Ben Gilbert
Ben Gilbert is the co-founder and co-host of Acquired.FM and the Acquired podcast, and serves as a Venture Partner at Pioneer Square Labs. He has founded Acquired and Acquired.FM, both media companies that are still running, and PSL Ventures, a fund that is also still running. His expertise includes podcasting, venture capital, and software engineering.
Author Departs Pioneer Square Labs After 7+ Years and 40+ Companies, Reflects on Career Highlights and Team Bonds
The author marks their last day at Pioneer Square Labs after over seven years and involvement with more than 40 companies, reflecting on memorable experiences and expressing gratitude for colleagues and mentors. They highlighted unique moments like pitching their AI-powered dating app 'Jail Date' and emphasized the lasting relationships formed during their tenure.
Seattle Startup Tin Can Raises $3.5M, Gains Viral Success with Kid-Friendly WiFi Landline Phones
Chet Kittleson’s Seattle startup Tin Can has gained viral success with its WiFi-enabled landline phones designed to help kids avoid screens and foster real connections, raising $3.5 million and distributing products nationwide. The device's simplicity and analog nature have resonated with parents seeking alternatives to social media and texting for their children.
Seattle Startup Summit Highlights City's AI Strengths and Need for More Entrepreneurial Energy
At the inaugural Seattle Startup Summit, leaders like Statsig CEO Vijaye Raji and Acquired podcast co-host Ben Gilbert highlighted Seattle's strong AI ecosystem, anchored by tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, and specialization in biotech and disease research. Despite this, they noted the city could benefit from cultivating a more vibrant entrepreneurial culture to maximize its potential in AI innovation.
Julie Sandler to Shift from Managing Director to Venture Partner at Pioneer Square Labs in Late 2024
Julie Sandler, managing director at Pioneer Square Labs since 2017, will transition to a venture partner role in late 2024 while continuing to engage with the firm and its portfolio. She will also chair the Washington Roundtable next year, reflecting her ongoing influence in the Pacific Northwest tech and business communities.
Vivek Ladsariya Joins Pioneer Square Labs as Managing Director, Moves from Bay Area to Seattle
Vivek Ladsariya, a veteran Bay Area investor with experience in enterprise technology startups, has moved to Seattle to become managing director at Pioneer Square Labs, playing a key role in their Ventures arm and Studio. He aims to focus on technically driven enterprise software infrastructure startups, especially those delivering real automation, enhancing Seattle's venture capital ecosystem.
Acquired Podcast Founders Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal Launch Growth-Stage Tech Investment Fund
Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, founders and hosts of the Acquired podcast, are launching a new investment fund to invest in growth-stage tech companies, leveraging opportunities from their podcast network. Their fund formalizes their existing personal investments in startups like Vanta and Modern Treasury without turning into a traditional venture capital firm.
Ben Gilbert Transitions to Venture Partner at Pioneer Square Labs to Focus on Top-Ranking 'Acquired' Podcast
Ben Gilbert, co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, is shifting from managing director and general partner to venture partner to focus on the popular 'Acquired' podcast, which now has over 450,000 monthly listeners and is the top tech podcast on Apple and Spotify. The podcast's in-depth episodes require extensive research and production time, leading Gilbert to prioritize it over his previous dual roles.
Acquired Hosts Ben and David on Getting Started at Madrona and Tom Alberg's Legacy
This week, we're excited to release a special live episode recorded during the community event portion of the Madrona 2023 annual meeting. Managing Director Matt McIlwain talks with Madrona Alumni and Acquired Podcast Hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal. The three reflect on Acquired episode No. 28, which dove into the Amazon IPO with the late Madrona Co-founder and original Amazon Board Member Tom Alberg, and the early days getting the show off the ground from the Madrona offices.
