+1,319
Washington - New York - Seattle - Los Angeles - San Francisco Bay Area - Menlo Park - California, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsMedia • Retail (& E-Commerce) • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Analytics • Messaging • Payments • Online Social • Consumer • Woman Focused
Product Builder
New York - Seattle - Washington, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsBioTech • Businesses Solutions • A.I. (& Big Data) • Robotics
General Partner at IA Ventures
What I look for
Pre-product market fit companies making the world suck less by delivering magical-seeming solutions to important and difficult problems. And appeal to a rational economic buyer.
Founders who are customer domain experts with a formidable strategic understanding of, and an ambitious non-obvious take on, a fast growing market.
Companies benefiting from a massive fundamental trend. Ones where the market will continue to blossom over the next 10+ years. For example:
DataDog and DigitalOcean benefit from the incredible growth of new software developers,
Kepler benefits from the burgeoning space economy & software-defined satellites,
DataRobot benefits from the importance of ML and the desire to democratize it,
Coiled benefits from Python becoming the defacto language of data science/engineering,
Canvas benefits from the move to value-based health care, and
Vectra benefits from the rise of AI, the move to the cloud, and the increasing sophistication of security attacks.
Companies with audacious visions that can deliver an MVP and have many collisions with the market in the 12 months following our initial investment because distribution matters as much as product. Ones that can get to fast-growing, high-margin, scalable, and repeatable revenue within 18 months.
Companies that have a thesis about how they can be a 70%+ gross margin business with an accelerating advantage that enable them to capture the majority of the market and resulting economics.
Founders that display clarity, courage, & urgency (clarity of speech == clarity of thought). Ones who are relentlessly resourceful and can attract the talent to achieve the vision.
How I like to invest
Provide enough runway. 24+ months of capital (thoughts on burn and team size at the seed stage) to build team, product, demonstrate the irrefutable product-market fit needed to raise the next round from a great investor.
Have enough conviction to do the whole round. No lead investor should make founders scavenge to fill out the round.
Value great syndicate members over ownership. The right syndicate can change the complexion of a company. Bottom line is the founder has the final say as to the right raise and right syndicate — keeping in mind it’s in both our interests to have a small focused group of truly helpful investors.
Hold an additional amount in reserve from the outset in case the company needs a bridge to demonstrate product-market fit. This falls under the responsibility of a true lead investor.
Invest in only a handful of companies a year. New investments should never be “options” or “lottery tickets.” Every investment I make has the potential to change the world, be a legendary company, and return our fund many times over.
Keep it simple (e.g. post-money SAFE) and expect that the time from signed term sheet to money in the bank will be less than 2 weeks.
Pay my own legal fees.
How I like to work with companies
Earn the trust of founders. Founders who believed in me enough to let me invest in their company.
Do no harm. The singular focus of a seed-stage company is finding irrefutable product-market fit. Investors can and do help, but most important is to ensure they don’t randomize founders. Founders know their business better than anyone.
Be an accountability partner. This has an outsize effect on success.
Be aligned. Every round of funding is an experiment. It is important to be explicit about, constantly assess, and evolve the hypotheses that are being tested. The company and its investors must be aligned prior to an investment. I’ve found that the best way to achieve this is for the founders and investors to explicitly define and agree upon the hypotheses being tested with this round of funding (here is an example of a hypothesis document ). That is not to say things won’t change, but it’s much easier when both parties are starting from a place of mutual understanding.
How I like to communicate
Be open. Send me anything you think is helpful or useful. When in doubt, send it. I read every email — if I have something of value to say I’ll respond, if not I won’t. The more information we share, the better we can work together.
I’ve found that the best entrepreneurs send out monthly updates.
Be candid. If I’ve done something that you want me to stop doing, keep doing, or start doing — let me know. I’d rather you be honest with me and tell me I screwed up than keep it to yourself. It makes me better and builds trust between us.
I’m your investor. I believe in you. I want you to succeed. I’ve seen it all (ducks!). You don’t need to market to me.
What I hope for
While each company has its own path to success, patterns do stand out. Generally, within 18 months after our initial investment, the best companies have built the right team, have the product in market and have demonstrated conclusive and irrefutable product-market fit (if you are not sure you have it, you likely don’t).
Once a company has demonstrated product-market fit, actively help raise the next round. Work closely with companies to refine the pitch (here is some great advice). Introduce them to the best VCs.
Invest my pro-rata in subsequent rounds of those companies that have demonstrated success. On average we invest somewhere between $6 and $10M over the life of the best companies in our portfolio. And those companies return 10x++ our total investment.
