Sound Investments

The Creative Destruction Lab: Connecting Innovation with ImpactIn this episode, Emer Dooley, site lead for the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington, discusses the CDL's mission to commercialize deep tech startups for the benefit of humankind. She elaborates on CDL’s mentoring program, which pairs high-caliber mentors with promising startups in the fields of computational health and advanced manufacturing, to guide them through critical objectives over a nine-month period. Emer also explains the program's unique funding model, the process of selecting and nurturing startups, and CDL’s significant impact on the Seattle innovation ecosystem and beyond. She highlights the challenges and successes of maintaining a nonprofit organization focused on deep tech innovation.00:00 Introduction to CDL03:48 What is CDL? Structure and Differentiation06:54 Types of Companies and CDL's Two Tracks13:28 CDL's Place in the Seattle Innovation Ecosystem15:12 How CDL is Funded16:46 What Mentors Get Out of CDL18:19 Success Stories from CDL Companies18:19 Success Stories and Measuring Impact26:49 Seattle Ecosystem Challenges and Future Growth34:33 CDL's Vision and Long-term Strategy37:13 Closing Reflections About Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.Emer Dooley, Site Lead, Creative Destruction Lab, SeattleEmer is the Site Lead for Creative Destruction Lab–Seattle, where she works with founders building science- and technology-driven companies at the earliest stages. She is also adjunct faculty at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, teaching entrepreneurship and innovation. Emer brings a rare blend of academic rigor, technical background, and ecosystem leadership to her work with founders. She has held leadership roles across investing, university innovation, and nonprofit boards, including Alliance of Angels and the Washington Research Foundation. At CDL, she focuses on helping deep-tech teams translate research into scalable companies. Emer is a key builder of Seattle’s startup and innovation community.

Jonathan Azoff: From Gaming to Scientific Venture - Building SNØCAP Fund’s Model for Commercializing Real ScienceIn this episode of Sound Investments, Jonathan Azoff, co-founder and General Partner at SNØCAP, traces his nonlinear path from software and gaming through logistics, real estate, and eventually into climate and deep tech. That shift began at Sweet Farm, a nonprofit agricultural and science incubator where Jonathan met researchers whose breakthroughs had no route to commercial funding. The experience led to the viral Goat 2 Meeting initiative, kept the nonprofit alive during COVID, and revealed a pattern that would define his career: scientists don’t lack ideas - they lack capital pathways.Jonathan breaks down the gaps in today’s venture system, why deep tech founders often struggle to raise, and how SNØCAP evaluates scientific companies through supply chains, cost curves, and real economic outcomes rather than hype cycles. We dig into why supporting scientists early creates durable returns, how SNØCAP structures hands-on partnerships with founders, and what it takes to build a new asset class for science-based innovation.The conversation also explores Jonathan’s work in ecosystem building, from university fellows to incubators to convening investors and founders across multiple cities. He closes with the long-term vision: a world where commercializing scientific breakthroughs is systematic, fundable, and scalable.00:00 – Sound Investments | Jonathan Azoff, SNØCAP01:56 – Jonathan’s path from software and gaming into climate and deep tech11:06 – The Goat 2 Meeting story and why it mattered13:59 – SNØCAP’s thesis: commercializing real science through supply chains22:28 – Deep tech, incentives, and the limits of traditional venture30:30 – Impact, returns, and rational economic adoption33:59 – Building ecosystems: universities, incubators, and community43:40 – Long-term motivation and SNØCAP’s vision for the futureAbout Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.Jonathan Azoff, Managing Partner, SNØCAPJonathan is the co-founder and General Partner of SNØCAP, a venture firm focused on commercializing scientific breakthroughs in climate, food, materials, and supply-chain innovation. His career spans software engineering, gaming, real estate, and logistics, with multiple acquisitions across those sectors. Jonathan’s shift into deep tech began at Sweet Farm, a nonprofit agricultural and science incubator where he worked closely with researchers lacking traditional venture pathways. He now leads SNØCAP's thesis of backing science that is already economically superior to incumbent technologies. Jonathan is also an ecosystem builder, supporting founders through university programs, incubators, and community initiatives across the U.S.

