MEET THE
ENTREPRENEURS
BUILDING BEST
IN CLASS
COMPANIES
Echodyne
Echodyne’s innovative high-performance radar sensors are built on patented MESA™ technology that provides high-resolution 3-D situational awareness data for autonomous vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems, critical infrastructure and border security, and smart cities. A unique blend of agile hardware and intelligent software provides unprecedented machine perception, safety, and reliability. “Madrona has been a great partner for Echodyne,” says Echodyne co-founder Eben Frankenberg. “The entire Madrona organization has been engaged and constructive since the beginning, from the board partner to other partners and staff.”
Madrona Team
Heptio
Use of Kubernetes to orchestrate containers is transforming application development and deployment. Founded by two of the creators of Kubernetes, Heptio offers the products and expertise that enterprises need to adopt this game changing technology. Heptio customers unlock the full potential of upstream Kubernetes. The Heptio Kubernetes Subscription includes the tools and services that organizations need to transform developer productivity and resource efficiency. Heptio has been transforming too and, “Madrona has been a stellar partner at every step,” notes Craig McLuckie, CEO and co-founder. “Tim Porter offers remarkable insight and perspective on what it takes to build a great company. We feel not only his support, but the strength of the entire Madrona team every day.”
Madrona Team
Redfin
The $50 billion real estate industry is undergoing a technological transformation thanks to Redfin, whose mission to reinvent real estate in the consumer’s favor has empowered consumers and introduced fundamental changes in the client-agent relationship. Said CEO Glenn Kelman, “Redfin is made of up software engineers working beside real estate agents. It’s rare that two such disparate groups have the opportunity to learn from each other and share a common goal.” He added, “When we started, funding operationally intensive businesses like ours wasn’t very popular. But Madrona wanted to help build a company for the ages. Over the years, Madrona has given us so much more than cash. They have been confidantes, advisors and supporters in countless ways.”
MADRONA TEAM
Paul Goodrich, Scott Jacobson and David Rosenthal
Rover
“I had no intention of Rover becoming a Madrona investment. I was just trying to solve a problem we had with our family dog when we went out of town,” said Madrona’s Greg Gottesman, founder of Rover. After winning Startup Weekend and putting up the original site, the team was overwhelmed with customer demand. “But the company didn’t really take off until we found Aaron Easterly, who, in addition to being an incredible CEO, is as passionate about dogs as anyone I have ever met.” Added Aaron, “Rover has always been more than a business opportunity. It’s a mission to bring the joy of pet companionship to every responsible person in the U.S.—whether they work long hours, travel frequently, or don’t have a local network of family and friends to help out with care. We’re an unholy mix of ecstatic dog nuts and analytical data geeks.”
MADRONA TEAM
Greg Gottesman and David Rosenthal
Integris
As protection of customer data becomes a fully professional role at companies around the globe, rather than a sideline of the legal department, Integris is building the software that empowers organizations to know where all their customers’ personal information is located. In an era of strict regulation and rigid compliance mandates, companies require privacy intelligence that is actionable and traceable. Co-founder and CEO, Kristina Bergman said “Madrona is a true extension of the team amplifying everything we need to do to be successful, whether it’s recruiting, PR, connecting with customer prospects, or being a sounding board for strategic decisions. They’re not just an investor, they’re an invaluable partner.”
Apptio
In an increasingly complex world of IT solutions and market pressures, Apptio provides the cloud-based software that helps CIOs manage the business of IT. The company pioneered the discipline of Technology Business Management (TBM) and is the leading provider to Fortune 100 companies. “We delivered our first version of our product using less than a million of spend and a team of 15 people,” said Apptio CEO Sunny Gupta. “Within six months we had five paying customers. This was done, when the financial crisis was in full force.” And Sunny’s thoughts on working with Madrona Managing Director Matt McIlwain, “Matt has been a strategic partner and advisor to us, which has been incredibly valuable at the start of Apptio through today. Madrona believed in me from the beginning, when I was an untested, first-time CEO at iConclude. I am proud of what we are building at Apptio and gratified by the support Madrona has shown over the years.”
MADRONA TEAM
Matt McIlwain and Tim Porter
Indochino
The great challenge for consumers buying apparel online is not knowing whether something will fit. Many companies are building technology to help consumers figure out which standard sized clothes might fit. Indochino (which started as an entrant into a student business plan competition) is taking another tack, re-engineering manufacturing in order to move from a world of mass production to one of mass customization. It’s a thorny problem, but one Madrona is excited to help solve. “Madrona is patient, invested in building great companies over the long term, and has a broader perspective than other folks,” said Indochino CEO Drew Green. “We found the team to be very experienced, both as investors and previously as operators, which has been invaluable in driving Indochino’s success.”
MADRONA TEAM
Paul Goodrich and Scott Jacobson
Jama Software
Jama is literally helping rocket ships get into space with SaaS software. Building products is exciting, but managing that process is often frustrating – Jama Software’s Product Delivery Platform is designed to help teams work better together and bring products to market more quickly. And data shows it works – products are finished 18% more quickly. “Jama is transforming how companies conceive, build and deliver products,” said Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter. “I love the team’s maniacal customer and product focus as they build their product and create this new category of software that just makes product management work better.”