Menlo Park - San Francisco Bay Area - California, U.S.A. - Israel - Europe: Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Norway, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Icelan
Contact this investorsBioTech • Businesses Solutions • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • IoT (& Wearables) • A.I. (& Big Data) • Web Security (& Privacy) • Autonomous vehicles (& Cars) • Robotics
Riverwood Capital is a globally-focused private equity firm that invests in high-growth businesses in the technology and services industries, across a variety of verticals and geographies. Riverwood has offices in Menlo Park, CA and New York, NY and currently has more than 20 investments in North America, Latin America and Asia. The firm's current fund has $780 million of committed capital. The final fund close was in April 2011. Riverwood invests in mid-market technology and technology enabled products and services. The firm defines mid-market as approximately $100-$500 million in revenue for product companies, and approximately $25-$150 million in revenue for software and services. Riverwood occasionally invests outside these ranges. Riverwood invests on a global basis, having already invested in the U.S., Israel, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The firm's normal investment size ranges from $25-75 million.
Seattle - Washington, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsSoftware (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • Entertainment (& Sports) • Consumer
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Pioneer Square Labs
Co-founder & Managing Director at Pioneer Square Labs
Baltimore - Maryland, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsSoftware (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IoT (& Wearables) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Medical Devices (& Hospital Services) • Healthcare (& Wellness)
Paul Silber serves as Co-Founding Principal at Blu Venture Investors. Silber also serves as Advisor at Evergreen Advisors and Insightin Health. Silber serves as Advisor at Evergreen Advisors and also serves as Board Member at Encore Path. He a native of Baltimore was the founder and President/CEO of In Vitro Technologies, (IVT), a bioscience company that provides products and services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. After relocating to Baltimore in 1991, In Vitro grew from two employees to a staff of 70, including several employees in Europe. The company also expanded its international business to Japan, the U.K., and Germany, while bringing the products of international companies to their North American customers through strategic alliances and distribution relationships.
Dallas - Austin - Montgomery - Birmingham - Jacksonville - Miami - Tampa - Indianapolis - St. Louis - Charlotte - Raleigh - Durham / Southeast - Washington - Atlanta - New York, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsSoftware (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • FinTech (& Financials services) • IoT (& Wearables) • Future Of Work • Woman Focused
Partner at Outlander Labs
Most Interested In
Marketplaces, fintech, Audio, Fertility, AR/VR, Future of Work, drone applications, consumer hardware, internet of things IOT for consumer or enterprise, Artificial Intelligence (AI), productivity tools, content and entertainment platforms and tools, vertical community, offline to online
Not Interested In
crypto currency, bio, pharma, pure content plays
Paige Craig is the Co-Founder and serves as Managing Partner at Arena Ventures. He was the Advisor at Prevoty. He is an Angel investor. He received an MBA from National University in 1999. He is an experienced angel investor who has invested in over 110 startups in the last seven years, including companies like Prevotye Lyft, AngelList, Wish, Postmates, Twitter, Styleseat, Zenpayroll, Quizup and more. Paige spent the first half of his career in the Marine Corps and US Intelligence Community and later launched a defense contractor, driving alone into Iraq in 2003 with just $10,000 and expanding operations across the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Africa and Southeast Asia. He also serves on Board of Rinse.
Washington - District of Columbia, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsWeb Security (& Privacy) • Cloud Services (& Infrastructure)
Managing Director at Paladin Capital Group
Managing Director at Paladin Capital Group
Baltimore - Washington - District of Columbia, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsSoftware (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Education • Businesses Solutions • Energy • Retail (& E-Commerce) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Web Security (& Privacy) • Insurance (& InsurTech) • Medical Devices (& Hospital Services) • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Woman Focused
Managing Partner @ Early Light Ventures (pre-seed/seed stage enterprise software startups - with a mid-atlantic focus)
Founder, Early Light Ventures (Backing Underdog B2B Seed-Stage Founders)
Oakland, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsHardware (& Manufacturing) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • Entertainment (& Sports) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Cloud Services (& Infrastructure) • Impact • Medical Devices (& Hospital Services) • Robotics • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Consumer
Co-Founder at Tari Labs
Naveen Jain is a Co-Founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer & Board Member at Viome. Jain Founded and also served as Board Member at Intelius.He is also the Founder of Blucora. He is a Co-Founder and serves as Chairman at Moon Express. He is a Co-Founder at Talentwise. He also serves as Board Member at Singularity University and as a Board Member at Extend America.
Washington, U.S.A. - India
Contact this investorsFinTech (& Financials services) • Impact
FInTech Asia 100; Co-founder Quona Capital; Investor/Board: ZestMoney, IndiaMart, NeoGrowth, Koinworks, Fisdom, Sunday
Managing Partner at Quona Capital
Washington - District of Columbia, U.S.A. - Canada
Contact this investorsWoman Focused
Partner at Route 66 Ventures
Partner at Route 66 Ventures
San Francisco Bay Area - Seattle - Washington, U.S.A.
