance-based fees for teachers.  In short, we’re big believers in the power of free — that is, we always expect that there will be a free experience for teachers and schools, to add their teaching profile to TeachStreet, and a few classes.  But, we also think that having performance-based fees helps to make the TeachStreet student class/learning/discovery experience better for everyone — students will get faster response from teachers who have skin in the game, and everyone will know that reviews and ratings have more credibility, because we’ll be able to verify that a paid transaction happened between that buyer and seller.

There are many benefits to having a vibrant economic system, where a few dollars are being exchanged, and value is being created, for everyone — we hope you enjoy the TeachStreet NPR Free radio segment — you can hear it here!

NPR Morning Edition - TeachStreet Free (Chris Anderson Book)

Many people who work at larger companies think about starting companies of their own, especially those who work at larger technology companies like Microsoft, Amazon.com, Real Networks, and more.  I was one of those individuals, having worked at Amazon.com for more than six years, and then at a smaller internet company, JibJab.  I had many personal opinions about how people should run their organizations, and I had a lot of exposure to small companies and their problems, but I admit that there were many unanswered questions, and many things that I thought I knew a lot more about than I actually did.

Before starting TeachStreet, I threw around terms and concepts such as pre- and post-money valuations, best practices in naming of companies and products, how to conduct product development sessions, and more.  But, most of my ideas weren’t fully thought through, nor had I carried them out from start-to-finish on my own.  I learn now that I wasn’t alone — most startup founders just leap in at some point, and we shared many of the same questions.

It’s because of this that Marcelo Calbucci (host of the popular Seattle20.com blog) has planned the first ever conference focused on pre-entrepreneurs, those who have yet to join or found a startup.  And, what I like about it is that all of the speakers are current and past founders of companies who once harbored these same questions and concerns.  You’ll hear from successful, and not-yet-extremely-successful founders, on topics ranging from How to Pick an Idea, How to Identify Co-Founders, Raising Money, What to Do When You Fail, What It’s Like to be Acquired, and more.

I’m personally excited, and humbled, to be talking about ‘Building the Product‘ — it’s a topic that I have a lot of experience with, but feel like I’m still learning a massive amount about every month (and day) — I look forward to hearing what the audience thinks about our process.

So, if you’ve ever thought about starting your own company, I highly encourage that you attend StartupDay 2009 — it’s an affordable and highly-concentrated introduction to startup life, from those who are living it!

Several weeks ago we blogged about our ‘TeachStreet win’ at the WTIA Fast Pitch Forum — today, our friend Chris Pirillo posted the video of the TeachStreet talk — it’s actually a pretty good 5-6 minute intro to what we’re building with TeachStreet, and why it may matter to you (and millions of other folks like you).

Enjoy — and, thank you to Chris — check out his tech/community site — it’s about as good as they get. And, if you’re in Seattle and you’re interested in technology, blogging and/or what’s new and exciting, you really should attend a conference he puts on called Gnomedex — it’s in mid-August each year, and I try to never miss it!

Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

Today was a big day in TeachStreet history — and, already, some of the press coverage has been fantastic!

• TeachStreet Launches Payments Platform for Teachers – TechCrunch
  • Washington Post re-post (from TechCrunch)
• TeachStreet unveils online payment system for teachers – TechFlash
• TeachStreet debuts e-commerce platform for US teachers – The Paypers
• TeachStreet Launches Payment System – Xconomy
• TeachStreet Launches Payments Platform for Teachers – Techvibes
• TeachStreet Releases Call Tracking and Payments Platform for Teachers – Twilio
• Boosting TeachStreet – a payment platform for teachers – StartupBooster

Yours truly got some local Seattle tv-air time today in a fun “iPhone vs. Blackberry” showdown, co-starring with one of our good friends Todd “Startup Advisor” Sawicki. As you’d expect, the iPhone won handily

Todd Sawicki and Dave Schappell duel their phones

Do you have technology questions that you’d like answered? If so, find a local technology teacher!

SMX is in Seattle this week, bringing in web celebs like New York’s Allen Stern, of Center Networks — he stopped by TeachStreet World Headquarters today and shot a quick video (here’s the TeachStreet blog post on Center Networks) — normally, I’m uncomfortable watching these, but I really enjoyed this one — I’m looking forward to drinks at Paddy Coyne’s in a few hours, to learn more about Allen’s projects!

We’d be remiss if we didn’t ask Allen what he’s learning… his answer, “German Classes in New York”

TeachStreet wins Seattle WTIA Fast Pitch Forum 2009

Suffice it to say that last week was a really good one for the TeachStreet team — not only did we announce our TeachStreet expansion to Chicago and our recent funding (on top of our New York City Teacher and Classes expansion a few weeks ago!), but we also participated in the WTIA Fast Pitch Forum in Seattle with 22 other great Seattle startups — and, attendees voted us TeachStreet of the 3 ‘Best in Show’ Seattle startup companies!

