Sarah Bond

Ascend just released this new interview about why I love investing in Seattle/Pacific Northwest (PNW) startups at Ubiquity Ventures. Ascend is the most active pre-seed investor in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland, and more) and is run by Kirby Winfield. Thanks to Ascend's Nate Bek for the interview! Check it out the full interview: https://lnkd.in/giU2Wy3V A few snippets of what I said: ⭐️ On investing in Seattle (vs the Bay Area) "Companies like Auth0, Esper, Remitly, and others have demonstrated that they can start, grow, and thrive in Seattle. This is thanks to the continuous growth of hometown giants like Amazon and Microsoft, whose employees might outgrow the cultures at those companies." ⭐️ Why I fell in love with VC "First is about following new trends, nerding out on technologies, and getting inspired by new ideas .. resonates with the nerd engineer and the 5-year-old in me that used to love reading about new technologies ... [Next is] the innards of how companies are run, being in those pivotal meetings and discussions that change the direction of a company. These hard conversations about pivots, understanding metrics, and trying to separate the storytelling around startups from internal operations. That was the meat of building an exciting startup, which is quite different from just nerding out on cool new technologies. " And thank you to all the Pacific Northwest startups I've been privileged to invest in and work with: Eugenio P. and Jon Gelsey at Auth0 by Okta, Yadhu Gopalan at Esper, Fredrik Rydén at Olis Robotics, Claire Watts at ThruWave Inc., Adam Schoenfeld & Aviel Ginzburg at Simply Measured, Milkana Brace at Jargon, Yuriy Bulygin & Alex Bazhaniuk at Eclypsium, Inc. #seattle #seattletech #pacificnorthwest #pnwtech #portland

62

6 Comments

🚀 Buckle up, folks! It’s time to step into the future at SF Tech Week 2024. I’ll drop some mind-bending insights at ‘The Future of Immersion’ panel. 🤯 🗓 Wednesday, October 9th 🕕 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 📍 540 Howard St, San Francisco We’re diving into how AR, VR, and AI will flip industries upside down — from streaming your favorite shows to saving lives in surgery. Here’s a peek at what we’re breaking down: 🔥 Making the digital world so real, you won’t know what’s what (seriously mind-bending) 🔥 AI making immersion smarter than the smartest of us 🔥 Using VR to heal and save lives (outside of video games) 🔥 Building a metaverse worth living in 🔥 Navigating the ethics of tech without ending up in a Black Mirror episode 🔥 Haptic tech — because who doesn’t want to feel the future 🔥 Immersive entertainment so deep, you’ll never want to leave (we warned you!) I’ll be alongside some of the biggest innovators in the game, hosted by the legendary Rachel Brissenden and backed by Future Factory, Onchain Media, and Bright Beam. 🌟 Miss this, and you might as well live in the past. 😉 Don’t be that person. 👉 Get your RSVP's here: https://lnkd.in/gg7vEMkR #SFTechWeek #FutureIsNow #ImmersiveTech #AR #VR #AI #Metaverse #TechTalks #IlliaPashkov #DigitalDisruption

316

53 Comments

Establishing clear boundaries not only protects your mental and physical health but also helps you perform better in the long run. Without balance, even the most passionate professionals can find themselves overwhelmed and unfulfilled. Success isn’t just about how much you work—it’s about working smart, staying resilient, and allowing yourself the time to recharge and enjoy life outside of work. Let’s prioritize sustainable growth, both personally and professionally.

3

Meet the latest great minds to join the #Newfire Leadership team. Welcome Gordon Wong. I share your passion for Data to Insight (#D2Ti) and look forward to turbocharging solutions to our clients most pressing #business questions

13

Last night's Technology Association of Oregon panel discussion on raising capital for AI ventures was full of interesting takeaways. The event brought together leading PNW VCs, CEOs, and funders to share their perspectives and best practices. Here's what you need to know: ➡ The AI/ML space is rapidly evolving, presenting huge opportunities for startups tackling real business problems. VCs are actively seeking out the most ambitious and disruptive companies in this domain. ➡ Having an "unfair advantage" is key - whether that's proprietary data sets, unique domain expertise, or unparalleled access to customers. AI ventures need strong differentiation to stand out. ➡ Build relationships early with VCs, even before you're ready to raise. Their insights and connections can accelerate your journey. The PNW venture ecosystem is highly collaborative and accessible. ➡ Don't be deterred by the perceived lack of local funding. Great companies with compelling visions will get funded, period. Leverage the PNW's strengths in developer/engineering talent. ➡ Recognize and proactively address the potential downsides of AI - from data privacy to model bias. Building responsibly is both an obligation and an opportunity. ➡ Move fast, be bold. Raising capital is always hard, but fortune favors the brave in this space. With the right team, tech and traction, you can build a world-changing business here in the PNW. Thanks to the fantastic panelists Diane Fraiman (Voyager Capital), Geoff Harris (Flying Fish), Jon Maroney (OVF), Chris Sestito (Hidden Layer), Jon Turow (Madrona) for sharing their insights, and to Kristy Edwards for moderating!

