cascade Adds a New Team Member

Last week we added a new member to the cascade team. Nick Woolsey is joining us this summer as an intern before heading to Japan to work abroad. Nick just received his MBA from Willamette University and has extensive experience working/studying overseas, specifically in Japan. I ran Nick through the gauntlet of rookie questions, and here is what he had to say:


First job - Swamper at Polehn Farms. Not for the faint of heart. I worked in a cherry orchard riding around in a tractor, picking up 25lb buckets of cherries, and pouring those cherries into bins. 104 degree heat, 10-12 hours a day, those buckets get heavy pretty fast!

Last movie you saw in the theater - Sadly...Hangover 2. It was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

Dream aspirations as a kid - I wanted to be a geologist!

If you could be any superhero, who and why - Man, I am going to have to geek out...Goku from Dragonball Z. He can teleport to anywhere in the universe, fly, harness the power of the universe in a huge bomb, and his power level is OVER 9000!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBtpyeLxVkI)

Free trip to anywhere in the world, where and why - Absolutely Mongolia! My college roommate was from Mongolia, and it sounds awesome! Not a very hospitable place in terms of climate, but it has a very rich culture. I taught myself to throat sing too!

Ever been in a fight, if so, who started it - Well, through middle school I'd be in schoolyard fights all the time. It was all mostly for fun though, we were all into WWF at the time. Oh man, we would imitate all the moves from Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Rock, the Undertaker, D-Generation X. Probably a bad idea hahahaha.

Favorite restaurant in Portland - Al-Amir, the oldest Lebanese restaurant in Portland. Went there for the first time last week for my Moroccan friend's birthday. Big family style meal with all sorts of delectable dishes. It was LEGIT.

Biggest fear - Mosquitoes. Hate those bugs. My uncle took me to Yosemite National Park when I was like 6, forgot the bug spray, and there were so many mosquitoes that I couldn't breathe with out filling my nose and mouth with them. Yea. Hate mosquitoes.

Nickname you had growing up - Nickelodeon. The theme song was "Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick, Nickelodeon," so I heard that quite a few times hahaha.

What attracted you to working at cascade - I'm interested in starting my own new venture using streaming video technology, so learning from Fritz and Ben about how they have developed brandlive was a big plus.

Career goals - I'd like to get into social entrepreneurship. Either starting my own venture, or working with a company that is able to take a social idea and scale it from community based to a model that is effective globally.

cascade Welcomes Ike to the Family

Last weekend, the Brumder family added a new member to their household, and the cascade team! Mom and, new baby boy, Ike William Denk Brumder are both healthy and doing well. Congrats to Fritz, Molly, and Solari on the new addition to their family and ours.



Mom and the new baby boy Ike William Denk Brumder are both healthy and doing well. Congrats to Fritz, Molly, and Solari.

cascade's Early Christmas Present

Earlier this summer, cascade was able to share our passion of computers with a group of children across the globe through One Laptop per Child. This amazing non-profit strives to equip underprivileged children with specially designed laptops for educational and personal use. One Laptop's mission and their XO Laptop technology are best summarized in the organization's explanatory video.

Cascade's donation, made specifically by Ben McKinley and Fritz Brumder, went to Chakuwama, a unique childrens' orphanage in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The donation included a XO Laptop for the children and a personal Dell Laptop for the Chakuwama office staff, a gift for their amazing sacrifices.

Last week, Fritz received an email with images of the children enjoying their new XO Laptop. An awesome early Christmas present for all of us at cascade, especially for Fritz.




Fritz has been working with the children of Chakuwama since 1999 when he visited Tanzania and was introduced to the orphanage. For more about the amazing woman behind Chakuwama and the children involved, please view Fritz's Chakuwama documentary.

To learn how you can donate to One Laptop per Child please visit laptop.org.

Movember

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "Movember", here's a brief history lesson.