How AI's new era is inspiring one startup founder
This podcast features Kirill Zubovsky, a startup founder and consultant, who is now working with AI to create applications. He talks about his journey over the past few months with AI, his experience with generative AI and GPT-3, and the application of AI he has been working on, Smartynames, a domain and business name finder. He also talks about his experience living in a van with his two kids and two pets and his thoughts on the current "App Store moment" for artificial intelligence. (This summary was produced by SwellAI.com based on its AI analysis of the content in this…
Pioneer Square Labs alum Boundless hires Ohio tech veteran Alan Gilbert as VP of Engineering after recommendation from PSL co-founder Ben Gilbert
Seattle VC Ben Gilbert helped his father Alan Gilbert land a remote VP of engineering role at Boundless, a Pioneer Square Labs spinoff, highlighting how COVID-19 has broadened companies' acceptance of remote hires and kept tech ties strong across distance.
Ben Gilbert of PSL and 'Acquired' on the red-hot market for IPOs, VC and acquisitions
Another day, another deal. Keeping up with the flurry of acquisitions, IPOs, SPACs and venture capital these days is no easy task. In fact, IPO dollar volume for 2021 has already reached $171 billion, surpassing the record totals of last year. Same goes for mergers and acquisitions, with record levels of deal activity tracked for 2021. The money is certainly flowing. Washington state now boasts 11 "unicorns" — privately held companies boasting valuations of $1 billion or more. Many of them — such as Highspot, Zenoti and Outreach — have raised venture capital rounds of $150 million or more in…
Coinbase IPO Soars to $85 Billion, Nets Windfalls for Early Backers Including Version One Ventures
Coinbase’s IPO pushed its valuation to $85 billion and delivered major returns to early investors like Version One Ventures, which made a highly profitable bet years ago. The article examines how Seattle and Pacific Northwest investors view crypto and blockchain as the region seeks to grow its fintech presence amid emerging local startups and initiatives.
Libsyn Acquires Seattle Podcast Monetization Startup Glow for $1.2M; Integrates Subscription Billing for 75,000+ Shows
Seattle startup Glow, spun out of Pioneer Square Labs and founded by Amira Valliani, built podcast subscription tools and has been acquired by podcast host Libsyn; Libsyn will integrate Glow’s private feed distribution and subscription billing for its 75,000+ podcasts. Glow had raised $2.3 million, and an SEC filing shows Libsyn agreed to pay $1.2 million ($800k upfront, up to $400k earnout); other deal terms were not disclosed.
Startup Haven launches Startup Haven Ventures, adds Westerdal, Yu and Mbemba; PSL promotes three; Adam Selipsky named AWS CEO
Startup Haven, founded by Bob Crimmins, launched Startup Haven Ventures and expanded its team to include Jay Westerdal, Arry Yu and Claudius Mbemba; the fund targets pre-seed, capital-efficient companies with a Pacific Northwest focus and made its first investment in Verdi. Seattle’s Pioneer Square Labs promoted Palvi Mehta, David Zager and Ben Gilbert; separately, Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky will become AWS CEO, replacing Andy Jassy.
Pioneer Square Labs raises $100M Fund II to back 30+ Pacific Northwest startups with $1–3M initial checks
Seattle-based Pioneer Square Labs raised $100 million for its second venture fund, exceeding its $80 million target due to strong institutional demand, and will invest across more than 30 early-stage Pacific Northwest companies with initial checks of $1–3 million. The firm operates a startup studio (raised $29 million) and a venture fund model that splits capital roughly half to studio spinouts and half to external startups.
TiE Seattle VC Panel: 2020 Ended with Record Startup Funding and SPAC Surge, Investors Expect Strong 2021
A TiE Seattle panel of four Seattle-area VCs said despite early pandemic layoffs and valuation fears, 2020 ended with record startup funding, VC capital raises, and strong exits, and they expect continued momentum in 2021 driven by SPAC activity and pandemic-driven innovation. Panelists highlighted increased founding activity, higher valuations, and pandemic-forced business improvements creating investor opportunities.
Pioneer Square Labs spins out 25 startups in five years; six launched during pandemic surge
Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) spun out 25 startups in five years — six during a six-month pandemic stretch — by rapidly testing ideas, though it has yet to produce a breakout unicorn and faces criticism over founder dilution.
