Seattle VC Profile: Yi-Jian Ngo, Alliance of Angels

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

Yi-Jian is not a traditional VC, but he seems to know about more deals happening than anyone in Seattle. His role running the Alliance of Angels, which deploys $10M annually into seed stage startups, is a handful. He works with entrepreneurs and angels in a highly coordinated dance of meet and greet, diligence and deployment.

What made you decide to be a professional investor?

After graduation, I was fortunate to join a company that offered a rotation program for new hires to try out different roles. One of those roles was a stint in their corporate venture capital group, and I had so much fun there that I decided to enter the business.

What did you do before becoming an investor and how does that benefit your founders?

I grew up in South East Asia, went to college in New Zealand, and spent some time in technical sales and business development. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know a wide range of people, including the 140 investors in Alliance of Angels, the organization that I now run, as well as many other investors and founders in the Pacific Northwest. Always happy to make the right connections for entrepreneurs I meet.

What are your most successful investments so far?

Clarisonic, DocuSign and Elemental Technologies.

Why should founders want you on their cap table?

The organization I run, Alliance of Angels, has had the privilege to back more than 250 founders over the years, including the largest number of women-led startups in the Pacific Northwest. I endeavor to provide an efficient way for entrepreneurs to connect with 140 angels at one go, a group of folks who collectively represent a diverse range of entrepreneurial, industry vertical, and functional experiences.