Movember is a hybrid word for "Mo" as in moustache and November. The basic ideology behind the term is for men to grow a moustache throughout the month of November. Your initial question most likely is...why? Why would you dedicate a month to growing one of the least attractive facial hair styles? (no offense if you rock a moustache the 11 other months of year, be proud that you can pull it off as very few can)

The idea began in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia in the idea of bringing back the moustache as a joke, but also raising awareness to men's health issues. In 2004, Movember became an official campaign and was directed towards fundraising and raising awareness for prostate cancer. The campaign quickly spread internationally. In 2009, nearly 256,000 men sported the stache with over one million raising 42 million for Movember's charity partners.

So...to help the cause a few of the fellas at cascade are attempting to sport the stache for Movember (some are adopting beard-vember). Its been a rough start, and we very well might scare off business this month, but we're down with anything that supports the cause. Be sure to visit our Facebook page throughout the month to track our progress.

For info on Movember and how to support the fight against prostate cancer, visit movember.com.

An Event that Took Our Breath Away

Over the weekend the cascade crew competed in the Oyster Urban Adventure Race which had us literally running in circles all over Portland. The race combines a scavenger hunt with all types of physical activities. Throughout the 3-4 hour race we biked up Mt Tabor, played beer pong, found the world's smallest park, completed an obstacle course at a rock climbing gym, tasted some food cart delicacies, tried not to plow over children while sprinting through the zoo and kayaked under the Burnside bridge, amongst other tasks.

Here are some stats on our mileage:

Foot = 6.7 miles
Bike = 14.7
Total = 21.4 (Hence the reason why it took our breath away)

Even though we didn't capture first place, we had a blast!

Ready to start

Post-Race

The Oyster Race takes places in several cities across the US. Be sure to register when it comes to your town next year.

New Addition to cascade

Congratulations to Cam, cascade's Director of Business Development, and his wife Rachel on the birth of their first child. Bennett Clear was born in the wee hours of the morning on July 21st.

We are thrilled to have a new edition to the cascade family and couldn't be happier for Cam and Rachel.

Water Logged

You might think we're all brain, but there's some brawn mixed in as well.

A few weeks ago we took a company rafting outing to the Clackamas River and navigated the rough waters thanks to our guides at Blue Sky Rafting. Due to our Portland-esque spring weather, the water was insanely high which made for a turbulent and speedy ride. After a few cliffs jumps and potential raft spills, we made it out safely and lived to tell about it.

Check out the rest of our trip photos on the Cascade Facebook page.

Serotta Switches Management Gears

Serotta has taken huge strides in the beginning of 2010 with no signs of slowing down.

Aside from launching a brand spanking new, custom website with Cascade, (see my previous post: Cascade Invades the Serotta HQ) Serotta Competition Bicycles has undergone changes in its organizational hierarchy and company name.

The cycling giant recently introduced Stan Mavis as President of the newly formed Serotta Sport. Stan and his wife Bonnie, current VP of sales at Serotta Sport, join Ben Serotta and his wife Marcie as owners of the company.

I couldn't pass up this incredible opportunity to help lead a brand with a storied history and tremendous potential for the future, Mavis commented.

Stan is not a stranger to the industry as he co-founded Pearl Izumi and is an avid cyclist himself. Ben Serotta and Stan first forged a relationship 20 years ago as major sponsors of the Coors Light Cycling Team.

There are a range of things I can do, but I cannot do everything well. I've needed someone to work with me at the level of an owner, with an intensity for the business, and Stan brings that," Ben said about bringing in Stan.

For the full article, please read the May edition of the Bicycle Retailer or check out bicycleretailer.com

Cascade Invades the Serotta HQ

In a recent trip out east, Ben McKinley, at the envy of cyclists, stepped foot in Serotta's headquarters in New York to tour their operation and discuss the launch of the bike manufacturer's new website on Cascade's Evergreen Platform. Serotta's new site, www.serotta.com launched earlier today with a ton of awesome features, including a video giving you a look into what Ben witnessed first hand on his tour. On the site, Cascade helps bring to life the intricate science and production capabilities that go into building a custom bike. Whether you examine the technological aspects or thought placed into the size and fit system, Serotta's attention to detail is astounding.