Lighter Capital appoints Melissa Widner as CEO after layoffs; firm has invested $200M+ using revenue-based financing
Seattle alternative VC firm Lighter Capital named Melissa Widner as CEO; she succeeds Thor Culverhouse and joins a company that has deployed $200M+ via revenue-based financing and recently cut staff from ~80 to 23 before rising to 25 employees. Widner, a Sydney-based board member and former NAB venture managing partner, plans remote hiring as the firm seeks global growth.
Ben Gilbert
Ben Gilbert’s had the entrepreneurial bug since he was young, starting with building his high school website and developing apps in his college dorm room. Since then, Ben has worked at several incredible startups, become Co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, Co-host for popular venture capital podcast, Acquired, and was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017. Ben attributes much of his success to always “having two careers at once” by working on side projects and being fueled by a sense of accomplishment. In this episode, Ben talks about his first app, SeizeTheDay, that was downloaded over a million times…
Secret Startup Ingredient: Microsoft
Would you have guessed that nearly 25 percent of the Seattle region's top tech startups are led by CEOs with backgrounds at Microsoft? That was the surprising result of our analysis of the GeekWire 200, our index of the top privately held tech companies in the Pacific Northwest. And fundings for the region's startups bucked the national trend, as reflected in data from our new startup deal tracker. Nintendo unveiled a new iteration of its Switch game console; former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer pulled off what might be his greatest deal ever; and an Amazon employee showed the potential of…
Inside the IPO: Adaptive Biotech
Chad Robins is a Cornell grad and Wharton School MBA who was working in real estate finance a decade ago when he was approached with a business idea by his brother, Harlan Robins, head of the Computational Biology Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. As Chad Robins recalled, "When he called me up in 2009 and said, 'Hey I want to start a business, I've figured out how to sequence T-cells at a high throughput,' I was like, 'Yes, I'm in!' and then I went to Wikipedia and I'm like, 'What the hell is he talking about?' I…
IPOs without profits
What do Pinterest, Lyft, Uber and Slack have in common? Yes, they're all newly public or about to make their initial public offerings. But they also share a common characteristic on the bottom line -- proceeding with their IPOs with lots of revenue and growth but, so far at least, without the consistent profits to show for it. And they're part of a trend. Eighty-three percent of IPOs in the first three quarters of 2018 were made by companies that hadn't posted profits in the prior 12 months. So what's the future of these companies? On this episode of the…
Seattle 10 Names Top Startups to Showcase at GeekWire Gala Dec. 7 at MOHAI
The Seattle 10 highlights the region’s most promising startups across diverse industries such as education, enterprise software, virtual reality, and robotics. These selected startups will creatively showcase their business ideas on large cocktail napkins at the GeekWire Gala on December 7th at MOHAI.
Pioneer Square Labs Raises $12.5M from Foundry Group, Bezos Expeditions and 50 Angels to Build Start-Ups
Pioneer Square Labs, a Seattle "start-up studio," raised $12.5 million from over a dozen VC firms and 50 angel investors to build companies from in-house ideas. Backers include Bezos Expeditions, Rich Barton, and lead investor Foundry Group among others.
Pioneer Square Labs raises $12.5M from 13 VCs and 50+ angels; Foundry Group led, Brad Feld joins board
Pioneer Square Labs, a new Seattle startup studio co-founded by Geoff Entress, Greg Gottesman, Mike Galgon and Ben Gilbert, raised $12.5 million from 13 VC firms and over 50 angels. Foundry Group led the round and Brad Feld will join PSL's board.
Organizations
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Pioneer Square Labs Venture Partner 2024–present, General Partner + Managing Director, PSL Ventures 2021–2023, Co-Founder 2015–2021 · current
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Acquired Co-Founder / Co-Host 2015–present · current
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Acquired podcast Podcast Host · current
Education
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The Ohio State University BSCSE, Computer Science and Engineering, Entrepreneurship
