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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Three investors who worked together at SeaChange launched VentureUs in Seattle to back pre-seed and seed startups across the Pacific Northwest, according to a GeekWire report published October 4, 2024. Their new group kept a regional, collaborative investing focus but changed who makes the final investment decision: VentureUs put that authority in an investment board rather than a vote of its members.
What is VentureUs?
VentureUs is an angel-investing group founded by Jenn Wrenn Henry, Jonathan Kagle, and Keith Laepple, who had previously invested together at SeaChange. GeekWire reported that SeaChange, formerly known as Seattle Angel Fund, had recently stopped making investments. Susan Preston, SeaChange’s former managing partner, was an advisor to VentureUs.
At launch, VentureUs described an annual fund focused on companies at the pre-seed and seed stages across the Pacific Northwest, with plans to invest across industries. Those details describe the group’s launch-period intentions as reported in 2024, not verified current terms. GeekWire’s October 4, 2024 report did not establish a formal dissolution date for SeaChange or provide a current update on VentureUs.
How VentureUs changed the investment decision process
The founders carried over their working relationships but gave final investment authority to a board. At SeaChange, members collaborated on company analysis and voted on investments; VentureUs aimed to streamline that process and make it more consistent for members and founders pitching the board.
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Laepple described the continuity simply: “We wanted to keep the band together.” The governance shift matters because a member’s ability to participate in discussion is not the same as having a vote that determines whether the group invests. In VentureUs’s launch model, the board had the final call.
What VentureUs planned to invest at launch
GeekWire reported the following launch-period plans and group details. They should not be read as current commitments or a current description of VentureUs.
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| Launch detail | Reported figure or approach |
|---|---|
| Planned investment pace | Six to ten investments per year, as reported by GeekWire in 2024 |
| Planned check size | $100,000 to $400,000 per investment, as reported by GeekWire in 2024 |
| Group size | More than 40 investors at the time of the 2024 report |
| Additional member investment | Members could make sidecar investments to add money to a company’s financing |
Sidecars gave members a way to put additional capital into a deal beyond the group’s investment. Henry said that could give a founder “an opportunity to get a boost to their check size” while allowing investors to add money to deals they particularly liked.
Which companies had VentureUs backed?
At the time of GeekWire’s October 2024 report, the group had backed three companies:
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These are the early portfolio companies named in the report, not a complete or current portfolio list. Laepple said, “Founders will get more value.” The report did not provide investment performance or returns for these companies.
Why the founders focused on the Pacific Northwest
The founders argued that promising regional companies were not receiving enough attention or support. Kagle said, “We believe that there are a lot of great companies here, and they are undervalued and they are under-supported.”
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To illustrate the regional funding gap, GeekWire attributed figures to Carta showing that Washington state accounted for 2.7% of U.S. pre-seed deals over the preceding year, compared with 38% for California. The figures were presented in the 2024 article; GeekWire did not link to Carta’s underlying dataset, so they should be understood as figures attributed to Carta in that reporting context rather than independently verified current market shares. The report also pointed to Seattle Angel Conference and Alliance of Angels as other regional efforts supporting angel activity and investor education.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is not established about VentureUs today
The October 2024 report is a launch-era account, not a current operating update. It does not establish VentureUs’s present membership, investment pace, check range, active status, current portfolio, or process for submitting a company. Founders or investors seeking current information should confirm those details directly with VentureUs rather than rely on the group’s original plans as ongoing terms.
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