Chris DeVore: Managing Partner Founders Co-op (Remitly, Auth0 & Outreach)
with Chris DeVore — Managing Partner
Chris DeVore, Founding Managing Partner of Founders' Co-op, shares his journey from building Patagonia's first online store to backing unicorns like Remitly, Auth0, and Outreach. Learn his core investment thesis: bet on the 'who' and 'how,' not the 'what.'
5 Things You'll Learn from This Episode
- Balance brand authenticity with new technology by de-risking experimental projects, as he did when launching Patagonia's e-commerce site.
- Understand that founder-led companies have the freedom to prioritize long-term vision and values over short-term market pressures.
- Build a startup ecosystem by creating a central substrate, like an accelerator or fund, that connects founders, mentors, and investors.
- Invest in the founding team's resilience, values, and leadership capacity, as these traits are more critical for success than the initial idea.
- Maintain a healthy skepticism for hype cycles like Web3, grounding your analysis in real-world regulatory and societal implications.
About the Episode
Chris DeVore recounts his winding path from launching Patagonia's e-commerce business to becoming a pivotal figure in Seattle's venture scene with Founders' Co-op. He details the philosophy of investing in a founder's character and resilience, using the story of Remitly's success as a key example, and offers a pragmatic, skeptical take on the Web3 hype.
Timestamps
- 0:00 — Introduction: From Operator to Investor
- 1:15 — Building Patagonia's First Online Store
- 5:20 — The Power of a Founder-Led Brand
- 10:05 — The Journey into Early Stage Investing
- 14:30 — Bringing Risk Capital to Seattle
- 20:10 — The Role of Techstars in Building Community
- 26:45 — The Founding Thesis of Founders' Co-op
- 31:18 — Investment Lessons from Backing Remitly
- 37:05 — A Skeptical Take on Web3 and Crypto
- 41:45 — The Regulatory Reality of Cross-Border Payments
- 46:50 — Navigating Hype Cycles in Venture Capital
About Chris DeVore
Chris DeVore is the Founding Managing Partner of Founders’ Co-op, the Pacific Northwest's leading seed-stage venture fund. He is known for leading the seed rounds for Seattle's most successful recent startups, including Remitly (NASDAQ:RELY) and Outreach, and was an early backer of Auth0 (acquired by Okta for $6.5B).
Founding Managing Partner at Founders' Co-op
About the Host
Nataraj Sindam is the creator of The Startup Project, a podcast featuring founders, investors, and operators building the future.
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