20

3 Comments

Another fantastic Seattle Pavilion dinner in the books! What I love about our chapter is the diversity of perspectives — with nearly 100 executives split evenly between Revenue and Marketing leaders, the conversations are always rich with different experiences and insights. Last night, we dove into three key topics: 1) Balancing Growth vs. Efficiency The last two years have been rough, as many of us navigated the lowest YoY growth rates in a decade. In response, companies tightened their belts with hiring freezes, RIFs, and a focus on maximizing existing resources. For many, the emphasis shifted from new business acquisition to squeezing more value from existing customers. However, the consensus was clear: efficiency alone won’t get you to the future. Sustainable growth requires both retention and new customer acquisition. Ideally, for growth above 100%, half should come from upsells within your current base and half from new customers. For example, if your business did $10M last year with a 120% growth rate, you should close the year at $12M — with $1M from upsells and $1M from new business. 2) Evolving Relationships with Legal Many of us have seen reductions in Legal resources over the past few years, leading to bandwidth constraints and longer contract queues. GTM agreements — from new sales to partnerships — often end up competing for attention. Adding to this challenge, Legal teams are increasingly reporting to CFOs rather than sitting at the exec table. But there’s a huge opportunity here. With the right approach, Legal can and should be a strategic partner that accelerates growth rather than bottlenecks it. 3) Leveraging AI in Sales and Marketing Opinions on AI ranged widely, from "we haven't started" to "we’ve deployed RAG and have deeply integrated AI into nearly every facet of the business." While there’s plenty of enthusiasm, many are holding back on purchasing new AI solutions due to the rapid pace of change and the steep learning curve of early adoption. What’s clear is that almost all of us empower our teams with tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. The ability to scan and synthesize documents across platforms like Google Drive has drastically improved information processing and elevated the quality of our prep and information analysis. But there's still a lot of upside...AI agents are on the horizon. It's just a matter of time. Grateful to be part of such an engaged and forward-thinking community! Jackie Wylie Joanna Nguyen Juleen Konkel Telved Devlet Maureen Sarewitz Chris Haberle Bill Glenn Karrie Sanderson Jennifer Summers Jennifer Haas Jonathan Tice Alex Katzman Colin Brissey Lucas Price

55

7 Comments

Welcome to Midlife Remix, a podcast dedicated to exploring the complexities and opportunities that come with midlife transitions. Here, we dive deep into personal growth and professional evolution, focusing on how to reshape your career and life around what truly matters. 🎙️ Through authentic, insightful interviews, I sit down with inspiring individuals who have successfully pivoted in midlife, aligning their work with the lives they want to live. These conversations are filled with wisdom, practical advice, and empowerment, helping you reflect, embrace change, and pursue a purposeful, balanced midlife with confidence and clarity. In our first episode, I chat with Paul Hatch, who offers incredible insights into: ✨ Commitment and overcoming self-doubt ✨ The power of relationships ✨ The value of continuous personal growth ✨ Cultural experiences and contributing to society are essential elements of a fulfilling life ✨ How Stoicism and an entrepreneurial mindset can help navigate life’s biggest challenges This conversation will inspire you to think differently about midlife transitions and create space for growth and fulfillment in both work and life. Tune in, reflect, and take steps toward a more intentional, purpose-driven path. 🎧 Listen now and join the journey! #MidlifeRemix #MidlifeTransition #PersonalGrowth #ProfessionalEvolution #PodcastLaunch

