Episode 59: Peter Chee - Founder CEO, Endurance Athlete, Father of Three Kids

Today’s guest is Peter Chee. Peter loves tackling what he likes to call “peak experiences” and has often found these experiences through entrepreneurship and endurance sport. Currently, Peter is the founder and CEO of Thinkspace. Based in the Seattle area, Thinkspace provides workspace for a community of entrepreneurs, tech startups, non-profits, and small businesses with a common affinity for passion and inspiration. Prior to Thinkspace, he launched the Entrepreneur Organization’s Accelerator Program which focuses on helping startups go from $250K to reach $1M in revenue. He also had almost a 10 year stint in the tech industry in which he worked in software and database development for companies like Disney and Paul Allen’s Starwave Corporation. On the endurance side of things, Peter runs just about every day as he prepares for his next marathon (of which he’s done 13). He finds time to both run Thinkspace and prepare for marathons while raising three kids. In this interview, we get into Peter’s time growing up in Seattle, his stint in the tech industry during the dot-com bubble and lessons learned, Thinkspace, and his endurance athletics career.

Timestamps

00:02:46 Entrepreneurship as part of the family growing up

00:07:08 What he was passionate about as a kid

00:09:01 His desire to seek out peak experiences

00:10:31 Why he went into data analysis as a career path after college

00:13:23 Starwave Corporation

00:15:46 Onecast Media and lessons learned from a failed startup

00:20:28 Disney and lessons learned from working there

00:24:12 Pivot to real estate and working with his dad

00:28:40 Genesis of Thinkspace

00:30:14 Thinkspace overview

00:36:05 Covid-19's impact on Thinkspace

00:41:38 Ultimate vision for Thinkspace

00:43:21 Beginning of his endurance athletics career

00:46:09 His marathoning journey

00:52:01 His weekly training schedule

00:56:11 How he's balanced business, endurance athletics, and being a father

00:58:15 Similarities between entrepreneurship and endurance athletics

01:00:51 What he wants to accomplish 5 years from now

01:02:10 His daily routine

01:04:37 His driving force

01:06:05 Parting words of wisdom for the aspiring entrepreneur/athlete