Kate Matsudaira, Partner at Urban Influence and Creator Ink+Volt
This tech powerhouse has won GeekWire’s award for Hire of the Year and made it into TechFlash’s Top 100 women in Seattle tech. While the work she’s done for companies like Microsoft and Amazon, and as a VPE/CTO for companies like MOZ is impressive, what makes her stand out as a power mom is her ability to create, manage and sell multiple startups designed to help others accomplish their goals— like Popforms, an e-learning company that was acquired by Safari, and Ink + Volt, an e-commerce site that sells products designed to help people achieve their dreams—all while taking care of her two-year-old son Jax. After the sale of her first start-up, Kate chose to leave the big corporate world, which would have kept her on the road and away from her family, and instead signed on as principal at Urban Influence, an advertising and brand strategy company, where she continues to do meaningful work while having the flexibility she needs to spend time with her son.
Kate says that one of the things she is most proud of professionally is sitting on an elite industry board for computer science call ACM. Now expecting her second child at the end of October, Kate says that what she is most proud of over all is having a great marriage. She says, "It has sometimes been challenging, but the payoff is worth it. I’m grateful to have such an amazing partner."
