Founders' Co-op
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Many of Seattle's breakout startups trace their earliest institutional check back to Founders' Co-op. They're one of the most active leads for Seattle seed rounds and were early backers of billion-dollar companies such as Remitly, Outreach, and Auth0. DeVore and Ginzburg have built something legitimately special here - they're not trying to be Sand Hill Road North, they're genuinely committed to being the best first check in the Pacific Northwest. Their strategy has always been to be the best first-check investor in their chosen market, not to grow their AUM and wind up competing with the money-center investors their founders need for the next leg of the journey. Ginzburg's Foundations community is brilliant - it's his love-letter to the local founder community that's creating a vibrant, interconnected network of experienced founders, first-timers, and established leaders. They actually practice what they preach about community-first investing, and founders consistently say they're genuinely helpful post-investment rather than just check-writers.
- —Best for: Technical Pacific Northwest founders who want genuine community and help scaling beyond seed
- —Watch out for: They're hyper-regional - if you're not PNW-based, look elsewhere
- —Known for: Actually helping founders get to the next round with top-tier VCs, not competing with them
We are proud supporters of the unique innovation ecosystem that thrives across the entire region and are on a mission to power and enable founders with that pioneer mentality. Based in Seattle, they help the strongest entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest build companies that the best growth investors in the world choose to back.
About 80-90% of investments go to Pacific Northwest founders, typically at the pre-product or pre-revenue stage. Average initial checks range from $1 million to $1.5 million. The fund doesn't invest in specific verticals, instead placing more weight on entrepreneurs. The firm seeks to invest in Pacific Northwest-based companies operating in the software sector. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Consumer and Retail. It has recently invested in companies across AI infrastructure, business automation, developer productivity, enterprise software and data tools.
Previously co-founded Adjacency (acquired by Sapient) and Judy's Book (backed by Mobius VC and Ignition Partners), also created outdoor retailer Patagonia's online retailing channel and led product and business strategy teams at AT&T and McCaw Cellular. Also co-founded and led the Seattle branch of the global Techstars startup accelerator from 2010 to 2019. Chris holds a BA from Yale and attended the MBA program at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.
Former Managing Director of the Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars, which was backed by Amazon's Alexa Fund. Co-founded Simply Measured in 2010, one of Founders' Co-op's first investments later backed by Bessemer Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures. When Simply Measured sold to Sprout Social in 2017, Aviel transitioned from Venture Partner to full-time General Partner. Founded Foundations, the new hub for Seattle-area entrepreneurs. It has quickly become a magnet for the city's startup community and is described as Aviel's love-letter to the local founder community.
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