Puget Sound Venture Club

What is Puget Sound Venture Club?

Puget Sound Venture Club (PSVC) is an angel investment network based in Seattle, Washington, with a focus on IT and TMT industries among others.

They have been active in supporting the Northwest startup ecosystem, typically engaging in seed, early-stage, and first-round investment deals. PSVC creates a platform for evaluating prospective venture opportunities, allowing members to assess and invest in a range of promising companies.

Historically, PSVC members have collectively invested in over 1,350 companies, amounting to approximately $220 million in investment capital. In the year 2021 alone, members invested around $18.1 million across various ventures, including some that did not present directly to PSVC.

Notably, they have backed companies such as Starbucks, Clarisonic, Outerwall, Insitu, Theo Chocolate, Julep, Otonexus, and DocuSign.

The group's members have historically been proactive angel investors with a geographical investment emphasis on North American companies, particularly those based in the Pacific Northwest - Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. PSVC prides itself on a 38-year history of pioneering angel investment activities since its inception in 1985, setting a precedent for subsequent angel associations.

Following a significant decision, as of September 20th, 2023, PSVC has merged its membership with the Alliance of Angels (AoA), another prominent angel group in the region. As a result of this merge, PSVC has realigned its investment activities and is no longer accepting applications from startups seeking investment.

Instead, they recommend and refer startups to the AoA's application process, which sees investments in over 20 companies annually. The Alliance of Angels itself is a renowned entity in the Pacific Northwest, having invested over $125 million in more than 200 companies since its founding in 1997, and has celebrated over 40 exits.

PSVC, maintaining its core identity through owner Gary Ritner, is navigating post-merger activities as it seeks new opportunities to continue its legacy in angel investing.