Although the majority of Serotta's magic is done on the production floor, a substantial amount of business operations lives online and is done behind the scenes. By placing their site on Evergreen, Serotta can easily update their new online environment with reactions to the world of cycling, news on Serotta products and technology, and new opportunities. One awesome feature soon will allow both employee and customer access to production status of bikes. With this service, you'll be able to track what stage of production your bike is in similar to how you track your package with Fedex, UPS, etc. Pretty cool!

Serotta.com is as focused (if not more) on portraying their brand story (i.e. company heritage and production strategies) while promoting the community aspect of the company rather than their bikes. We [Cascade] see this strategy becoming more and more prevalent with sites built on the Evergreen platform but that is a topic for another day.

New Addition to the CWD Crew [Pt. 2]

Now that Cam has been with Cascade for a few weeks I thought it'd be good if we all got to know him a little better. My previous post didn't really provide any juicy background info on Cam (hence the photo) so I thought a little impromptu questionnaire would paint a better picture of the newest member of the team:

First job - Mowing lawns for some politico's

Last movie you saw in the theater - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (long flight)

Dream aspirations as a kid - Olympic skier and/or test pilot

If you could be any superhero, who and why - The Flash. To defy physics on a regular basis and prevent evil would be a great daily routine. Plus, if things go bad--I can scramble our of there in a flash

Free trip to anywhere in the world, where and why - A place with no name where the mountains are high, steep with feet of fresh powder to ski. Since its a free trip, I can afford the private jet, helicopter, snow cats, Sherpa's and satellite necessary for me to get there

Ever been in a fight, if so who started it - Not as a participant, but I've been hit trying to break them up

Favorite restaurant in Portland - Habibi. The chicken shawarma is amazing

Biggest fear - Anything that can take my life without me knowing about it. Like a spider bite while I sleep, or a rabid animal biting me while I'm walking through the brush

Nickname you had growing up - Cam (I rolled with a creative crew)

What attracted you to working at Cascade - The team and suite of products**

Career goals - To have no regrets and happy with the outcome

**the answer to your question is yes...we did pay him for that answer

Portland, From Worst to First

The public perception of Portland has made a quick turn-around since Business Week ranked Portland as the #1 unhappiest city in America. Its been almost a year since our city was given that title and oh how times have changed. A recent article by Laura Rich on FastCompany.com explains why Portland is now one of the 10 best cities in the country for start-ups. In her article, Why You Should Start a Company in..., Laura noted:

"It rains an average of 155 days of the year in Portland, Oregon, which sits near the coast between Silicon Valley and Seattle. That may be what drives some startups and engineers indoors to coffeehouses armed with laptops to hatch ideas such as MyOpenId, Voyager Capital-backed AboutUs, interactive TV company Ensequence, which raised $20 million last year, and ShopIgniter, which just closed a $3 million round from Seattle's Madrona. Quite a list. They make up part of what some call “Silicon Forest,” and the city clearly sees its future: In February Mayor Sam Adams announced a $500,000 seed fund aimed at startups and small businesses."

She then documents her interview with Jive Software chairman, David Hersh, who has some pretty cool things to say about the city. My favorite quote by the chairman is:

"In terms of the startup phase, I mean there's so much energy around that--around the ideas and going off on your own and there's so much support for doing that that I think it's one of the great things about the city. It's just the overall psyche of the city around its kind of aggressive independence that makes for a very vibrant startup culture."

I thought this was a great description of the culture in the city and the pride Portlanders carry. I know specifically at Cascade, we support PDX's business mindset in everything we do, from our train car office to our customizable, innovative web solutions (cough, cough...brandlive).

Portland might be a little sluggish getting up from the blow the recession hit us with, but we're definitely not hanging our heads. Thanks Fast Money for putting us back on top.

The entire Fast Money article can be viewed here.

New Addition to the CWD Crew

If you happen to visit us on the train and see a unfamiliar face, you could be faced with 1 of 3 situations:

1. A passerby saw us working and stopped in to tell us how awesome our office is (happens about once a week),
2. a hobo broke in and he/she is trying to hitch a ride to San Fran,
3. or you're staring at the newest member of the CWD crew, Cameron Clear (so don't call the cops, he's legit)
   

Last week, Cam came on board (literally, he's working on the train) as our business development lead to spread the word about CWD and our web services. We're excited to have him join the group and are looking forward to what he can bring to the company.

