Why We Invested: Pioneer Square Labs Studio 3

By: Anthony Bontrager, Managing Director, WestRiver Group

The ugly secret to any startup…. It’s hard as hell!

As early-stage investors (and former founders ourselves), we know first-hand how difficult it can be to launch a successful startup. Which is why we have always been keen supporters of the incubator or studio model as a means to help entrepreneurs think through some of the difficult questions that invariably get missed at the earliest, most formative stages of a company. Their ability to provide resources, technical and go-to-market support, a bit of capital and most importantly the benefit of pattern recognition or hindsight to help guide would-be titans of industry cannot be understated given the high mortality rate of early-stage companies.

Surrounding yourself with the right people is critical in nearly every aspect of the startup journey, and that’s why we’re pleased to announce our investment in Pioneer Square Labs’ latest studio initiative alongside Foundry Group and other investors. Working closely with incubation labs and ideation studios forms a critical part of our goal of helping the broader Pacific Northwest startup ecosystem, while also giving us Day Zero access to some of the most promising startups our region has to offer.

I’ve known and worked with Greg Gottesman and Geoff Entress for close to 20 years and have always respected their approach to investing and company building. Since founding Pioneer Square Labs’ in 2015, Greg and Geoff along with partners Julie Sandler, T.A. McCann and Ben Gilbert have created and spun out some amazing companies, including Kevala, Boundless, SecureSave, and Recurrent. I’m personally thrilled to be partnering with the Pioneer Square Labs team as they work to create some of tomorrow’s brightest stars.

#ONWARD