Founded & Funded

Madrona Ventures

Listen to conversations between Madrona investors and entrepreneurs, founders, and startup personalities who talk about some of the key moments in building a company. Designed to give would-be founders and others interested in working with or for startups a view into the struggle and the lessons learned, these conversations are informal and informative. With more than 25 years of investing in early-stage technology companies, Madrona has worked with founders from day one to help build their company for the long run. We invest in seed and Series A companies in the Pacific Northwest building across the information technology spectrum and in Acceleration (B and beyond) stage companies building with AI, regardless of geography.

  1. 2天前

    From Google and Amazon to NewDays: Why These Tech Vets Bet on AI for Dementia

    In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter sits down with Babak Parviz and Daniel Kelly, co-founders of NewDays, a platform purpose-built for older Americans living with cognitive change to help them reclaim abilities, preserve independence, and keep being themselves. Babak and Daniel share how their experience at Amazon and Google led them to apply AI in the most human way: helping people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with scalable solutions.  They dive into: Why we chose to build at the intersection of AI and cognitive health How to translate clinical science into accessible daily experiences What “meaningful velocity” looks like inside an early-stage company How to balance mission-driven purpose with commercial viability Lessons learned from scaling startups and building impactful teams Why the next wave of generative AI is human-centered, not model-centered Full Transcript: http://www.madrona.com/from-google-and-amazon-to-newdays-why-these-tech-vets-bet-on-ai-for-dementia Chapters:  (00:00) - Introduction (01:22) - The Scale of Cognitive Decline (03:03) - The Search for Solutions & Clinical Evidence (05:22) - Combining AI with Therapeutic Interventions (07:31) - How New Days Works: Telehealth & AI (13:36) - The Importance of Human Supervision (15:02) - Building a Customer-Obsessed Company (18:43) - User Feedback & Impact Stories (21:07) - Business Model & Pricing (22:51) - Building the Team & Company Culture (27:51) - Startup Advice: Velocity & Decision-Making (29:33) - Resource Constraints vs. Big Tech (31:16) - The Importance of Execution Velocity (33:35) - “Bus vs. Motorcycle”: Fast Problem Solving in Startups (35:23) - Startup Mindset

    42 分钟
  2. 9月24日

    The Future of Biology Is Generative: Inside Synthesize Bio’s RNA AI Model

    In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Investor Joe Horsman sits down with Jeff Leek and Rob Bradley, co-founders of Synthesize Bio, a foundation model company for biology that’s unlocking experiments researchers could never run in the lab. Jeff, chief data officer at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and Rob, the McIlwain Family endowed chair in data science, share: •Why a startup the right fit for generative genomics •How generative genomics could reshape research, drug trials, and more •Why RNA is the right starting point for a generative AI model in biology •What this breakthrough means for the future of drug development •Why now is biology’s “ChatGPT moment” •What makes Synthesize a true foundation model for biology (not a point solution) Whether you’re a founder, biotech innovator, or AI researcher, this is a must-listen conversation about the intersection of AI, biology, and the future of medicine. Transcript:https://www.madrona.com/the-future-of-biology-is-generative-inside-synthesize-bios-rna-ai-model Chapters:  (2:00) – Why a Foundation Model for Biology? (5:00) – The Case for RNA (7:00) – Biology’s Large Language Model Analogy (9:00) – Solving Impossible Problems (11:00) – Validation & Testing (14:00) – Balancing Big Picture & Specific Biology (15:00) – Why a Company, Not Just a Lab (16:00) – Has Biology Had Its “ChatGPT Moment”? (19:00) – The Data Challenge (23:00) – Real-World Use Cases (26:00) – How Research Will Look in 10 Years (28:00) – Increasing the Odds of Discovery (29:00) – Clinical Trials & Precision Medicine (31:00) – Access & Next Steps

    33 分钟
  3. 9月10日

    From $1M to $10M ARR in 6 Months: How Fyxer is Winning AI Productivity

    Fyxer.ai is an AI-powered assistant that helps users reclaim hours of their day by managing their inboxes, writing replies, and taking meeting notes. But Fyxer didn’t start with AI. It started with a decade-long executive assistant agency that gave them a treasure trove of data and insight that became the foundation for integrating AI. Fyxer CEO and Co-Founder Rich Hollingsworth joins Madrona Managing Director Karan Mehandru on this episode of Founded & Funded to share how Fyxer went from $1M to $10M ARR in six months with just 30 employees. In this episode, Rich shares: Why great startups start with real-world pain How there is still room for disruption with email Why quality data matters more than quantity The PLG-to-enterprise playbook that actually works The rowing team mindset that drives their decision-making Whether you're a founder, operator, or investor, this is a masterclass in AI execution, startup focus, and scaling fast without breaking. Full Transcript: www.madrona.com/fyxer-ai-productivity-tools-for-email-and-meetings Chapters (00:00) Intro  (01:00) From EA Agency to AI Assistant (03:00) Lessons from Building Workflow-Driven AI (04:00) Growth: $1M to $10M ARR in 6 Months (05:00) Planning for Success vs. Failure (06:00) Frameworks for Prioritization (07:00) PLG + Enterprise Motion (09:00) What's Broken in AI Productivity (10:00) The Quality of Data Edge (12:00) Hiring: Execs Who Do the Grunt Work (14:00) Building with Family: Founding with His Brother (16:00) The Co-Founder Pitch That Landed Matt (18:00) What Startups Get Right vs. Big Tech (19:00) Founder Self-Work: Execution vs. Promotion (20:00) The Kindest Thing

