About Twin Angel Investors and Software Engineers in Alaska
Twin brothers from Seattle are experimenting with work/life integration while building and investing in software startup in Alaska. They are creating a diverse community of software engineers and creative professionals in Alaska, some of who work remotely for West Coast-based companies, where their work and life are seamlessly integrated. Seeds for this movement were planted long ago.
Lee Brown
software architect, geek, entrepreneur, object oriented, python and GOlang programmer, and lives life pushing to production
Lee Brown is on the front lines of high-growth and scalable software startups. From the early age of 11 years old, his interest in programming and internet technologies led him to build websites for local businesses. He boasts 20+ years of computer programming experience - particularly 8 years experience with cloud architecture and 6 years experience with GOlang.
Lee and his twin brother co-founded TUNE a decade ago to provide digital marketing technology as a service to marketers. Lee was the front lines of scalability and flexibility, spearheading API-driven data layers. As an early adopter of Amazon Web Services, his teams created new and innovative solutions that fueled business growth and established TUNE’s products as industry leading. After ten years at TUNE, Lee refocused his energy on leveraging his experience building software-as-a-service (SaaS) to launch Geeks in the Woods.
As part of Geeks in the Woods, the twins partner with entrepreneurs as their co-founders to build scalable SaaS startups leveraging GOlang as the core of their service offerings. As both software architect and engineer, Lee helps entrepreneurs in Alaska build tech as a strategic asset. While his twin focuses on the business aspect of each startup, Lee leads the engineering of software from prototype to production. Lee’s involvement and board member of Geeks Accelerator is focused on building jobs for tomorrow with Alaska’s community today. Geeks Accelerator is a non-profit that provides the best Alaska startup accelerator program for software entrepreneurs.
Graduate of Babson College, Boston, MA
#1 rated college for entrepreneurship
Lucas Brown
entrepreneur, product developer, growth hacker, creative thinker, software engineer, and loves building businesses from zero to one
Lucas Brown is focused on understanding the patterns and key components of building software-as-a-service companies that achieve both rapid growth and sustainability. Lucas and his twin brother Lee began their first businesses before starting high school. They quickly found themselves suited for the world of software and marketing - launching their first successful startup as sophomores in college. This became a decade long journey, co-founding TUNE.
At TUNE, Lucas and Lee pioneered software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology for digital marketing. Lucas led the company to profitability growth, bootstrapping it for the first three years while growing the company to 75 employees and later raised $35M from Tier 1 VCs, Accel Partners and Icon Ventures. Lucas was influential in growing their company to 360 employees worldwide. He developed an expertise for understanding client needs and translating them into product designs to achieve rapid product market fit. After ten years at TUNE, Lucas and his twin brother transitioned to become bootstrapped entrepreneurs again co-founding Geeks in the Woods.
The twins partner with entrepreneurs to build and invest in scalable SaaS startups via the Geeks in the Woods' Geeks Venture Studio. His expertise in SaaS business models, product development, and user experience coupled with his constant drive for innovation makes him a cornerstone of software startups. As a board member of Geeks Accelerator, he wants to continue to inspire entrepreneurs and software engineers in Alaska. Geeks Accelerator is a non-profit that provides the best startup accelerator program in Alaska for software entrepreneurs.
Graduate of Babson College, Boston, MA
#1 rated college for entrepreneurship
Geeks in the Woods in the News
The Alaska Startup Studio: A Valdez Adventure
The twins hope that with their experience in software, they can build a tech company in the state through the studio that will grow and scale by creating real value for customers.
October 10, 2019
Misunderstood and untapped: Alaska’s burgeoning tech industry spotlighted at conference in Seattle
Alaskan companies see Seattle as a potential landing point to scale up. Creative responses to a harsh environment continue to drive entrepreneurship in Alaska, a state that may be overlooked across the U.S. for its ability to come up with new ideas.
April 29, 2019
A decade after founding Tune, twins leave Seattle to launch Alaska startup factory
Now they've relocated to the wilderness in Alaska, where they are launching a new accelerator and startup studio for Alaska entrepreneurs.
February 5, 2019
History of Geeks in the Woods
Growing Up and Ski Movies
childhood
The Brown twins grew up watching iconic ski movies. Home to endless big lines and deep powder, Alaska was (and remains) the classic destination for extreme skiing. This sparked their interest in the Great White North.
First time in Valdez
April 2016
Lee serendipitously went on his first heliski trip deep in the Chugach Mountains. While in the air, they flew over the property and his guide mentioned it was for sale. Lee envisioned the location being the perfect as a destination for working remotely while also being a premier base camp for winter activities.
Property in Valdez
July 2016
The incredible location set amidst jagged peaks jutting up from Prince William Sound, and its potential for working remotely, hooked Lucas and Lee instantly. They purchased the first 14 acres of what would become "Geeks In The Woods" in July of 2016.
More Property in Valdez
September 2016
After the first property purchase, the Brown brothers began dreaming big on how they could create a remote and connected community for software engineers. To help accomplish their dreams, they purchased four adjacent lots - expanding the property to 21 grand acres on Robe Lake.
Living and Working in Tents
December 2016
Up until this point, the Brown Brothers still spent most of their time in Seattle. It was Winter, and development on the property couldn't begin until the ground thawed in Spring - but Lee was ready to begin the work-life integration experiment anyways. In the middle of December, Lee set up camp on the property with two Arctic Oven tents- a "bunk tent" and an "office tent" - marking the beginning of turning "Geeks In The Woods" into a reality.
Trail to Robe Lake
July 2017
Besides the driveway, which only gave access to the top of the property, the 14+ acres down to the waterfront was untouched wilderness with no paths or trails. The 200' elevation drop to the water made development a challenge. To start understanding the property and enjoying the lake, the Browns built their first trail, along with a little help from their friends. The path to the serene waterfront is 0.25 miles long and drops 200 feet in elevation.
Housing for Valdez
October 2017
Over the summer and into the fall, the brothers purchased three prefab tiny houses - 400 square feet each. To ensure they could install them as soon as the winter ground thawed, they began preparing the property for the arrival of houses right away.
Valdez Houses installed
June 2018
The three pre-fab houses arrived in Valdez via barge just in time for the annual 4th of July celebration on the Valdez property. The houses were set and hooked up to power, ethernet, and long awaited water and septic.
Fiber Internet in Valdez
August 2018
The property had operated on two DSL connections prior to August of 2018. With the help of some amazing friends, and the shared vision to bring tech to Alaska, we were able to connect with Copper Valley Telecom who worked with the 51-50 Team to install fiber optic internet on the property.
Property in McCarthy
October 2018
To increase future capacity of working remotely and connected, two acres of land was acquired near McCarthy. the property is 1.5 miles up the Bonanza trail from the historic Kennecott copper mill. While we have no official development plans, look forward to another exclusive destination where living and working are integrated.
To TUNE and Beyond
November 2018
After ten years building TUNE, including the first eight of driving innovation and product strategy, TUNE's two cofounders and majority shareholders end their employment to pursue new entrepreneurial opportunities that leverage their bootstrap methodology, founders mentality and software engineering capabilities.
Launched Venture Studio
December 2018
Lucas and Lee launch the Geeks Venture Studio, which partners with Alaskan entrepreneurs to build scalable web-based businesses.
Launched Accelerator
Feburary 2019
To further the mission of building the tech frontier in Alaska, Lucas and Lee launch a non-profit accelerator to provide educational programs with a focus on technical leadership and startup entrepreneurs.