20

1 Comment

I had the pleasure of spending this week at Contentful's Berlin office, getting to know members of the Ninetailed team and witnessing the powerful collaboration between the two companies in action. A huge thank you to Alexander Braunreuther, Andy Kaiser, and Irina Botea for the 1:1 time, and to the entire team for their enthusiasm and insights. From my nearly 20 years as an equity analyst, I’ve observed that the most successful M&A deals are driven by not just one, but two strong reasons for synergy. When the focus is purely financial, the outcomes often fall short. In the case of Ninetailed and Contentful, the financial promise is real. But the real magic is that Ninetailed’s integration with Contentful allows customers to leverage structured content personalization and experimentation immediately. With integrated workflows, marketers can start driving ROI at scale from day one—seamless technology at its best. #MergersAndAcquisitions #Contentful #Ninetailed #TechSynergy #CustomerExperience #Personalization #ROI

115

4 Comments

Invest. In. Women. And real men out there, speak up for women, because they shouldn’t have to do this alone. Women know all of this already. Men need to listen and amplify, otherwise the algorithm won’t help. Please watch this whole interview with the inspirational Melinda French Gates who is leading the charge with Pivotal Ventures investing $1 billion over the next ten years to promote gender equality. And that is not nearly enough. Based on data from its widely-respected Global Gender Gap Index, the World Economic Forum estimates that it will take the United States another 208 years to reach gender equality. This is not surprising given women founders only receive less than 2% of venture funding. The gender pay gap has remained steady over the past 20 years. In 2021, women earned 84 cents for every dollar paid to men for full-time, year-round work. This gap is significant at every level of education, and women may need to earn an additional degree to earn the same as men with less education. The gap is also more pronounced for women of color, with Black women earning 64%, Hispanic women earning 57%, Native American women earning 59%, and Latinas earning 55% of what non-Hispanic white men earn. In 2018, there were more men named James running Fortune 500 companies than there were women. In 2019, only one CEO on that list of 500 was a woman of color. Women are 51 percent of the population but hold only 24 percent of the seats in Congress. "I hope that women and people of color see that you can lead differently and you can be at the top of your field and you can be a great human being, living your personal life the way you want to and be a leader in your sector," she added. "I think you get these industries where, when over time they become very male-dominated, then the guys expect that everybody's going to act the way they act. And when they don't see somebody leading or acting the way they are there, there's pushback.”

279

10 Comments

🌏 📊 Erica Kangas is an engineering leader, voracious learner, and feminist builder who seeks out the biggest levers to move the world. 📊🌏 It's W6 / Q2 / 2024 and this week in our MGMT Boston up & coming operator series we’ve got Annie Erica, part of a small but mighty team as the Head of Engineering at hyper curated investment connection & fundraising guidance platform Scroobious. Erica joined Scroobious as their Head of Engineering to help lead the technical efforts of this very early stage team shaping up capital markets culture for underrepresented founders. Erica is responsible for the entirety of their technical infrastructure. She is working every day to build out their marketplace product, making sure Scroobious Founders are having a smooth experience so they can effectively onboard their pitches onto the marketplace and connect with investors. Erica continues to spend time answering tough questions about the business and communicating effectively to equip founders with the resources they need to be successful. Scroobious’ founder community grew 75% in 2023 and is made up of 63% female founders. ✍ Cataloging Skills & Connecting the Dots 🔄 From nonprofits to startups, Erica has always cataloged her experiences. She keeps references & resources on hand from prior experiences to keep memorable frameworks from the earliest days of her career. Every time she embarks on a meaty project, the first question she asks is “what are our goals”? Then, what are we looking to accomplish? By having something to ground herself in, she can begin to move forward. That work has paid off in building a portfolio of experiences and an archive of resources. At Scroobious, she wants to understand the different attributes of founders and successful pitches to effectively connect founders with angels. For example, investors look for coachability as an attribute & trait, so she has thought back to her nonprofit days when they measured grit and growth in students and volunteers. It’s obviously a bit different but there are always overlapping threads to pull on. Problems Not Yet Solved Erica offered up three unsolved problems that drive her work as an invitation to think about and join in tackling these issues. Because learning never ends and we have a lot more to do in these areas! 🤖 How do we build AI that won’t just repeat the mistakes and mirror the worst facets of our past? 🤝 How do we continue to develop the field of software engineering such that it is sustainable, equitable, and accessible? 🤲 How do we effectively combat exclusionary systems when many of our institutions no longer have the appetite or have their hands tied from doing so? If you’d like to learn more about Erica’s career, the full post is linked in the comments. Go ahead and sign up for the newsletter to see the operator learnings we bring you in the weeks ahead too, will ya? #bostontech #operators #engineering