Contact this investorsFinTech (& Financials services) • Consumer
Dan Levitan is a Co-Founder and serves as Partner at Maveron. He serves as Board Member at Pro.com, AllBbirds, Pluto VR. Since co-founding the firm with Howard Schultz 16 years ago, Levitan has led many of the firm's successful investments, including zulily, Trupanion, Capella Education, and Potbelly. Forbes recently named Levitan to its Midas List-the magazine's annual ranking of the top 100 VCs in the world. He currently serves on the board of directors of PayNearMe, Pinkberry, Potbelly, and Trupanion and recently led the Fund's investment in Peach. Prior to co-founding Maveron, Levitan spent 15 years in investment banking, focused primarily on consumer businesses. During his banking career, Levitan helped more than 100 companies go public, make strategic acquisitions or monetize the equity value they had created. Levitan met Howard Schultz in 1991, when Starbucks began planning for its IPO, and eventually helped the company go public. Levitan has acted as a board member to numerous private, public and philanthropic organizations, including the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, where he regularly acts as a judge and mentor in the annual New Venture Competition. He serves on the board of the Seattle Children's Hospital Foundation and is currently Chairman of Hope for Heroism, a charity that helps wounded Israeli combat soldiers. Levitan is a graduate of Duke University (BA) and Harvard Business School (MBA).
Washington State, particularly the Seattle metropolitan area, is a vibrant hub for startups and investments, driven by a robust tech ecosystem and an innovative culture. The region boasts a diverse range of industries and is home to major companies like Amazon and Microsoft, which contribute significantly to the local startup scene.
Key industries in Washington's startup ecosystem include technology, life sciences, aerospace, and clean energy. The presence of major tech giants has fostered a strong emphasis on software development, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, while the state's commitment to sustainability drives innovation in green technologies.
Washington hosts a thriving community of angel investors, with groups like Seattle Angel Conference and Alliance of Angels actively investing in early-stage startups. These networks provide crucial seed funding and mentorship, helping to launch numerous successful ventures.
The venture capital landscape in Washington is robust, with firms such as Madrona Venture Group, Maveron, and Ignition Partners playing key roles. These firms focus on a variety of sectors, providing significant funding and strategic guidance to burgeoning companies.
The investment climate in Washington is dynamic, supported by a strong economy and a conducive regulatory environment. The state's commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship makes it an attractive destination for both domestic and international investors.
Washington offers extensive support and resources for startups through institutions like the University of Washington's CoMotion Labs, Techstars Seattle, and the Washington Technology Industry Association. These organizations provide networking, mentorship, and development opportunities.
With its strong foundation in technology and innovation, Washington's startup ecosystem is poised for continued growth. Emerging sectors such as biotechnology and fintech hold significant potential, promising a vibrant future for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
In Washington, notable angel investors include Andy Liu, a prominent figure in early-stage tech investments, and Geoff Entress, known for his strategic contributions to startups in various sectors. Both have a track record of supporting innovative companies with potential for high growth.
Madrona Venture Group and Pioneer Square Labs stand out as leading venture capital firms based in Seattle. Madrona focuses on early-stage technology companies, while Pioneer Square Labs combines a startup studio model with traditional venture capital, emphasizing innovative tech solutions.
Angel investors typically provide seed funding ranging from $25,000 to $500,000, focusing on tech and digital media startups. Venture capital firms in Washington usually invest between $1 million and $10 million in Series A and B rounds, with a keen interest in software, cloud computing, and AI-driven solutions.
Angel investors and VC firms in Washington collectively engage in hundreds of investments annually. Madrona Venture Group alone participates in approximately 15-20 investments per year, while individual angels like Andy Liu often support multiple startups each year.
The investment market in Washington shows a positive trajectory, driven by a robust tech ecosystem and continuous innovation. An increasing number of startups are emerging, particularly in AI, clean energy, and biotechnology, attracting interest from both local and national investors.
Washington's investment community is known for its strong support and mentorship structures. Investors often provide strategic guidance, networking opportunities, and operational support, crucial for early-stage startups to navigate the challenges of scaling.
The state of Washington offers various incentives and resources to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Institutions like the Washington State Department of Commerce facilitate funding programs and partnerships to enhance the startup ecosystem.
Washington remains a vibrant hub for angel and venture capital investments, with a growing pool of investors and resources dedicated to nurturing the next generation of industry-leading companies. Startup founders can leverage this dynamic environment to propel their ventures to success.
Exotic Orange & Angels Partners: Turning Financial Simplicity Into Investment SuccessChatNode.ai: Revolutionizing Communication with AI, A Success StoryInterview with the Founder of ZenLaw: An Angels Partners Success Story!Sell SaaS Success StoryAWA Success StoryAngels Partners helps The MVMNT Group raise $250k for Saas product
