When I started Ascend in 2019, I realized even though I was o-l-d OLD, I had more in common with the folks in town who were earlier in their professional investing journeys than the venerable VC’s I’d pitched as a founder. I admire and respect the new wave of Seattle/Pacific Northwest venture capitalists, and thought it would be fun to profile some of our region’s up and coming VC talents in these pages. —KW
Sara Lindquist of FUSE has already had careers as a DI college athlete and a published Nashville musician. Now, she’s one of the most compelling and energetic investors in Seattle, and we were lucky to catch up with her for this debut profile.
What made you decide to be a professional investor?
I have always been intrigued by the investment frontier and seeing “what’s next.” I was fortunate to intern at Ignition Partners (FUSE’s alma mater) in college, which was my first direct exposure to Tech and early-stage investing. I had deep respect for the team and excitement about the breadth of markets/products/verticals to learn about. The experience immediately sparked my interest. At my core, I love intellectual rigor and people, so it’s a great matchup.
My work with FUSE has granted me the opportunity to meet brilliant individuals each day who are seeking to change the way we live, work, and engage with the world. It is fun, inspiring, and the opportunity to steward capital towards these individuals is important. It is an invigorating responsibility to be trusted by our investors to find and sponsor the best people and the best ideas that will win in the long run.
What did you do before becoming an investor and how does that benefit your founders?
I worked with the Industry Analyst Relations team at Smartsheet. We focused on building / defining a market category and then establishing the company's product position within that category. As such, we were always trying to determine (1) the market scale and viability, (2) why customers needed the product, and (3) how to talk about the product in a way that people would best understand. It’s storytelling… and storytelling = influence. I try to contribute that experience to our portfolio companies as they work to hone their market position and tell their story.
Why should founders want you on their cap table?
The FUSE community. FUSE has always been intensely focused on building a community that offers founders access to thoughtful guidance, top talent, customers to help them scale…and more. This comes via the support of our entire team, and the 150+ PNW leaders, executives, and investors we are fortunate to call our LPs. Our team is a group of smart, high integrity, “roll up your sleeves” people who will work relentlessly to help portfolio companies succeed. Feel free to check out our website or reach out to any of us directly to learn more!
How many new pitches (actual calls/zooms) do you take per month?
We take about 150/month on average.
How many new investments do you make per year?
About 10.
What's your sweet spot(s) in terms of check size, valuation, and vertical?
Our focus is Pre-seed through Series A and check sizes range between $500K-$12M. Our core area of focus is B2B software, but we also will invest in B2C and other digital businesses as well.
What one portfolio company do you want to hype for us here?
How about two? :) I’ll first give a shout out to Zuper. They are changing the game in field service management and Co-founder/ CEO Anand Subbaraj is a terrific leader, and a great product-mind. He truly lives out a customer-obsessed mentality.
Also want to mention Xemelgo. Founders Rich Rogers and Akhila Tadinada are building a team and product that is completely transforming manufacturing and factory operations. Industry 4.0 here we come!
What do you think the next ten years looks like for Seattle/Pacific Northwest startups?
The PNW looks strong! The next generation of founders/leaders get to stand on firm “bedrock” – this business community now represents an abundance of top talent, investors, mentors, coaches, etc. that have evolved from the region’s numerous startup and corporate success stories.
What song is currently getting the most run on your Spotify/Apple Music?
Oh man, who to choose… have been listening to a lot of Moon Taxi, Chris Stapleton and Emily King lately. And then of course anything by the one and only Grace Potter.
Favorite shoes?
They certainly aren’t the best-looking shoes in the closet, but I’ve got to say my Hokas. Those babies are CLOUDS to walk/run on.
Favorite cooking ingredient?
Bomba Sauce from Trader Joes. Perfect little kick for everything – pasta, pizza sauce, you name it. It’s fire.