
STARTUP TOOLKIT
WE BACK THE KIND OF FOUNDER PEOPLE QUIT THEIR JOB TO WORK FOR
FOUR SIGNALS
WE TAKE SERIOUSLY.
The strongest founders make a new future feel both surprising and inevitable.

01
UNUSUAL INSIGHT
You see something important that others have missed—and you can explain why it matters.

02
A REASON TO WIN
Your experience and perspective make you uniquely equipped to build this company.

03
CATEGORY AMBITION
You can see beyond the first market and want to define a category, not simply enter one.

04
THE RIGHT MOMENT
New technology, behavior, or infrastructure makes this company possible now.
VENTURE CAPITAL
STARTUP TOOLKIT
You’ll want this stuff. Practical resources for the parts of founding nobody teaches you.
THE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS, ANSWERED.
Start here to see whether Ascend is the right first investor for your company.
OUR COMPANIES HAVE RAISED $3B+
IN VENTURE FUNDING.
MEET FOUNDERS,
OPERATORS, AND INVESTORS
Join Ascend and Seattle’s startup community at Founders Bash.

ASCEND COMMUNITY
FOUNDERS BASH 2024

SELL US ON YOUR CRAZY IDEA.
Tell us why your company needs to exist now—and why you are the one to build it.



