Our manifesto

Anyone who has ever founded a company knows that it’s a wild ride and not for the faint of heart. But a select few decide to do it anyway because it’s a calling that simply can’t be ignored. 

The team at Madrona Venture Labs has been right where you are today. Founders like you who, at one time in our careers, stood where you stand now and jumped headfirst into a startup adventure. 

As a result, we’re in a unique position to understand the barriers and challenges working against founders and share the hard-won lessons that can only be gained by experience. We’ve made it our mission to serve as a trusted group of confidantes, connectors, and doers. A resourceful team with operational excellence, we hustle and guide new founders while demystifying the startup experience.

We also give founders what we know they want and need: a financial safety net during idea validation; a fast, rigorous process to battle-test your idea; honest advice and insights that can only come from doing; and access to the 25 years of investment judgment and credibility of Madrona.

When you combine all of that with a cap table that aligns founders’ and investors’ objectives, enables founders the power to raise money more efficiently, and is incorporated into a proven fundraising process, you get an outsized chance of success.

We also believe that future founders can come from everywhere. We recognize the dire lack of diversity in our industry, and we're not standing by. We actively seek to address this with our outreach, partnerships, community events, as well as our studio culture. We aim to have every company that spins out of MVL be diverse. Why? We know that diverse teams have a better likelihood of success and that’s what we’re all about.

Start a company with us. The time is now.