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Kim Wetzel

Smart Home Editor at Digital Trends

Kim Wetzel

Kim Wetzel

Smart Home Editor at Digital Trends

Travels From Travels From:
Portland, OR, USA
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Categories Categories:
Futurism, Innovation, Science and Technology, Technology Speakers
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Kim Wetzel Biography

It was 2001, the year of the flat screen plasma TV, the first PlayStation, and the first iPod. Dan Gaul and Ian Bell were in the buffet line getting food, when a man who worked as a merchandiser at Office Depot, pulled out his then-hot Motorola phone, the first of its kind to have Bluetooth, and they both became intrigued.

Bell, the consummate consumer and lover of gadgets, wanted to know how he could get his hands on devices earlier and opined that he'd love to start a website that reviewed products. On the other side of the buffet line, Dan Gaul, a programmer who worked at Real Networks piped in: he had a private server, and he'd help build the website if Bell would supply the stories. A friendship and business partnership were born over a love of technology.

Soon afterward, Bell and Gaul started Design Technica—which would become Digital Trends—as a hobby, working on it in the evenings and weekends when they weren't working their day jobs. But as their easy-to-understand, snark-free, helpful consumer reviews began to resonate with readers, they were able to focus full time on making the site the web's most comprehensive source of information about consumer electronics and technology.

While other websites focused on the nitty-gritty tech specs, Digital Trends was aimed at the engaged consumer looking to buy a new gadget who didn't care about tech spec minutia but wanted to know how it actually worked and how it felt to use every day.

In 2006, they set up shop in a small office above a furniture store in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and went to work on Digital Trends. Their early days are a model of old-fashioned hustle. When they wanted to include mobile phone reviews on their site, but didn't have any reviews to convince companies to send them prototypes, they borrowed phones from their friends to test them out and put up a few posts.

When they learned that their only advertiser only needed to run ads a few months a year, they scrambled to come up with new revenue. Bell, armed only with gumption and his marketing background, flew back and forth to New York, pitching companies.

For a while, it seemed like he was in over his head—he'd come back empty-handed, worrying how to pay the mortgage. But one trip proved fruitful and he landed his first big fish: an ad agency took a risk and bought $50,000 worth of ads on behalf of a major electronics client. Bell was thrilled until he realized that it was a monthly, not yearly payment.

And as they built up their content, more advertisers, companies—and readers—followed.

By 2009, they'd grown so much they moved to Portland's U.S. Bancorp Tower and expanded their staff to 75. Approached by venture capitalists offering wild sums of cash, they decided to stick with a smaller injection–one that they could manage and didn't undermine their Do It Yourself ethos. They didn't want to fall prey to what Gaul calls, "Shiny Object Syndrome."

Instead of worrying about what competitors are doing, they decided, "We need to just keep our eyes focused, put the blinders on, and do what we know we do well," says Gaul.

It has worked. As the business has grown—now with more than 100 employees in New York, Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco and 30 million global monthly uniques—Bell and Gaul have perfected the Digital Trends formula: a mix of comprehensive product reviews, important breaking news, and deep dive features. At a time when other websites in the media industry are struggling, they are turning a profit in publishing.

Their success has garnered Bell accolades and honors: he was chosen as a finalist for EY's Entrepreneur of the Year in the Pacific Northwest and named to Portland Business Journal's "40 under 40."

They never imagined in their wildest dreams that Digital Trends would become so successful. "It was just two guys who went, 'We're getting paid to write about stuff we love, gadgets and technology, how is this not the dream job?'" says Bell.

Bell and Gaul have succeeded by learning from those early failures, and growing exponentially each year.

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  • How do I book Kim Wetzel to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Kim Wetzel for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Kim Wetzel, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Kim Wetzel or any other speaker of your choice.

  • What are the speaker fees for Kim Wetzel

    Speaking fees for Kim Wetzel, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Kim Wetzel are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Kim Wetzel, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

  • What topics does Kim Wetzel speak about?

    Kim Wetzel is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Futurism, Innovation, Science and Technology, Technology Speakers.

  • Where does Kim Wetzel travel from?

    Kim Wetzel generally travels from Portland, OR, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.

  • Who is Kim Wetzel’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Kim Wetzel for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Kim Wetzel for your next private or corporate function.

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    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Kim Wetzel or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Kim Wetzel is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Kim Wetzel for your event is available upon request. Kim Wetzel generally travels from Portland, OR, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Don Katz, Mike Kaput, Iddris Sandu, Jeremy Fall and Danilo McGarry. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Kim Wetzel for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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