29

2 Comments

Big news, Friends! 🎉🎉 I’m thrilled to announce the launch of Chapter Two Consulting, along with my longtime friends and partners Ray Zambroski, Phillip Grove, and Don Fleming.  These guys are Seattle tech veterans, with long track records of helping numerous Seattle startups and fast scalers build business-critical software and great engineering teams. Chapter Two Consulting is a culmination of decades of building trusted relationships, hard-won experience (and a few hard lessons), and great admiration for those who get up every morning and enter the arena. I’ve worked with some of you for many, many years.  Some measured in decades!  It’s been my absolute pleasure and honor; I look forward to many more. Ready to write the next chapter in your story?  Don’t go it alone; we’re here to help! Dan Sr. Partner and Co-founder, Chapter Two Consulting https://chapter2team.com ------------------- Announcing the Launch of Chapter Two Consulting: Your Engineering Powerhouse. At Chapter Two, we believe engineers are the architects of innovation—building the products, technologies, and infrastructures that shape our future. With roots in the Pacific Northwest’s hub of creativity, and deep technical prowess, we’re here to connect bold thinkers with the resources, talent, and strategy they need to make a lasting impact. Seattle’s engineering community is our home. From early-stage startups to scaling enterprises, we recognize the challenges engineering leaders face when assembling teams, launching breakthrough technologies, and scaling with purpose. We’ve built Chapter Two to empower innovators with a tailored recruitment and consulting service designed specifically to address these kinds of problems. Our team brings deep expertise across technical disciplines and industries, enabling us to align your organization’s vision with the right talent and strategies. Whether you’re solving critical technical challenges, refining your product roadmap or scaling an R&D team, we’re your partner every step of the way. We work flexibly and collaboratively to support your growth, offering: - Consulting engagements that tackle immediate challenges while building frameworks for long-term success. - - Engineering recruitment to match you with exceptional talent across software, hardware, and interdisciplinary domains - - Long term partnership for emerging technical leaders navigating complex and changing team growth requirements. At Chapter Two, we’re not just recruiters or consultants—we’re a part of your team. We’re inspired by the builders and innovators who call Seattle home, and we’re dedicated to helping you engineer your vision into reality. Let’s connect and explore how we can drive your success together.

48

22 Comments

The Junior League of San Francisco, Inc. hosted me last night to chat with professional women developing leadership skills and contributing to their community. We talked about breaking barriers in traditionally male-dominated industries and the importance of 4 elements in a career journey: 1️⃣ Uncertainty - No one can make you any promises (and if they do, it's not always wise to trust them). Career growth, like personal growth, entails diving into the unknown and seeing where the road takes you. 2️⃣ Purpose - This is key to professional fulfillment. If you're not feeling it, ask if the pain is worth the payoff. Are you learning something valuable, even if it's not your purpose? Maybe that's the purpose. Find connection to your own purpose during each stop on your professional ride! 3️⃣ Discomfort - Comfort is overrated. Discomfort and unease are a-OK! Life is sometimes uncomfortable and it is in exactly those moments that you grow, you discover, you learn! Getting uncomfortable is something you may even decide to pursue...if you want to test your own potential. 4️⃣ Failing - Live with it. Failing is good. A life of no regret sounds kinda dishonest. We fail. We regret. We make mistakes. We learn. Failing is part of it. It's where we figure out what's not working and make changes. Fail. Freely. Own it :). We also talked a lot about money, wellness, empowerment, impact, financial identity, behavior change, and goals. But...I'll spare you some of that content for just one day and leave the cliffhanger for my next post! Thank you to the incredible women who graciously hosted me and asked brilliant quesitons. Our future is bright. 🌟 #women #juniorleague #career

72

5 Comments

Wonderful to see your expertise in media and advocacy in this interview, Beth Haggerty!

