Facts
- HQ
- Madrona
- Sectors
- Financial Services
- Founded
- 1995
- Employees
- 135
- Stage
- Seed
- Last fund
- MADRONA VENTURE FUND X, L.P. · $489.6M · 2025 SEC Form D
- Funds raised
- 10 funds SEC Form D filings
- Total capital
- $1.7B SEC Form D filings
Data journalist Sherrell Dorsey on her new book, 'Upper Hand: The Future of Work for the Rest of Us'
Data journalist and entrepreneur Sherrell Dorsey is a Seattle native whose story is a powerful testament to the potential of kids in overlooked communities, and to the possibilities that emerge when their paths are cleared. Dorsey is founder and CEO of The Plug, a venture-backed news and insights platform covering Black startups and ecosystems. Her new book is Upper Hand: The Future of Work for the Rest of Us. Read an excerpt from Dorsey's book on GeekWire: Seattle’s ‘Motown of tech’ changed Sherrell Dorsey’s life — now she’s passing it along See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Scott Jacobson
Scott Jacobson is a Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, where he has spent over 14 years helping early-stage technology entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest build and scale their companies. Scott is on the boards of companies like Rover, Flexe, and CommerceIQ, and focuses much of his energy on consumer businesses or business technologies that have a significant consumer component. Prior to joining Madrona, Scott worked at Amazon, where he did two tours of duty, leading product management for Amazon’s 3rd-party seller platform and working on the launch of the original Kindle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tech pay, cloud trends, Kraken, and self-driving cars with Qumulo CEO Bill Richter
Everyone is closely monitoring the implications of remote work as we emerge from the pandemic, so it's no surprise that one of the most widely read stories on GeekWire this week — right behind the Titanic's disappearing bathtub and Facebook's potential name change — was a story on trends in tech salaries. Two big trends stood out in the report from jobs site Hired: Average tech salaries in Seattle are up 4.6% from last year, to $158,000, second only to the Bay Area, which saw its average dip slightly to $165,000. Nationwide, the average U.S. tech salary fell 1.1% to…
Startup secrets; Windows 11 launch; In defense of the Blue Yeti
A global pandemic might seem like the wrong time to pursue a new startup idea, given all the uncertainties, but in many ways, the timing couldn't be better. That's one of the insights from our GeekWire Podcast conversation this week with Seattle-area entrepreneur and investor Shirish Nadkarni, author of the book From Startup to Exit: An Insider’s Guide to Launching and Scaling your Tech Business. The changes in user behavior and tech platform shifts caused by the pandemic dovetail with one of the lessons Nadkarni is hoping to get across to entrepreneurs. "Look for opportunities where there is either some…
Madrona's Steve Singh on 6 tech trends to watch post-COVID
The 2021 virtual GeekWire Awards were held this week, recognizing the top companies, innovators, entrepreneurs and technologies in the Pacific Northwest, as nominated and chosen by the GeekWire community — along with celebrity cameos. On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we’re featuring highlights from a behind-the-scenes conversation with former Docker and Concur CEO Steve Singh, managing director of Madrona Venture Group, which was hosted for finalists in advance of the awards by GeekWire co-founder John Cook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Future of Femtech
This week we're presenting a new episode of the GeekWire podcast 2025: Tomorrow, Today featuring a discussion with Julie Sandler of Pioneer Square Labs. It's one in a series of conversations with technology investors on the 2025 podcast. Find more episodes at geekwire.com/2025podcast. We'll be back next week with our regular weekly show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
'Slackforce,' AWS re:Invent, and Seattle's new $9B tech company
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Salesforce strikes a deal to acquire Slack for $27.7 billion; Amazon Web Services makes some surprising news at its annual re:Invent cloud conference; and a new tech giant arrives in our backyard. Joining us on this episode is Matt McIlwain, managing director at Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group, offering his commentary on the implications of these developments in the world of cloud and enterprise technology. Special bonus: Listen to the end of the show for a new installment of our GeekWire Podcast trivia contest, with a chance to win a GeekWire mask…
AI that writes your emails; a Seattle tech visionary; and our trivia challenge returns
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week: OthersideAI thinks it can help you be more productive by using artificial intelligence to write your emails for you. But is that really a good idea? The months-old firm announced a $2.6 million seed round this week. It's one of several startups creating email products based on OpenAI's GPT3 language processing technology. We talk about the long-term implications for the industry and for humanity. Tom Alberg was an internet financial pioneer when he became one of the first investors in Amazon in 1995. He didn't stop there. He was…
