KORU
Koru Founder Kristen Hamilton Joins Enjoy the Work as General Partner; Portland Seed Fund Adds Principal Devon Horace
Kristen Hamilton, founder of predictive hiring startup Koru, has joined San Francisco-based startup advisory firm Enjoy the Work as a general partner, focusing on Seattle and beyond. Additionally, Portland Seed Fund added Devon Horace as principal, expanding its leadership team with experienced regional executives.
Brian Goldfarb named Tenable CMO; Elizabeth Hamren becomes Discord COO; Kurt DelBene confirmed as VA CIO; Madrona adds three strategic directors
Several tech industry hires and appointments: Brian Goldfarb is CMO at Tenable; Elizabeth Hamren is COO at Discord; Kurt DelBene confirmed as VA CIO; Madrona Venture Group added three strategic directors; Christina Mautz joined Panopto.
Amazon names Anne Toth director of Alexa Trust; Zillow adds Claire Cormier Thielke to board; Lockstep exits stealth
Amazon hired Anne Toth as director of Alexa Trust to lead privacy, security, accessibility and ethics efforts for Alexa; Zillow added Claire Cormier Thielke to its board and Lockstep, a Seattle accounting-software startup founded in 2019, emerged from stealth with a founding team drawn from Avalara, Globys, e2b Teknologies and Winshuttle.
Madrona leads $3.9M seed for Strike Graph to automate SOC 2 compliance, promises 45-day certification
Seattle startup Strike Graph, spun out of Madrona Venture Labs, raised $3.9 million in a seed round led by Madrona Venture Group to help B2B companies automate and accelerate SOC 2 compliance. The five-person team, led by CEO Justin Beals and co-founder Brian Bero, says its platform can deliver SOC 2 Type 1 certification in 45 days and save customers roughly $50,000 in consultant fees.
Madrona Venture Labs launches Founders Unite to connect startup founders with veteran execs through AMAs during pandemic
Seattle-based Madrona Venture Labs launched Founders Unite, a community and AMA series connecting startup founders with veteran tech leaders for advice and peer support during the pandemic. MVL — which raised $11 million for its third fund last year and has launched around ten companies — organized the initiative after polling 100+ founders about what they value most.