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
Zane Khatib is the kind of person that makes me optimistic for the next phase of Seattle’s startup ecosystem growth. He’s energetic, positive, intelligent and curious. He handles everything from sourcing to LP relationships and fund admin, all with aplomb. Glad I’ll get to say I knew him when…
What made you decide to be a professional investor?
I grew up watching my mom found and grow two businesses. Seeing the passion and drive required to build something from the ground up became inspiring to me and ultimately, manifested in me wanting to spend my career working with startups. As I went through undergrad, I searched for ways to get involved in the Seattle VC ecosystem. Primarily done through persistent (and probably irritating) LinkedIn messages to entrepreneurs and investors to grab coffee or volunteering to support due diligence efforts at local angel investment groups. Every interaction with founders has been a rewarding and educating experience and continues to be so. Needless to say I have no plans to make a career change.
What are your most successful investments so far?
We have just finished deploying our first fund and have recently completed raising our second. We are still in the early years so this is difficult to answer now, but I look forward to having multiple answers to this question in the coming years.
Why should founders want you on their cap table?
The easy answer is that our group, Brighton Jones Investment Partners (BJIP), is comprised of exceptional LPs who bring a unique mix of expertise, operational acumen, financial aptitude, and business connections to the table. Tyler Mayfield and I only invest in founders that we believe in and plan to support fully in any way possible. This past year has been a challenging one for most startups and has really put us to the test. Rather than speak to this ourselves, we’d prefer anyone interested to simply reach out to the entrepreneurs we back.
How many new pitches (actual calls/zooms) do you take per month?
The deal flow has increased exponentially over the years. Hard to put a number to it, but we try and be as intentional as we can with our time and founders.
How many new investments do you make per year?
Target 6-8
What's your sweet spot(s) in terms of check size, valuation, and vertical?
Our sweet spot is between $1m-$2.5m. We have a broad mandate so our investments have spanned across various verticals from AgTech to consumer goods, however, we tend to steer clear of anything that will require FDA clearance (as fun as that process sounds). In terms of stage, this is vertical dependent, but we typically target seed – series A.
What one portfolio company do you want to hype for us here?
Beta Hatch. Awesome company led by an impressive founder/CEO, Virginia Emery. Excited to watch them grow!
What do you think the next ten years looks like for Seattle/Pacific Northwest startups?
The success of Seattle based startups like Convoy, Icertis, Highspot etc. is a testament to the brilliant minds that have flocked to Seattle over the years. With the continued success of so many young companies, we are going to continue to see remarkable new founders roll out and create something of their own. While COVID has changed the fundraising dynamic, I believe that the VCs that are local will be able to provide unique value to entrepreneurs as they navigate the challenging road of building a business. I look forward to supporting and participating in the growth that will occur within the PNW’s startup ecosystem over the next decade.
What song is currently getting the most run on your Spotify/Apple Music?
Ahh that’s tough to answer.. I am guilty of listening to a song nonstop for a couple days and then moving to the next. Right now the song of the day is either Chemicals by SG Lewis or Slipping Away by Leisure, but will likely be a completely different artist and genre by the end of the week.
Favorite shoes?
My white Nike Blazer Low LE or Adidas Ultraboost. Unfortunately, both get absolutely destroyed in the Seattle weather 😃
Favorite cooking ingredient?
Answering this implies I know how to cook. If I have to pick one I’ll go with Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Anything else to say?
Excited to be a part of this blog series. Looking forward to what the future holds for both Ascend and BJIP!