MADRONA TEAM
Tim Porter and David Rosenthal
Igneous
Igneous Systems is working to change the way enterprises are building and scaling data centers using the cloud. “Given that we are in stealth mode, there is little public information about us,” said CEO Kiran Bhageshpur. “That said, we are a bunch of folks who will happily tell you what we are up to, especially if you are an engineer excited about large scale distributed systems.” He continued, “Early stage investing is a very hands-on business. We wanted a partner willing to roll up their sleeves and help us build the next great Seattle company. We consider ourselves fortunate that Madrona chose to support us. Incubating in their wonderful offices was an added bonus.”
MADRONA TEAM
Matt McIlwain, Tim Porter and George Huang
Wrench
The US car repair market is $60 billion and that doesn’t account for the average 2.4 hours of wait and travel time consumers spend on each visit. Wrench delivers mechanics to your driveway, bringing affordable on-demand convenience to this chore of car ownership. Founder Ed Peterson on working with the team and managing director, Len Jordan – “Madrona has been a great partner for Wrench. Len’s guidance, experience and insight continues to be a big asset as we navigate the rapids of startup life.”
Madrona Team
Len Jordan
Placed
What’s in a name? “Placed originally was called Sewichi, which loosely translates to ‘location, location, location’ in Korean,” said CEO David Shim. “We ultimately changed the name based on feedback from an advisor, who said, ‘a customer should never be afraid to mispronounce your company’s name.'” Placed provides location analytics data sources that enable mobile ad attribution and insights. The team includes leadership from previous Madrona-backed companies Farecast and aQuantive. “While working at Farecast, I saw firsthand the value that Madrona brought to its portfolio companies. Beyond the standard introductions, advice, etc., the Madrona team allowed the company to find its own way. When it came time to raise financing, it was a simple decision to work with Madrona. The firm’s commitment to our company and team is stronger than ever.”
MADRONA TEAM
Matt McIlwain, Scott Jacobson and Julie Sandler
Pixvana
We believe that there will be new ways of interacting with content and software – just as voice-activated technology is starting to change the way we interface with our devices, the immersive nature of VR/AR promises a new world of storytelling. Pixvana’s cloud-based video creation and delivery platform gives storytellers the tools and freedom to create meaningful experiences and deliver them to a broad set of consumer devices in the highest quality. Madrona worked with co-founder and CEO, Forest Key, on his first startup, Buuteeq (acquired by Priceline) and we jumped at the opportunity to work with him again. “Madrona’s many years of partnering with entrepreneurs at all stages of company development brings a wealth of strategic and operational insight to our entrepreneurial journey,” commented Forest. “The many contributions from their investment team, industry connections, and support in scaling our operational teams have all contributed greatly to our success as a new business.”
MADRONA TEAM
Tim Porter and S. Somasegar
Qumulo
Qumulo’s mission is to be the company the world trusts to store, manage and curate its data forever. Founded by the inventors of the leading scale-out storage system for big data on the market, Qumulo is reinventing the next generation of large scale enterprise storage. “Madrona is a fantastic strategic partner in building disruptive new technology businesses, ” said Peter Godman, Qumulo co-founder and CEO. “Matt and his team take the long-term view and really roll up their sleeves and work hard to support their companies.” “Pete, Neal, and Aaron have built an exceptional team and their initial product has had incredible market reception even when the company operating in stealth,” said Madrona Managing Director Matt McIlwain. “Working with world-class engineers and company builders is the one of the most exciting rewards of investing early.”
MADRONA TEAM
Matt McIlwain, Tim Porter and David Rosenthal
Extrahop
A world leader in real-time wire data analytics, ExtraHop prides itself on the global diversity of its workforce. Said CEO Jesse Rothstein: “Of the first 10 employees, six were born outside of the U.S. Co-founder Raja Mukerji hails from the U.K. Our director of engineering is Nepalese. Our first director of marketing was from China. We also hired two Russians and a Canadian. We are not just interested in your work experience, but your life experience.” ExtraHop has solid customers across major vertical markets and an equally solid vision for leveraging wire data to improve operations intelligence. “Madrona’s portfolio included a number of successful enterprise systems companies, so we were confident that they understood our business and could offer us guidance.”
MADRONA TEAM
Matt McIlwain, Tim Porter and David Rosenthal
-
We’re in your corner
(with resources, ideas and encouragement)
-
We help you take care of business
(so you can focus on the big picture)
-
We help you get noticed
(and connect you with great people)
-
We roll up our sleeves
(from the practical to the strategic)
OUR NORTHWEST
ROOTS RUN DEEP
NEW AT MADRONA
Building a Team and a Culture at Amperity with Kabir Shahani – Founded and Funded Episode 2
LET’S TALK
Whether you’ve got a fully realized business plan or just the technology and a vision, we’d like to hear from you. Our philosophy: it’s never too early to connect. At Madrona, we specialize in investing in seed and early-stage companies that leverage technology to create or disrupt huge markets. There are many ways to reach out to us. Mutual connections are always the best, but you can also read our bios and decide who is the best fit.