This blog post by Bill Burnham has generated a ton of buzz today, but it’s worth (briefly) chipping in about how the trend is playing out in the Seattle market. The quick summary of Bill’s point is this: “there is plenty of investment capital available for Consumer Internet companies that have demonstrated significant market traction continue…
We just announced that my friend and Founders’ Co-op business partner Andy Sack will be leading up a Seattle version of the awesome TechStars startup camp program next year. In a slight departure from the program structure in Boulder and Boston (where funding was provided primarily by angel investors), TechStars Seattle is being supported by continue…
My father-in-law – now retired – had two professional careers, spending his first 25 years as Naval officer, and another, equally long stint as a university professor and dean. He loved his time in the Navy, and it also offered a lasting benefit in the form of a military pension – what he likes to continue…
We just closed a new investment at Founders’ Co-op, and it’s an unusual one for us in several ways. For starters, it’s the first time we’ve invested alongside much larger venture capital firms – Seattle’s Ignition Partners and Madrona Venture Group led the round. In addition, the company – Appature – is much later-stage than continue…
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.”– Shunryu Suzuki Just about every day – and sometimes several times a day – I get to hear an entrepreneur tell the story of their company: who they are, what they’re up to, why they’re excited about it. As I continue…
Andrew Chen, a Seattle native (more or less) who pulled up stakes for the Bay Area a few years ago, has a thought-provoking post up today on why he chose to move. His thesis is that Seattle is culturally focused on retail + SEO (e.g, Amazon, Expedia), while the Bay Area is more oriented to continue…
In March of this year I speculated that – between Google Voice and Android – the era of the carrier-free cellphone might be upon us. Many of my mobile-savvy friends scoffed – the existing model was too entrenched, they argued, and the carriers would fight like hell to delay their transition from value-added service provider continue…
Sometimes it’s the obvious stuff that’s the hardest to see. The AppStoreHQ team has been hammering away on all kinds of hard technical problems on the topic of helping iPhone owners find iPhone apps. But a friend looked at the site the other day and said something that stopped me dead in my tracks. Instead continue…
My recent conversations with several of our portfolio companies have reminded me of a Zen maxim that goes something like this… Before Enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. At Founders Co-op we focus on ideas that come out of the gate fast – they typically ship product, engage customers and continue…
Today we’re proud to announce a new member of the Founders Co-op family: Nearlyweds! In business since 2007, Nearlyweds! provides personal wedding websites for design-conscious couples. In a market littered with generic free offerings, Nearlyweds! has built a great premium business by focusing on the user experience, partnering with top invitation designers in the industry continue…