    20 分钟
  4. 8月21日

    Autonomous CRM: How Clarify Is Reinventing a $100B Category

    Thompson and Austin Hay, co-founders of Clarify, the startup that’s pioneering the idea of autonomous CRM. Their vision? A CRM that actually does the work for sellers of driving outreach, managing pipeline, and surfacing insights without constant manual input. Patrick and Austin share: • Their journey from Iteratively, Ramp, and Amplitude to founding Clarify • Why the CRM market is ripe for disruption with AI • How Clarify’s unique pricing model flips the script (free CRM, pay only when the AI agent works for you) • The concept of autonomous GTM teams and the rise of the Go-to-Market Engineer • Lessons in building culture, hiring talent, and embracing the “beautiful mess” of startups If you’re a founder, sales leader, or builder rethinking your revenue stack and curious about how AI will transform the way teams sell, this conversation is a must-listen. 👉 Subscribe for more conversations with founders and leaders shaping the future of technology. Full Transcript: www.madrona.com/autonomous-crm-how-clarify-is-reinventing-a-100b-category Chapters:  (00:00) - Introduction (01:33) - What is Clarify? Tackling CRM Frustrations (02:11) - Lessons from Previous Startups and the CRM Problem (03:47) - Applying CDP Lessons to CRM (04:56) - Why Now? The Opportunity in CRM and AI (05:24) - Overcoming Legacy Systems and the Joy of New Tools (07:04) - Product Vision: Reducing Friction and Increasing Joy (08:44) - Business Model Innovation: Usage-Based Pricing (10:52) - Autonomous CRM: What Does It Mean? (12:12) - How Clarify’s AI Agents Work in Practice (14:35) - All-in-One vs. Best-of-Breed: Customer Feedback (16:09) - Autonomous GTM: The Rise of the Go-To-Market Engineer (18:17) - Data Strategy: Intent Data and Customer Insights (20:37) - Structuring Data for Automation and Analytics (22:10) - Team and Culture: Hiring and Building for Success (24:30) - Lessons in Leadership and Relationship Building (25:50) - The Future of Go-To-Market Teams (27:00) - Advice for Founders (28:32) - Embracing the Messiness of Startups

    36 分钟
  5. 7月23日

    V0's Creator on What's Next for AI Dev Tools

    In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Partner Vivek Ramaswami sits down with Jared Palmer — designer, developer, and founder of Turborepo (acquired by Vercel), and former VP of AI at Vercel. Jared walks through his unique path from Goldman Sachs to Vercel, and how he combined finance, design, and engineering to create beloved developer tools like Formik, TSDX, and Turborepo, and v0. The two dive deep into: Why vertical integration is the future of AI-native dev platforms The founding and launch of Vercel’s v0.dev How Vercel is positioning for a world with 700M code-generators, not just 28M developers What makes teams and products move fast Why “text-to-app” will soon become “text-to-business” Whether you're a founder building dev tools, a product leader thinking about AI-native apps, or a developer curious about the future of your craft — this episode is packed with lessons and foresight. Subscribe and listen now! Transcript: https://bit.ly/4kQWVig Chapters:  (00:00) Introduction (01:40) Jared Palmer's Early Career in Finance (04:40) Transition to Design and Freelancing (07:12) Building a Career in Open Source (11:46) Creating TurboRepo (13:47) Joining Vercel (15:27) Adjusting to Corporate Life (17:37) The Power of Transparency in Teams (17:50) Building a Thriving Team Environment (19:08) Origins of v0 (19:29) Early Development and Challenges (21:38) Key Innovations and Prototypes (22:58) Launch and Rapid Growth (25:32) Navigating a Competitive Landscape (30:02) Future of AI and Software Development

    35 分钟
  6. 7月10日

    Engineering in the AI Era: Qodo Founder on the AI-Powered SDLC

    In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Investor Rolanda Fu is joined by Dedy Kredo, the co-founder and chief product officer of QodoAI — formerly CodiumAI, a 2024 IA40 winner and one of the most exciting AI companies shaping the future of software development. Dedy and his co-founder, Itamar, are entrepreneurs who have spent their careers building for developers, and with Qodo, they're tackling one of the most frustrating problems in software engineering — testing and verifying code. As AI generates more code, the challenge shifts to ensuring quality, maintaining standards, and managing complexity across the entire software development lifecycle. In this conversation, Dedy and Rolanda discuss how Qodo's agentic architecture and deep code-based understanding are helping enterprises leverage AI speed while ensuring code integrity and governance. They get into what it takes to build enterprise-ready AI platforms, the strategy behind scaling from a developer-first approach to major enterprise partnerships, and how AI agents might reshape software engineering teams altogether. Transcript: https://www.madrona.com/engineering-ai-era-qodo-dedy-kredo-on-ai-powered-sdlc Chapters:  (00:00) Introduction  (01:12) The Future of AI in Software Development (01:58) Dedy's Journey in Tech (03:02) The Genesis of Qodo (03:53) Qodo's Unique Approach to AI Coding (05:13) Exploring Qodo's Product Features (06:42) Code Review and Verification (08:53) Customizing AI Agents (11:02) Vibe Coding and Code Review (13:27) Developer Love vs. Enterprise Needs (15:33) Enterprise Adoption (17:51) Future of Software Engineering (22:13) Balancing Developer Love and Enterprise Sales (24:05) Advice for Founders

    35 分钟
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关于

Listen to conversations between Madrona investors and entrepreneurs, founders, and startup personalities who talk about some of the key moments in building a company. Designed to give would-be founders and others interested in working with or for startups a view into the struggle and the lessons learned, these conversations are informal and informative. With more than 25 years of investing in early-stage technology companies, Madrona has worked with founders from day one to help build their company for the long run. We invest in seed and Series A companies in the Pacific Northwest building across the information technology spectrum and in Acceleration (B and beyond) stage companies building with AI, regardless of geography.

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