Julie Sandler
Julie Sandler is a board director at HouseWhisper and Outgo, and serves as co-founder and general partner of PSL Ventures as well as managing director and venture partner at Pioneer Square Labs. She founded PSL Ventures, a fund established in 2019 that is still running, and has expertise in venture investing, board leadership, and technologies including vertical AI, productivity, logistics, fintech, and the future of work.
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.
2:32 Julie Sandler, Pioneer Square Labs
DARE speaks with Julie Sandler, Managing Director at Pioneer Square Labs and co-founding general partner of PSL's venture capital firm, PSL Ventures. The firm invests in companies all over the Pacific Northwest region. Julie has a long-standing interest in digital solutions serving women and underserved communities. Prior to PSL, Julie was a partner at Madrona Venture Group and managed digital marketing for Amazon’s ebook business worldwide. Julie was named a “Power 100” influencer in the Puget Sound Business Journal, voted “Geek of the Year” by GeekWire, named an AdWeek “Brand Star” for her work with underrepresented entrepreneurs, voted GeekWire’s “Hire…
Pioneer Square Labs’ Julie Sandler to become venture partner next year, stepping down as managing director
Julie Sandler will move from managing director to venture partner at Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs next year, continuing to help founders, seek investments and serve on boards. The change will occur before PSL Ventures raises its next fund, and Sandler will also chair the Washington Roundtable in the coming year.
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.
Ben Eidelson Launches Stepchange, a $3M Seattle Venture Fund to Accelerate Carbon-Cutting Tech Adoption
Ben Eidelson, former tech entrepreneur, launched Stepchange, a Seattle-based climate-focused venture fund investing $100,000-$200,000 in early-stage carbon-reducing startups, aiming to deploy $3 million within 18 months. Eidelson also hosts the Climate Papa podcast and engages the community to accelerate climate technology adoption.
Seattle Startups Report 12% Down Rounds in 2023, Lower Than Bay Area's 17% and NYC's 24%, Reflecting Revenue Focus
Seattle startups experienced fewer down rounds in funding during the first nine months of 2023 compared to Bay Area and New York City, with 12% versus 17% and 24% respectively. This is attributed to Seattle founders' focus on revenue and profitability, which aligns better with current investor preferences amid broader tech market challenges.
Seattle’s Pioneer Square Labs Raises $20M Third Fund to Accelerate Generative AI Startup Studio
Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs raised $20 million for its third fund to invest in generative AI, building multiple AI-driven apps in finance and healthcare. Founded in 2015, PSL has 33 startups with most securing follow-on investments but no unicorn exits yet.
A Conversation with Julie Sandler | Managing Director @ Pioneer Square Labs | Partner @ PSL Ventures | Madrona Venture Group | Seattle Entrepreneurial Women’s Network | Amazon | Stanford U. | Harvard Business School
In this episode, we talk to Julie Sandler about her psychology background and how that has translated to her work today, especially her relationships with founders. Talking about PSL, she touches on the growth of the fund and the Northwestern region and the venture studio model. She also dives into diversity both within the fund and their investments, serving as a testament to advancements in the industry. She concludes with her observation that the support system among women prominent in VC provides guidelines to help navigate the space.
Tom Alberg, Amazon Early Investor and Madrona Co-Founder, Dies at 82 After Shaping Seattle Tech
Tom Alberg, co-founder of Madrona Venture Group and early investor in Amazon, is remembered for his significant yet understated contributions to Seattle's tech industry, including his mentorship and 23 years on Amazon's board. He died at 82, leaving a lasting legacy both publicly and through his personal impact on colleagues and entrepreneurs.
Tom Alberg Remembered as Influential Mentor and Venture Capitalist Who Empowered Seattle Entrepreneurs
Tom Alberg was a deeply curious, humble, generous, and kind mentor who profoundly influenced the Seattle tech community and venture capital world. He empowered young entrepreneurs with trust and wisdom, helping build Madrona and Perkins Coie LLP into industry leaders while delighting in others' successes.
Seahawks Linebacker Bobby Wagner Joins Fuse Venture Partners as Venture Partner, Investing in Early-Stage Seattle Startups
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is a venture partner at Fuse Venture Partners, investing in early-stage Seattle startups while applying negotiation and leadership lessons from his NFL career; he discussed these topics and his angel investments on GeekWire Studios' podcast 2025: Tomorrow, Today.
Seattle VCs Report 28% Women in Senior Roles, Nearly Double U.S. Average of 14.2%
Seattle-area venture capital firms have nearly double the national share of women in senior roles (28% vs. 14.2%), with 25 women among 88 partners across 21 Washington firms, though overall parity remains distant and 61% of U.S. VC firms still have no women in key decision-making roles.
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.
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.
Madrona’s Dan Li: Niche, Creator-Driven Communities Like Roblox ($30B) and Clubhouse (~$1B) Are Rising
Madrona partner Dan Li says niche, user-populated online communities — exemplified by Roblox (valued at $30B) and Clubhouse (about $1B) — are growing more important as creators produce sticky, original content, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. He discussed these themes on GeekWire Studios’ podcast 2025: Tomorrow, Today, hosted by John Cook and Jordon Voss.
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.
Think Tank Ep. 4 - Building Centers for Digital Innovation w/ Julie Sandler of Pioneer Square Labs
What happens when you bring together two bright minds to tackle health care’s biggest challenges? This isn’t your typical brainstorm among healthcare experts. This is a supercharged session between two minds that work in similar, but very disparate industries. Our guests talk about a broad challenge they face and discuss how they’ve approached the problem in their respective fields. The magic? To see how their approaches to a challenge can be applied to another industry to spark new avenues of innovation. This series is all about creating synergy between two different, but very like-minded healthcare and tech experts. In our…
Fireside Chat with Julie Sandler
Julie Sandler from Pioneer Square Labs and Josh Williams from Seattle Bank discuss trends in startup financing, angel investing and venture capital.
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.
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.
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.
Organizations
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Pioneer Square Labs Venture Partner 2025–present, Co-founder & General Partner, PSL Ventures 2018–present, Managing Director, PSL 2017–present, Former Managing Director , Venture Partner (upcoming) · current
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HouseWhisper Board Director 2024–present · current
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Outgo Board of Directors, Board Observer 2021–present · current
Education
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Harvard Business School MBA with Honors
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Stanford University Phi Beta Kappa, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, with Honors and Distinction
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Stanford University Master of Arts, Psychology
