Please send your business plan to:

The Phoenix Partners
1000 Second Avenue
Suite 3600
Seattle, WA 98104

You may also e-mail your business plan or executive summary to kfitterer@phoenixvc.com.

We will review the materials and contact you.

What is the typical size of an investment?

We invest anywhere from a $100,000 seed investment to $3 million.

At what stage does The Phoenix Partners invest?

Most of The Phoenix Partners investments are aimed at the very early stages of technology companies.

Where does The Phoenix Partners invest?

We prefer our early stage investments to be on the West Coast.

What is the most important investment characteristic for The Phoenix Partners?

We look for companies that have the potential to become world-class organizations.  The first trait we seek are companies that are targeting large markets poised for rapid growth.  We look for companies that have the opportunity to be leaders in their market space.  Generally, we do not like markets that are late to develop or take lots of money to educate the consumer to buy products they don’t know they need.  We like investment areas that show the potential to blossom into markets that are over $1 billion. That sort of size allows room for error and also provides enough headroom to build a substantial company.

Does The Phoenix Partners require a board seat when investing?

No. It depends on the stage of the company and the desire and wishes of the founders and management.

What sorts of products are attractive to The Phoenix Partners?

The products that fuel start-ups fall into two categories. The first are difficult to duplicate and contain a lot of proprietary know how. The second type do not contain tremendous science or technological know-how but have a first mover’s advantage and allow a company to start rolling very quickly, garner a large market share and turn that position into a powerful competitive weapon.

What is The Phoenix Partners attitude towards large amounts of equity?

Dilution is our greatest enemy. Recognition of the corrosive force of dilution is what separates the wealthy entrepreneur from the successful one. We like to start companies with relatively small amounts of money and we like our investments to become profitable quickly. This allows the founders and management of a startup to retain a large equity stake throughout the life of the company. We have discovered that founders and entrepreneurs clever enough to develop a large return from a small investment will frequently build significant companies.

Does The Phoenix Partners usually control ownership of a company?

No. Great investments usually occur when the founders and management of a company are the majority owners. All of our best investments have come in companies where we have been minority shareholders.

How many investments does The Phoenix Partners make every year?

We make our investments based on the merits of the company and the structure of the deal. We generally make 8 to 12 new investments a year and about that many follow-on investments a year in companies we have already invested in.

We hear about ideas for twenty new businesses each day. Some of these ideas come in the form of comprehensive business plans; some are executive summaries, which arrive by fax or e-mail; and some are telephone inquiries. We review every idea that we hear about.

What is the best way to get introduced to The Phoenix Partners?

The easiest and most effective introduction is from someone who knows you and knows us. People employed by existing Phoenix Partners companies, i.e. lawyers, accountants, commercial bankers, investment bankers and executive recruiters, frequently introduce us to new companies and entrepreneurs. We are also just an email or phone call away if you want to submit your plan directly.

How long does it take The Phoenix Partners to make an investment decision?

It usually takes us between three and six weeks from the time we first encounter a company to making a final investment decision.

How do The Phoenix Partners make investment decisions?

All The Phoenix Partners need to agree to make an investment. This means that they all have to be exposed to the prospective investment - either through a review of a business plan and reference checks or through attending a company presentation. Usually, all the Partners will participate in both activities. For a company this means making between one and three presentations at The Phoenix Partners; providing a business plan or summary of a business plan; and furnishing personal reference checks and, where appropriate, customer reference checks.

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