Brian Hall

#1 WA state stan. x-VP Google, AWS, Microsoft + startup CEO. Seattle native, helpless M's (and WA) fan. Massie kinda R, MGP kinda D. need opptys for our kids.

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

Happy Triple Lindy Day to those who celebrate!

[Kevin Gallagher @KevG163]

40 Years Ago Today

"THE TRIPLE LINDY"

"Back To School", starring Rodney Dangerfield as "Thornton Melon — the world's oldest living freshman"

Released June 13, 1986

[Future 42 @future42org]

Seattle has dropped from '2nd best U.S. city for foreign investment' to 13th place, in just one year.

As Private Wealth Manager Michal Hatch explains:

“Seattle’s drop is not random. It is the result of years of policy decisions that have made it harder for businesses, large and small, to function here — the cumulative weight of new city taxes, a minimum wage at the top of the national range, and a level of street-level chaos no business can absorb.”

Could he be any clearer than that? Probably not..

(This drop also means there are no west coast cities in the Top 10 for foreign investments)

@kslosh | @geekwire
'Seattle slips in ranking of best U.S. cities for foreign investment, fueling concerns about business climate'
Article: https://t.co/6cxMMv6NFh

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

@minty_hawk @stevemgordon67 Ok that's epic

[Corey Quinn @QuinnyPig]

Suddenly every PR has a surprise new reviewer in Claude Code today.

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

Sharing some good news!

[Governor Bob Ferguson @GovBobFerguson]

In Moses Lake today to open our state's — and our country's — first Sustainable Aviation Fuel production facility that takes carbon dioxide and turns it into jet fuel.

Washington state is ready to lead on innovation in Sustainable Aviation Fuel. We have deep historical roots in aerospace that has helped us build an ecosystem of 1,500 aerospace companies, world-class research institutions, deep engineering talent, and a highly skilled workforce.

Congratulations to everyone at Twelve!

[stevemur @stevemur]

"No evidence" the insane tax policy pushed by Olympia will send wealth or jobs elsewhere except

*howard schultz
*jeff bezos
*rich barton
*nick hanauer
*bruce mccaw
*closure of columbia tower club
*record-high office vacancy downtown
*starbucks hq, along with most key SBUX executives
*irs data showing net loss in $550 million in Adjusted Gross Income for WA between 2022 and 2023 (most recent available), showing a loss of 8,291 tax filers
*departure of 68,000 tax filers from King County, representing a loss of $2.19 billion in AGI, from same IRS data ('22-23)

but it's definitely not happening, nothing to see here @people4pedersen @GovBobFerguson @MayorOfSeattle

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

@engele nobody knows. it's worse than .net. IFYKYK

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

it's almost worse for Copilot... After spreading it on everything, they now have "Office Agent" after they killed the Office brand (Microsoft 365 yo!).

I am amazed that MS hasn't just undone that mistake yet. Just go back to Office, and re-center copilot to what it actually does well.

[Rhys @RhysSullivan]

siri and copilot brands are mostly dead to me by this point

copilot likely an example of being too early in that the tech wasn't ready + they over extended it, siri an example of being too late

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

@wintive yeah, it's bad

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

@sarm34 see these are the kind of insights we follow you for scott!

clearly sriracha hit big fast, and I might argue Secret Aardvark.

but you have the winner for how odd it is I think

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

@careyarms @TravisSCouture @aviel @jesseproudman BTW, from 30 yr seattle / lifelong WA resident.

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

first, not sure what to take from your "bros" comment.

second, I LOVE taxes. I love that they help us pool our money to build schools, have a health safety net, build and maintain roads and parks and libraries.

I also love that governments can be net positive to businesses, and encourage businesses to create more opportunity. OUR GOVERNMENT IS NOT DOING THAT RELATIVELY SPEAKING RIGHT NOW.

with love, Brian.

[aviel @aviel]

Nothing is black and white. The issue is that our nascent entrepreneurial flywheel has broken. It doesn’t mean that entrepreneurship is “dead”.

How’s it broken?

Amazon/MSFT and Bay Area engineering hubs attracted awesome talent to the region. This has slowed dramatically. That means we have a smaller pool of folks to break off and found something.

Taxes have the ones who made $$$ leaving the region vs staying and reinvesting in it.

None of this means Seattle is over, it just changes the equation such that unless you are VERY invested in the region you don’t build here.

And FWIW the transition from the cloud era to AI is just as big a culprit as taxes.

👋 from SF.

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

And Seattle is temporarily turning on cameras...

I will say SF was WAY worse for crimes, especially window smash varieties.

[Rahul Sidhu @rahul]

One of the most prolific criminals in all of San Francisco tells @adam22 that “crime in San Francisco is over with” because of Flock cameras + drones. He complains that he can’t even do drivebys anymore.

It’s simple: when the risk of getting caught is too high, crime plummets.

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

@royalhansen Umm, Royal - I'd stay off your toes and stay on your pedals buddy. seems safer.

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

Well worth a read. The point in uncertainty is spot on, and not sure what to do there

[Steve Gordon @stevemgordon67]

https://t.co/qeDVErtAWM

[Steve Gordon @stevemgordon67]

https://t.co/qeDVErtAWM

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

@donasarkar @JezCorden 👊❤️👏

[Brian Hall @IsForAt]

@keegan_tweets Love that place!

[Jesse Proudman @jesseproudman]

Spending more than doubled (116%) while inflation and population growth grew at 59%.

@GovBobFerguson new found shortfall isn't a revenue problem, it's a spending problem. Cut wasteful programs and eliminate fraud.

Balance your checkbook in the same way every one else does.