Julie Sandler
Julie is a managing director at Pioneer Square Labs, and runs the firm's venture capital arm, PSL Ventures. Prior to PSL, Julie was a partner at Madrona Venture Group, where she led the firm’s investments in Integris, Poppy, and Julep. In 2013, Julie launched the Seattle Entrepreneurial Women’s Network, an informal forum for women entrepreneurs and startup executives to connect in the Greater Seattle area. She currently resides in Seattle with her husband, Alejandro, and their toddler son and newborn daughter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Matt McIlwain (Madrona) on lessons from 20 years of VC investing, traits of top entrepreneurs, and building a bigger pie
20 years as a VC at Madrona. Headline IPOs like Accolade, Smartsheet, Apptio, Isilon. Invested in cloud before it was cool. 3x Midas list. 3x CB's top 100 VC list. Matt goes behind the scenes on his lessons (from the highs and lows), Madrona's philosophy, and how the best leaders work.
Snowflake, Madrona and a giant IPO; Bill Gates Sr.; Apple, UW and COVID
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week: Snowflake, the data warehousing company, came out with a bang this week in its public debut, raising $3.4 billion in the largest software IPO ever. It reignited a debate over the the IPO process and inequality in the allocation of shares when a company goes public. Snowflake's IPO was also a successful outcome for Seattle's Madrona Venture Group, resulting from a departure from its normal investing strategy. We'll explain what happened, and what it could mean for the future. When Bill Gates Sr. died this week at age 94…
Vetri Vellore (Ally.io CEO) on context over control, betting on human potential, and finding an uncommon insight
Ally.io 4x'd revenue, grew from 14 to 110 employees this year, raised $26M, and won Geekwire's startup of the year. All that in just 3 years. Vetri Vellore, Founder & CEO, goes behind the scenes on Ally's growth, his business philosophy, and building culture.
Startup Surprise: Funding skyrockets despite pandemic
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week. Despite the pandemic, funding for Seattle tech startups remains robust in the first half of 2020. In fact, funding is ahead of last year. What gives? We consider whether COVID-19 is accelerating some companies into the new economy of remote working, online shopping and more. Check out our list of startup funding to see how companies are doing. Health benefits platform Accolade became Seattle's first IPO of the year, with an initial valuation of $1.2 billion. Headed by Raj Singh, a veteran Seattle startup entrepreneur, Accolade uses a variety…
Special COVID-19 Episode: Matt McIlwain
Matt McIlwain, one of the Managing Directors at Madrona Venture Group, explains the most important quality he looks for in a CEO before investing, Madrona’s new accelerator fund, how he spends his time as an investor and his passion for public policy on the What Fuels You podcast. On COVID-19, Matt brings up some interesting points about the “natural tension between freedom and boundaries” and how “barriers have been broken down to find sustainable preventions, cures and tests.” Listen to hear what he believes will be the business opportunities that come out of this pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Uber, Grubhub and Seattle; Amazon's virus-killing robot; Surface Earbuds first take
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast. Word leaked out this week that Uber is considering buying food-delivery service Grubhub, and it turns out there are many Seattle connections behind the possible deal, including links to Expedia and several other companies. Food delivery is a tough market to make a buck in, for companies and their drivers, so what's in the deal for Uber? Uber Eats is #2 and Grubhub is #3 in food delivery services, behind leader DoorDash. DoorDash grew its market share 42% in March while Grubhub stayed flat. Uber Eats grew 20% (it…
Bezos is Back
Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon's sales rose 26% in the first quarter as the COVID-19 crisis made the online retailer an even bigger part of many lives, but profits were down 30% due to expenses from dealing with the virus. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos gave a clear message to shareholders, saying they "may want to take a seat," because there are big challenges ahead and they won't be easy or cheap to overcome. The company says it will spend $4 billion this quarter on initiatives related to the pandemic. With Amazon bigger and…
Julie Sandler (PSL) on how humanity & mental health are driving business decisions in this crisis
Go behind the scenes on Julie's conversations with portfolio companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for conviction and speed in the face of uncertainty, and how humanity & mental health are driving decision making.