Humbling to be sure, because there were some awesome companies (Redfin, Swype, Socrata, RealityGap, and more — really, I feel guilty leaving them all out!)

Here was some follow-on news coverage from the event:

AdReady, Swype, TeachStreet Win WTIA Awards by Greg Huang (xConomy)

Startups and Silver Linings: Insights from a WTIA Forum Panelist by Patrick Ennis (xConomy)

TeachStreet named one of 3 Best in Show at 2009 Fast Pitch Forum in Seattle

Wow — when it rains, it pours!  We had a bunch of press coverage in the last 2 days, surrounding our Chicago teacher and classes launch, not to mention our $1.2 million TeachStreet funding announcement!  Rather than post a bunch of blog entries, I thought I’d consolidate many of them here.  Thanks to all of the folks who covered our announcements — every little bit helps!

TeachStreet Raises $1.2 Million In Second Round; Premium Services On The Way by Joseph Tartakoff (PaidContent)

TeachStreet Gets Funding, Expands Cities by Greg Sterling (Screenwerk)

TeachStreet Adds $1.2 Million by PEHub

Bouncing back from a layoff, TeachStreet lands $1.2 million by John Cook (TechFlash)

TeachStreet raises $1.2 Million, expands its reach to six cities by Sardar Mohkim Khan (StartupMeme)

SEATTLE, WA — May 27, 2009 – TeachStreet (http://www.teachstreet.com), the first website dedicated to helping local teachers and students connect with one another at the neighborhood level, was proud to be selected as a presenter for today’s 2009 Fast Pitch Forum and Technology Showcase, hosted by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) (http://www.washingtontechnology.org). At the event, TeachStreet announced that it expanded to Chicago, its sixth market, bringing combined site selection to more than 140,000 classes and teachers (including thousands of Chicago teachers and classes!).  In addition, they announced an additional $1.2 million round of financing from existing investors and management team.

“Washington is home to some of the fastest growing and most innovative technology companies in the world, but until now we have not had a start-up technology showcase event to match those in the Silicon Valley or New York,” said Ken Myer, president and CEO of the WTIA. “This year, with the new format and new name, our Fast Pitch Forum and Technology Showcase will serve as the premier event for local rising stars.”

“We’re not only thrilled to announce our recent expansion to the Chicago area at today’s Fast Pitch Forum and Technology Showcase, but also expect to add teachers and classes in my hometown of Philadelphia, in coming weeks,” said Dave Schappell, founder and CEO of TeachStreet. “The additional funding will provide us the resources to add to our customer solutions, and continue our market penetration.”

TeachStreet offers teachers and schools of all sizes a one-stop solution to list and promote their classes, events and articles (including San Francisco-area piano and guitar classes) – promotional exposure is not limited to TeachStreet, but extends to popular online services such as Craigslist, Facebook, MySpace, and more.  All TeachStreet services are currently free, but Schappell hints that premium services are imminent, “In our January 2009 Survey, teachers told us that they love the promotional services we’ve built to support their businesses, but that they wanted more tools like payments.  We know that we’ve driven more than 150,000 interested leads their way, so we’re excited to soon provide them premium performance-based tools to more effectively grow and manage their businesses.”

The event will feature presentations from 23 of Washington state’s most interesting and promising companies. Attendees will hear presentations from our region’s leading entrepreneurs and watch as the next generation of Northwest start-ups gets direct input from leading VCs and angel investors about market strategy, business plans and products. Tim Draper, founder and managing director of Silicon Valley’s leading VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, will keynote the event. More information about the Fast Pitch Forum and Technology Showcase is available on the WTIA’s Web site: http://www.washingtontechnology.org.

About the Washington Technology Industry Association
The Washington Technology Industry Association, founded in 1984, is the largest statewide association of technology companies, IT departments and individual technology professionals in North America. With more than 1,000 member companies representing more than 100,000 employees in Washington State, the association is a catalyst for sharing expertise, fostering collaboration, delivering key business services and advancing the value and global impact of technology companies doing business in Washington. The association’s global partners are Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Microsoft, Regence BlueShield, Sun Microsystems, Vertafore and Wells Fargo Insurance Services. The association’s funding partners are AH&T Insurance, F5 Networks, Moss Adams and RealNetworks. For more information, go to www.washingtontechnology.org.

About TeachStreet
Founded in June 2007, TeachStreet is dedicated to helping students find great local teachers, and empowering teachers with robust online tools to manage their teaching businesses. Featuring more than 140,000 classes and instructors in Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area, Denver, New York (New York Spanish and Yoga classes), and Chicago, the free site provides the information that students need to make informed decisions about their learning experiences, including student reviews, teacher recommendations, pricing information, location, teacher training, and more. TeachStreet is headquartered in Seattle, WA and backed by Madrona Venture Group. For more information, visit www.TeachStreet.com.

Press Contact:
Dave Schappell, TeachStreet, 206-330-9257, dave@teachstreet.com