Listener, Thinker, Adventurer
San Francisco Bay Area
- Current
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- Freelance Writer at VentureBeat
- Facebook Marketing at MINT
- Past
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- Intern at TechCrunch
- Supply Chain & Quality Intern at IDD Aerospace
- Virtual Intern at Seth Godin
- Patient Learner at TechStars
- ISG (Internet Strategy Guy) at Notepad Consulting
- Lean Manufacturing Intern at Perry Pallet Corporation
- Pastoral Intern at Campus Christian Fellowship
- Education
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- Western Washington University
- Western Washington University
- Whatcom Community College
- Recommended
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8 people have recommended Jeff - Connections
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384
connections
- Industry
- Marketing and Advertising
- Websites
Jeff Widman’s Summary
I'm always wondering how to do the splits:
How do we keep one foot in thoughtful analysis, and the other in relentless execution?
Passionate about:
1) People--connecting them
2) Efficiency--both micro (GTD, 43 Folders) and macro (Lean Manufacturing)
3) Technology--so happy, I cried when my family first got a computer
4) Economic Game Theory & Market Signaling
5) Art--making my basketball teammates look good
Life goals:
-Start 5 businesses
-Have 10 kids
-Give away $1 million
-Run 100 miles in 24 hours
-Present at TED
I know less tech than most hard-core geeks, and less business than most hard-core entrepreneurs. So I try to speak business around the geeks, and speak geek around the entrepreneurs.
Reach out: jeff@jeffwidman.com
(I don't accept connections from people I don't know. Instead, e-mail me with a brief bio, question, or project I might find interesting.)
Jeff Widman’s Specialties:
Online branding, Lean Manufacturing, Economic Game Theory, Keyboard Shortcuts, Evaluating crazy ideas, New media communication (blogging, podcasting, websites), Being different without being rebellious
Jeff Widman’s Experience
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Freelance Writer
VentureBeat
(Media Production industry)
March 2009 — Present (5 months)
Freelancer at VentureBeat, focused on enterprise and B2B technology news and trends.
http://venturebeat.com/author/jeff-widman/ -
Facebook Marketing
MINT
(Privately Held; Information Technology and Services industry)
March 2009 — Present (5 months)
I manage the Facebook marketing for Mint.com. Actively looking to connect with other Facebook marketers.
http://www.facebook.com/mint
Also write a few posts every so often for the Mint.com blog...
http://www.mint.com/blog/author/jeff-widman/ -
Intern
TechCrunch
(Privately Held; Internet industry)
October 2008 — January 2009 (4 months)
After the first three weeks, I realized I was the process bottleneck--so I hired a team of people in India and Bulgaria and completely outsourced my job.
For the rest of my time, I managed the remote team, wrote for TechCrunchIT, and handled odd jobs for Mike Arrington.
My posts: http://www.techcrunchit.com/author/jeffw/
During the this time, I had 4 of the top 5 articles (by pageviews)--the blog's editor had one post at the #4 spot. My writing hit Techmeme and Digg.
I also managed to spend a week covering a conference... at Disneyworld. :-) -
Supply Chain & Quality Intern
IDD Aerospace
(Public Company; Aviation & Aerospace industry)
February 2008 — August 2008 (7 months)
Part-time internship at a small aerospace manufacturer.
Friendly people with a decent work-ethic--but minimal change-ethic.
This experience kick-started my year-long pilgrimage to find: "A small team of intense people who make things happen." -
Virtual Intern
Seth Godin
(Marketing and Advertising industry)
May 2008 — August 2008 (4 months)
Worked under Seth Godin (along with a few other college students--all fantastically brilliant!) on marketing strategy and execution for several of his projects.
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Patient Learner
TechStars
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)
August 2008 — August 2008 (1 month)
When I wanted to learn about internet startups, TechStars.org was an obvious option. It's one of the most well-known and highly respected tech-startup incubators around.
David Cohen graciously agreed to let me spend a month at TechStars. By listening at meetings, watching the teams prep for investor day, and asking questions, I learned that a) I click with the startup lifestyle, and b) I have a lot more to learn.
(Was I a patient learner, or a learner of patience?) -
ISG (Internet Strategy Guy)
Notepad Consulting
(Marketing and Advertising industry)
December 2007 — April 2008 (5 months)
I accidentally fell into a consulting project with a local company... Basically I re-wrote the strategic vision for their online marketing.
Turns out they loved the result, and I loved doing it. -
Lean Manufacturing Intern
Perry Pallet Corporation
(Business Supplies and Equipment industry)
July 2007 — September 2007 (3 months)
Co-founded Process Improvement Team (PIT Crew)
• Generated over 20 significant shop improvements
• Lean improvements (and a lot of hard work) contributed to six new production records
• Increased the efficiency of the central manufacturing line by 12%
Designed custom stacking jigs
• Increased the efficiency of two processes by 1 hour each per day -
Pastoral Intern
Campus Christian Fellowship
(Non-Profit; 201-500 employees; Religious Institutions industry)
September 2006 — June 2007 (10 months)
Worked 65+ hour weeks in a people-focused organization on the university campus
• Mentored students in 1-on-1 and small group settings for 25 hours a week
• Co-planned and led a team of students on a week long service trip
http://www.ccfministry.com/internship/
Jeff Widman’s Education
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Western Washington University
BA , Economics , 2004 — 2009
I was drawn to economics because it's a useful way to model reality:
1) Look at the world
2) Create a simple model with far less distractions
3) Find new relationships within the model
4) Plug them back into reality to see if they hold true -
Western Washington University
BS , Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management , 2004 — 2009
Top-notch program incorporating classes from engineering, business, science, operations, and two summer internships.
Most useful thing I learned in class: Eliyahu Goldratt's "Theory of Constraints"
Great cadre of students and faculty!
Check out the website: http://www.cbe.wwu.edu/mm/- Activities and Societies:
- APICS--The association for operations management
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Whatcom Community College
AA , Graduated with Honors, from the Honors Program , 2002 — 2004
I received a college degree when my peers were graduating from highschool.
- Activities and Societies:
- Dean's List every quarter
AS Student Council member
Received college credit for playing Ultimate Frisbee (Yeah PE!)
Additional Information
Jeff Widman’s Websites:
Jeff Widman’s Groups:
APICS - The Association for Operations Management, WWU Manufacturing Advisory Board, WWU Guest Speakers, Box T Ranch, Kiros, Seth Godin's Virtual Internship, Campus Christian Fellowship
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The Personal MBA Community -
Bootstrappers Breakfast -
APICS The Association for Operations Management -
TiEcon -
Business of Software -
Western Washington University College of Business & Economics Alumni -
Grace Presbyterian Church of Silicon Valley -
Startup2Startup -
O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference -
WWU - Manufacturing & Supply Chain Program -
Milken Institute Global Conference Connect 2009 -
Seth Godin's Intern Alumni
Jeff Widman’s Honors:
Former National Merit Scholarship Finalist
1st place--Pacific Northwest APICS Student Paper Competition (Title: "Microsoft Xbox and the Reverse Logistics Process")
Jeff Widman’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- expertise requests
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