CWD on the pages of USA Today

Cascade Web Development's recent launch of the sweepstakes site for "How to Train Your Dragon" was recently promoted in USA Today. I snapped a picture of the ad. Pretty cool!


Check out our previous blog post on the site launch and visit train-your-dragon.com for more sweepstakes info.

40 the new 30? Recapping the "40 Under Forty" Awards

The Cascade Web Development crew had a great time last Thursday celebrating Ben McKinley's nomination to the Portland Business Journal's 2010 "40 Under Forty" list.

The event was a huge success as Portland's future leaders came together at the Gerding Theater of the Armory for an excellent evening. Kudos to the Portland Business Journal for putting together a memorable night for all of us at CWD.

Here are a few photos of the celebration (sorry about the poor quality, blame the iPhone):

Lobby of Gerding Theater at the Armory

Ben accepting his award from Senator Ron Wyden

CWD group (Left to Right: Kyle, Paul, Fritz, Stephen, Ben, Christi)

CWD's VIP Trip to the Sokol Blosser Winery

Last week, a few of us from CWD were invited to the Sokol Blosser winery in Dundee, OR to take a tour of the vineyard. Immediately after walking onto the grounds, you receive a homey, one-of-the-family type vibes and that was true throughout the day as everyone at the winery could not have been more hospitable and welcoming. Sokol Blosser is family owned and the heritage was evident throughout the tour. Aside from amazing wine, they are also on the forefront of instilling green technologies and sustainability efforts in the Dundee area.

Thanks to everyone at Sokol Blosser for the tour.

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Their tasting room and community center from the parking lot

The community room

Bottling Sokol Blosser Wine

Information Session in the Cellar

What the Sokol Blosser Vineyard look like on a good day (i.e. not the day we were there)

For more information on Sokol Blosser visit their site at sokolblosser.com.

CWD's Ben McKinley on Portland's 40 under Forty 2010 List

Look out Brad Pitt.

Ben McKinley, Cascade Web Development founder, was recently nominated to the Portland Business Journal's annual "40 under Forty" list of notable business and community figures in the Rose City. He will be honored at a reception on February 18, 2010 at the Gerding Theater at the Armory. If you'd like to join us in congratulating Ben and enjoy a great night out, please register here through the Portland Business Journal.

I'll provide more information after the reception (so check back in a few weeks). In the meantime, I found a post from the Silicon Florist, a blog about NW start-ups, which provides an opinion about the type of individuals nominated.

Live from Portland: CWD Train Broadcast 1/13/10

Yesterday morning, Cascade Web Development gave a online tour of our Portland office using Brand Live, our latest product. With the renovations done and tools stowed away, we were finally able to share our work space with the world.

For those of you who were able to tune in, thanks for checking out our new pad. If you were unable to join us, no worries, here are a few excerpts (sorry about the poor video quality)...

Train Tour Intro

Meet & Greet: Ben McKinley

More about Brand Live

Here's why Portland inspires innovation

I am headed to PDX last night with my mother in law to pick up my nephew. We pull into short term parking and there is this little sign that says "follow the green light." First, there is a little digital board above your head as you drive under the all to close concrete beams. The sign has a green number for the number of open spots in that row. Yes seriously. Then you keep driving and there are these little green and red lights above each spot. Clearly, green light means the spot is open; Red means, well get the point already I presume.

Simple, not in your face and fun to interact with. We strive for the same thing when designing our applications, but I humbuly admit that we probably don't get it this simple and this easy very often.

CWD client promo on 60Minutes

It would be great to say Cascade Web Development was on 60 Minutes, but we can't. The next best thing? One of our clients gets a little promo from the media giant. Last night on 60 Minutes, JT Holmes, a premier athlete with Nordica was interviewed for his INSANE human flying adventures. There is simply nothing that does this justice other than video.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Visitors loving the new Portland Office!

Gillian Kennedy and Ben McKinley