12

1 Comment

Great session James Newell and thanks for hosting Jon Prentice and SVB! In terms of the answers and perspective shared from Voyager Capital and James…. The Good (for Seattle investing and VCs) —— * the opportunity in Seattle (and the wider PNW / Cascadia region) that Voyager is still capitalizing on, is that there is a ton of potential in Seed to Series A investing that isn’t as accessible elsewhere. * SF and other markets are saturated and less engaged as investors at this stage. * talent pool here is massive, especially on the engineering and product side. What would be a “Game Changer” for Seattle —— * there is a talent shortage especially in terms of sales and marketers locally. * Few sales and marketers want to do $0 - $1M journey again if prior successful. * Angels are more private here, and may not feel the need to give back to the start up community if that isn’t how they made their wealth Outside of Seattle specific feedback: —— * Founders need to be doers, not “leaders of leaders” (an issue with those coming from big tech); talent need to meet the stage and act accordingly. * AI as a tool and business foundation is only important in terms of delivering business value. * AI powered firms need to show they have an ability to access proprietary data or be linked intimately to workflows or both to be a sound investment [this is established consensus among investors] * Investing, especially very early stage, should be run as a process. Be your own best BDR for fundraising. And finally …. The top 2 pieces of advice most often given to founders…. 1) Try to avoid VC capital to the degree you can [which means you have a capital efficient business]. 2) find a co-founder to complement your skills vs doing it all on your own.

7

Employee terminations: they're a topic no one wants to discuss but that every company has to navigate. Thankfully, Melanie Naranjo and wonderful Ethena advisor (& Gusto's former People Leader) Jess Yuen are tackling this tricky topic for the next Ethena webinar. Register if you want to learn more about these topics: How to pressure test whether or not termination is the right course of action Best practices for communicating termination decisions How to minimize risk and choose the best course of action when things get tricky Critical pitfalls to avoid

30

5 Comments

Mitch Kapor and Dr. Freada Kapor Klein have helped to pioneer and define the impact investing, gap closing field for over a decade. This piece is an excellent statement on where investors who want to make social impact should train their vision. #impact #investing #socialchange #gapclosing

2

Mitch Kapor and Dr. Freada Kapor Klein have led critical work to disrupt and modernize the definition of social impact and gap-closing enterprises that will actually make 🇺🇸 great again. The approach at Kapor Capital has prioritized finding entrepreneurs, and aligned capital investors, who know that building generational wealth among communities that have historically left out is one of the best ways to counter forces of bias and systemic discrimination. The fact that their approach has a deep moral and social justice ethic is by itself good enough for my standards. Turns out it is good for our economy and for investment returns too! #impact #investing #ethics #business #returns #bottomline

3

Awesome new initiative Aviel Ginzburg!! When Sean Sternbach and I launched Venture Out, Aviel and Pablo Brown-Rodriguez were silent cofounders. Aviel freely shared his words of wisdom from years of building community in Seattle. He and Chris DeVore were the first money into our community, followed quickly by Flying Fish Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, and a huge list of Seattle angels. After growing to 1200+ members in <3 years, running multiple pre-preseed accelerators, a few learnings about building great community and the Seattle Founder Ecosystem: In the early days, no one knows what they are doing. Seek outside advice and guidance from people just ahead of you. Unicorn founders and tech moguls have great stories, but the woman who left amazon six months ago, launched an MVP, and crashed through her first 2 dozen investor discussions will have golden advice. Be open, honest, and vulnerable. Our best events and discussions happened when people let their guard down. No one will spend their life (which a startup requires) to build your idea. They might build something similar and tackle the same problem, but only your life experience and decision-making will make the difference. Share ideas often. Give first. As a ~10 year Techstars mentor, I saw this as the best part of the community. In my opinion, they have lost this completely. Don't come into a community and take. Give all you can, even when it feels counterproductive. Something might eventually come back that changes your life and direction. Even if it never does, you will 1000% feel great about the decision. Play long-term games with long-term people. Naval Ravikant was the first person I heard say this. Surround yourself with committed doers, makers, and visionaries. There are a lot of want-entrepreneurs in the world (which is a good thing; we need more people to take risks), but spend the most time with people in the ring, putting their time behind what they are doing. Learn how to give advice and direction without being evangelical, condescending, or a jerk. Learn to be direct but helpful. It's what you want on your journey, so invest in being a great thought partner for others. A final few notes: 1) No, you likely will never get paid the same amount or make as much money as a founder as you would as an L7/L8 at Amazon. If that is why you are starting a company, you're already in trouble. But knowing Aviel, he is already filtering for this 😂 2) You will likely learn in 6-18 months in the ring as a founder, than the rest of your life combined. Start to write, share your experience, find a therapist, and get ready to unpack a LOT as you go. The only way to make space for new information is to process it, store it, and then let it go. 3) The relationships are the most important part of the journey. I will always remember meetings with Matt Ehrlichman, Asha Sharma, Kyle Sandburg, and Matthew Neagle and the rest of the Porch Group team. Go Aviel!!!

42

4 Comments