Loading people...
Chris DeVore is the Founding Managing Partner at Founders' Co-op, a seed-stage venture capital firm based in Seattle, Washington. Before transitioning to venture capital, he held strategic roles at AT&T and Patagonia, co-founded the technology startup Adjacency before its acquisition by Sapient, and earned degrees from Yale University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He previously served as the Managing Director of Techstars Seattle from 2010 to 2019, stepping down to focus entirely on his growing investment portfolio. Through Founders' Co-op, DeVore manages over $100 million in total assets across multiple vehicles, including a $50 million Fund VI announced in 2025, and has backed notable technology companies such as Remitly, Outreach, and Auth0. His current focus remains on leading pre-product and pre-revenue investments in Pacific Northwest software, artificial intelligence, and cloud infrastructure startups.
Chris DeVore stands as a pivotal figure in the Pacific Northwest's venture capital landscape, serving as a Managing Partner at Founders Co-op. This Seattle-based firm is renowned for its early-stage investments, providing crucial capital and strategic guidance to nascent technology companies. DeVore's role involves leading investment decisions, mentoring founders, and leveraging his extensive network to help portfolio companies scale and succeed. His commitment to the region's startup ecosystem has made Founders Co-op a go-to partner for ambitious entrepreneurs.
Founders Co-op, under DeVore's leadership, primarily targets pre-seed and seed-stage startups. Their investment focus is broad yet strategic, encompassing areas such as B2B SaaS, artificial intelligence, developer tools, future of work solutions, and other disruptive technologies. DeVore and his team look for strong founding teams with innovative ideas that address significant market opportunities. They are particularly interested in companies poised to become leaders in their respective sectors, often emphasizing scalable business models and defensible intellectual property.
DeVore's career background is rich with entrepreneurial experience, providing him with a unique perspective as an investor. Before co-founding Founders Co-op, he was a serial entrepreneur, having built and led several successful ventures. Notably, he co-founded Judy's Book, a local search platform, and AdRelevance, a web analytics company that was later acquired by Media Metrix. His early career also included a significant stint at McCaw Cellular, a pioneering force in the mobile telecommunications industry. This hands-on experience as a founder gives DeVore a profound understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by early-stage companies, enabling him to offer invaluable advice and support.
Throughout his tenure at Founders Co-op, Chris DeVore has been instrumental in identifying and nurturing numerous high-growth startups. While specific investment attributions often belong to the fund, DeVore's influence is evident across a portfolio that includes companies like Remitly, a leading digital remittance service, and Outreach, a prominent sales engagement platform. Other notable investments reflect the firm's diverse interests, such as Glowforge, a 3D laser printer manufacturer, and Defined.ai (formerly DefinedCrowd), an AI data platform. DeVore's strategic insights and deep industry knowledge continue to shape the success of Founders Co-op's portfolio, solidifying his reputation as a visionary investor dedicated to fostering innovation and economic growth in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Chris DeVore is a Managing Partner at Founders Co-op, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Seattle. He is a seasoned investor and serial entrepreneur known for his significant contributions to the Pacific Northwest's technology startup ecosystem.
Chris DeVore, through Founders Co-op, primarily invests in pre-seed and seed-stage technology startups. His focus areas include B2B SaaS, artificial intelligence, developer tools, future of work solutions, and other disruptive technologies, particularly those based in the Pacific Northwest.
Chris DeVore works as a Managing Partner at Founders Co-op, a leading early-stage venture capital firm. Founders Co-op is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and focuses its investments on startups within the Pacific Northwest region.