Special COVID-19 Episode: Shannon Anderson
Shannon Anderson, Madrona Venture Group’s Talent Director, joins us to discuss COVID-19’s impact on the Seattle community. Shannon shares how she’s advising their portfolio companies during this unique time and gives examples of CEOs who are truly living their values in the midst of this crisis. She also weighs in on best practices for leadership communication and provides details on Silver Lining, the new, free resource for connecting laid off employees with companies that are hiring. Hear why Shannon is fueled by "creating opportunities out of problems" and why she sees “tremendous opportunity once we get through the current situation"…
Apple acquires Xnor.ai; Microsoft's bold climate plan; Seattle startup trivia
Apple doubled down on artificial intelligence and boosted its presence in Seattle with the acquisition of Xnor.ai, an Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence spinout with roots at the University of Washington, as first reported by GeekWire this week. It was a win for those institutions, and investors including Seattle's Madrona Venture Group, but it's also an example of an ambitious startup selling to a tech giant before it has the chance to become one itself. So how should we look at deals like this? Plus, Microsoft's ambitious plan to go "carbon negative" puts the tech company at the forefront of…
Tim Porter
Tim Porter, Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, discusses how the venture capital firm operates, what a day in the life of a VC looks like, what he looks for in a founder, and funding female founders. Prior to joining Madrona in 2006, Tim attended MIT and Stanford Business School and worked at Teledesic and Microsoft. His passion about very early stage companies makes him a perfect fit for his current role, where he focuses on investing in B2B software companies in the Pacific Northwest. Some of Tim’s companies include Heptio, Highspot, Algorithmia and Lattice Data. Beyond talking about his…
GeekWire Awards Winners Revealed
The strength and success of the people and companies across the Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem was on full display Thursday night at the GeekWire Awards. GeekWire's Jonathan Sposato, John Cook and Todd Bishop share highlights and clips from the night on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. More highlights here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Greg Gottesman
Greg Gottesman, a major influencer in the Seattle startup community, sits down and shares his knowledge about entrepreneurship, his passion for the early stage of building companies, and the story behind what sparked the idea for Rover, where Greg is a co-founder. Greg serves as a Managing Director and co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, both its studio and fund. He was a partner of Madrona Venture Group for 20 years and founder of Madrona Venture Labs. In this episode, he also discusses the entrepreneurship class he teaches at the University of Washington, what he looks for in entrepreneurs’ pitches, and…
Silicon Valley's Seattle secret
Silicon Valley investors are pouring more and more money into Seattle startups. So what's the secret behind this new influx of interest in Seattle's tech scene? We sit down with two experts from Silicon Valley Bank to talk through the numbers and trends around the startup world on this episode of the Week in Geek. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tech meets politics with WTIA CEO Michael Schutzler
Tech companies doesn’t always get along well with politicians — or with each other, for that matter. It’s Michael Schutzler’s job to be the go-between, bringing together a huge range of Washington tech companies and politicians to make sure the industry can thrive. We dive into issues like paid family medical leave, immigration and the state of Washington’s tech in this episode of the GeekWire podcast. Follow all our tech coverage at GeekWire.com Thank you to this week's sponsors: The University of Washington's Human Centered Design and Engineering department. Learn more: www.hcde.washington.edu; and Hughes Marino, the commercial real estate company…
Week in Geek: Uber takes Seattle to court and Bertha gets her big break
Uber won a small victory in its legal battle with the City of Seattle this week, but the fight is far from over. In more promising news, Seattle's giant tunnel boring machine, Bertha, finally reached the finishing line of the nearly two-mile tunnel she's been creating under the city. We get first-hand accounts of both events from GeekWire reporters on this episode of the Week in Geek, and also take a look at some interesting shifts in the startup funding landscape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fund History
People
See all 15-
Bill Ruckelshaus Founder, Founder and Strategic Director
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Paul Goodrich Founder
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Steve Singh Founder, Co-founder of Concur and Managing Director
