Gary Ritner was investing in startups before many of today’s entrepreneurs were even born.
Back in 1985, Ritner launched Seattle’s first venture group, Puget Sound Venture Club. Its members were early investors in fledging upstarts such as Amazon, DocuSign, Costco, Starbucks, and more than 1,300 other companies.
“When we started, I don’t think there was a venture capital firm in Seattle,” Ritner told GeekWire this week.
After nearly four decades leading PSVC — and massive growth of the Seattle tech ecosystem — Ritner is merging his membership with Alliance of Angels, another longtime Seattle-based investment group founded in 1998.
The merger doesn’t involve any financial transaction or assets and equity. Ritner said PSVC membership numbers were decreasing and a majority of the existing members agreed that it was a good time to make the move.
“It’s really just a coming together of old friends and two groups,” said Dan Menser, chairman of Alliance of Angels.
Menser said the merger will create an “even larger combined impact on the startup ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest.”
PSVC has around 30 members who will join AoA. Ritner will join AoA’s board and will be an active member of its leadership committee. He plans to keep the PSVC entity alive for potential future opportunities.
Ritner has been a constant presence within the Seattle startup community and a frequent attendee at events — and he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon.
“From today’s perspective, it’s hard to imagine the impact of starting an angel group then, and surviving the ups and downs of the market,” said Dan Rosen, chairman emeritus of Alliance of Angels. “In typical Pacific Northwest fashion, Gary was always generous in sharing his knowledge and experience with those that followed, helping point the way to an ever-better angel ecosystem.
Born in Tacoma, Wash., Ritner graduated from the University of Washington and spent a decade as an investment banker. He heard about other angel investment groups forming around the country and decided to put one together in Seattle.
“It’s all about the team.”
– Gary Ritner
PSVC members evaluated early-stage companies in the Pacific Northwest as a group, but ultimately made their own investment decisions. Members have invested more than $200 million in companies such as Theo Chocolate, JoyLux, Vera Whole Health, and others.
Ritner said his favorite part of running PSVC was “having a big winner.” He said the common trait among those successes was good management.
“It’s all about the team,” he said.
While the startup scene in Seattle has grown, the region has been criticized for its lack of angel investor activity, especially given the success of homegrown giants such as Microsoft and Amazon and subsequent growth of accredited investors.
A recent survey from Madrona Venture Group found that angel investors want increased access to deals and education about investing.
“Places like AoA are good training and learning grounds for people making their first angel investments,” Menser said.
Seed and angel dealmaking has been falling since early 2022, following the pandemic-driven tech boom.
“Even in a down market, there are still funds chasing founders with great ideas,” Menser said.
AoA is the largest angel group in the Pacific Northwest. It has a network of about 160 investors that make individual investment decisions, backing more than 20 tech startups per year. It also has a newer Innovation Fund that makes $150,000 investments in about a dozen companies annually.
Initially started under the umbrella of the Technology Alliance and spearheaded by Bill Gates Sr., Tom Alberg and Tom Cable. AoA spun out of the nonprofit in 2012. It has pumped more than $125 million into 200-plus startups, with more than 40 exits.
Longtime Seattle-area investor Chuck Porter, who joined PSVC in 2005, is also joining the AoA board along with Ritner.
