Founders’ Co-op is a Seattle-based venture capital firm founded in 2008 that focuses on backing early-stage technology founders across the Pacific Northwest. The firm is known as one of the region’s most influential first-check investors, helping technical founding teams build companies that later attract major coastal venture firms. Founders’ Co-op was an early backer of billion-dollar companies such as Remitly, Outreach and Auth0, positioning it as a cornerstone of the Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem.
The firm invests in pre-product and pre-revenue technology startups led by ambitious and deeply technical founding teams.
Founders’ Co-op is sector-agnostic, prioritizing founders and problem selection rather than verticals. While open to all categories of software innovation, it has recently invested in companies across AI infrastructure, business automation, developer productivity, enterprise software and data tools.
Founders’ Co-op has closed its sixth fund at 50 million dollars, matching the size of its previous vehicle. The fund will be deployed across approximately 30 early-stage companies, with an average initial investment between 1 million and 1.5 million dollars.
The firm aims for around 10% ownership at the first investment. Around 80–90% of the capital will go to Pacific Northwest founders, consistent with the firm’s long-standing regional thesis.
Founders’ Co-op emphasizes that its fund size is intentionally constrained to stay aligned with its strategy: to remain the best first-check investor in its market rather than scaling into later-stage competition with larger coastal funds.
Most LPs in the new fund are returning backers, complemented by new investors who believe in the Pacific Northwest as an under-served and differentiated startup market.
Leadership
Founders’ Co-op is led by founding managing partner Chris DeVore, a key figure in Seattle’s startup community and former head of Techstars Seattle. He is joined by general partner Aviel Ginzburg, co-founder of Simply Measured and former managing director of the Alexa Accelerator at Amazon. The firm operates from inside Foundations, the entrepreneurial hub created by Ginzburg, which has become an influential gathering point for early-stage founders in Seattle.
Investment Strategy
The firm’s strategy is grounded in being the earliest and most committed partner to Pacific Northwest founders. Founders’ Co-op invests in teams long before product-market fit, often at the napkin sketch or prototype stage, and helps founders build companies that can scale into venture-backed successes. It supports founders through hands-on guidance, local network access, and deep community engagement via Foundations. While the firm is open to any technology category, it places priority on strong technical talent, clear founder-market fit and the ambition to build enduring companies from Seattle outward. Its philosophy emphasises discipline around fund size, long-term relationships and an unwavering regional focus.
Notable Investments
Founders’ Co-op was an early investor in several Seattle unicorns, including Remitly, Outreach and Auth0.
More recent investments include:
They all reflect the blend of AI infrastructure, automation, data tooling and enterprise software bets aligned with the firm’s technical founder focus.
Notable Exits
The firm’s highest-profile exits include Remitly’s IPO, Outreach’s rise into category leadership, and Auth0’s multi-billion-dollar acquisition by Okta. These outcomes reflect the firm’s ability to identify technical founding teams early and support them through the full trajectory of venture scale.
Other
Founders’ Co-op is strongly embedded in the Pacific Northwest startup ecosystem and benefits from deal flow generated through its proximity to Foundations, one of Seattle’s most important founder hubs.
The firm is selective, preferring depth over breadth and maintaining close, long-term relationships with the teams it backs. Founders should expect a hands-on partnership, strong technical sparring and access to a regional network that increases early traction.
The firm’s early-stage orientation means it typically invests ahead of traditional metrics, making it well-suited for founders seeking a conviction-driven first check. It maintains a disciplined approach to fund size, geography and founder alignment to avoid competing with larger later-stage funds that its portfolio companies will attract.
United States
