Seattle’s startup lawyers and bankers have long helped founders raise capital. Now they’re pooling some of their own money to invest in promising early stage tech companies across the Pacific Northwest.
A trio of longtime Seattle startup service providers — Minh Le of Stifel Bank and Craig Sherman and David Wickwire of Wilson Sonsini — are teaming up to launch the Pacific Northwest fund for Service Provider Capital (SPC), a national firm that invests region by region.
SPC launched in 2014 out of Colorado with a unique startup investing model. It co-invests in early stage rounds led by institutional venture firms, typically writing smaller checks into those same deals.
The investors — limited partners, or LPs — come from law, banking, accounting, and insurance communities, reflecting an effort to let the professionals who support startups also invest in them. Angel investors and serial entrepreneurs are also part of the mix, using SPC as a way to back more local founders.
“It’s folks that support the ecosystem but oftentimes don’t have access to the asset class,” Le said.
The model aims to “index” a region’s early-stage activity, backing dozens of companies rather than betting on a few. SPC has expanded its model from Boulder into other regions such as New England, Texas, and Chicago. It has raised 11 funds across six regions, investing in about 60 companies per fund.
SPC began exploring a Pacific Northwest fund about a year and a half ago. Jody Shepherd, co-founder of SPC, said the region felt like a “perfect fit” given its strong venture community and deep talent pool around tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft.
“Once we found a team like Minh, David, and Craig to lead the fund, plus an outstanding crew of well-connected LPs, an SPC Pacific Northwest fund was a no-brainer,” he told GeekWire.
Le, Sherman, and Wickwire are mainstays of the Seattle tech ecosystem. Le, a former Silicon Valley Bank leader, joined Stifel Bank in 2023. Sherman and Wickwire have a combined four decades of experience at Wilson Sonsini, representing many of the region’s top venture-backed startups.
Unlike traditional funds, the local managing directors keep their day jobs. They help surface deals through their networks, while Service Provider Capital makes final investment decisions.
The goal isn’t to generate new business for their firms, they said, but to strengthen the broader ecosystem by expanding access to early capital. The fund’s LP base includes many of their professional peers and competitors, from other law firms and banks across the region.
The fund’s model is intentionally broad and formulaic. Diligence is minimal; meeting the criteria (early stage tech or life sciences startup in the Pacific Northwest raising its first round from an institutional investor) is often enough.
Because the fund relies on trusted institutional leads, founders don’t need to pitch SPC directly — if they meet the criteria, the fund can join a round quickly.
The new Pacific Northwest fund has raised $3 million and has already made two undisclosed investments. It writes checks in the $50,000 to $100,000 range.
The fund also aims to fill a gap left by longtime angels who’ve retired or joined venture firms, serving as a kind of “strategic angel” to help complete early rounds, Wickwire said.
The Seattle startup ecosystem has long been critiqued for lacking local capital to invest in up-and-coming companies. The closure of Techstars Seattle in 2023 created another gap in early stage funding and mentorship.
“There are great entrepreneurs here, there are great engineers here — and the more capital there is supporting the local market, the better off we’ll all be,” Sherman said.
