Seattle’s newest VC fund: Fortson raises $50M to invest in early stage software startups

Seattle’s got a new venture fund.

Fortson VC has raised $50 million to invest in early stage software startups in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

The fund is led by Cole Younger, a longtime Seattle-area tech investor. Younger previously led Arnold Venture Group, a venture arm within a family office that did seed-stage venture investing. That business was later rebranded as Fortson VC, and earlier this year it spun out of the family office to launch as a standalone venture firm.

The “Fortson Gen I” fund will primarily back B2B software startups from pre-seed to Series A. Younger said he expects to make 25 to 30 investments, with initial check sizes ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.

“We believe the next generation of software will be defined by products that adapt, anticipate, and operate with greater intelligence, while radically reducing user friction,” Younger told GeekWire.

Fortson is betting on the Pacific Northwest as a geographic thesis but is also open to investing outside the region.

Younger has led investments in various Pacific Northwest startups such as SheerID, Copper Banking, and Easy Metrics. He said he places heavy emphasis on the founding team when making investment decisions.

“We look to back non-linear founders who operate with an internal compass that most people can’t even begin to calibrate,” Younger said. “These founders are often high-variance operators, sometimes with sharp edges, but we believe they’re the ones who tend to build the most original and enduring companies.”

Several early stage venture firms in the Seattle region are raising new funds, including Ascend, Founders’ Co-op, Flying Fish, and Graham & Walker. Seattle-based Madrona announced $770 million for two new funds in January.

Younger graduated from the University of Washington and got his investing career started at Pacific Horizon Ventures. He founded an investment advisory firm called Vintage Lane Venture Partners that focused on early-stage venture investments.