From Tech to Bananas: A New Investment HorizonThis week, Ed Barker sits down with Luni Libes, one of Seattle’s most quietly influential entrepreneurs and investors. Luni built and ran multiple software companies before launching Fledge, the accelerator network that helped more than 120 founders around the world. His current focus is Africa Eats, an investment company backing a portfolio of food-focused African businesses that are growing far faster - and surviving at rates far higher - than the typical American tech startup.Luni explains why the standard venture playbook misses the realities of most global markets and walks through the alternatives he has built: hands-on company building, growth financing instead of burn financing, and a long-term model that aims for durability rather than quick exits. We dig into the structural advantages of food and agriculture ventures in Africa, how Africa Eats has navigated scaling in fragmented markets, and what he has learned during a year living and working from Mauritius.If you’re interested in alternative venture models, operator-led investing, or the next wave of African market growth, this conversation offers a set of insights you won’t hear in typical VC discussions.00:00 Introducing Luni Libes02:13 How Africa Eats began02:57 Building Fledge and its global network04:48 How Fledge expanded internationally06:44 Lessons from decades of entrepreneurship12:32 Africa Eats and the model behind its success19:45 The value and timing of early stage capital20:06 How living abroad reshaped his perspective20:58 The plan for public listing and market participation in Africa21:56 Breaking down the realities of African venture capital23:15 Scaling the Africa Eats portfolio25:36 What comes next33:12 Personal reflections on the sabbatical39:51 Closing thoughtsAbout Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.Luni Libes, Managing Partner, Africa EatsLuni is a serial entrepreneur and investor with more than three decades of experience founding and scaling companies in software, social enterprise, and impact investing. He founded the global accelerator network Fledge and is the CEO of Africa Eats, an investment holding company building resilient food and agriculture businesses across the African continent. He also co-founded Realize Impact, a public charity that channels philanthropic capital into mission-driven ventures. Luni previously served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Washington’s CoMotion centre and has taught entrepreneurship at multiple institutions. He is the author of The Next Step series and creator of the Pinchot Impact Index, a framework for measuring aggregated impact across portfolios.

Navigating Tech Optimism and AI Innovation with TA McCann of Pioneer Square LabsIn this episode, Ed Barker sits down with TA McCann, Managing Partner at Pioneer Square Labs, to explore what it takes to build ambitious companies in an era defined by artificial intelligence. TA’s background spans founding and scaling startups, leading high-performing teams, and backing the next generation of founders across the Pacific Northwest. That range gives him a clear view of where the opportunity is – and where the hype sits.We dig into the PSL model and how its combination of startup studio, venture fund, and corporate innovation practice creates a uniquely high-leverage environment for company building. TA walks through how the team uses AI to accelerate ideation and validation, why their scoring framework matters for founders, and what he’s seeing in the application layer where real value is emerging.Throughout the conversation, TA comes back to a theme that feels core to the region: optimism as a discipline. We talk about how to build with AI without losing sight of the human problem, why geography remains a strategic advantage, and why the Pacific Northwest continues to punch above its weight in frontier technologies. He also shares the areas he’s personally watching next, from agent-driven workflows to quantified health.Chapters00:00 Introductions
01:22 TA’s path into entrepreneurship and PSL
08:31 How the PSL model works across Studio, VC, and corporate innovation
13:57 Equity structures and building aligned founder partnerships
18:13 The PSL scoring rubric for evaluating new companies
24:56 Focus areas and where the AI application layer is maturing
33:36 Practicing optimism and keeping a long horizon in AI
39:44 Why geography still matters in tech and the PNW advantage
45:33 What’s next: Lev, quantified health, and emerging frontier themesAbout Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.T.A McCann, Managing Partner, Pioneer Square LabsT.A is a Seattle-based entrepreneur, investor, and Managing Partner at Pioneer Square Labs. Before entering tech he competed in two America’s Cup campaigns and the Whitbread Round the World Race, then went on to found and lead companies including Gist (acquired by BlackBerry), Rival IQ, and Senosis (acquired by Google). At PSL he helps build and fund new startups through the studio and venture model, with a focus on AI, emerging technologies, and company creation. TA also teaches entrepreneurship at UW and is a long-time mentor across the Pacific Northwest startup community.

Harnessing Innovation: How CoMotion Turns Research into Real-World ImpactIn this episode of Sound Investments, we talk with François Baneyx, Vice Provost for Innovation and Director of CoMotion at the University of Washington. François shares his journey from growing up in southwestern France to leading one of the nation’s most forward-thinking university innovation hubs.We explore how CoMotion helps UW researchers, faculty, and students transform world-class research into real-world startups - from early-stage IP protection to innovation training, gap funding, and incubation through CoMotion Labs.François discusses how CoMotion bridges academia, industry, and venture capital to strengthen the Pacific Northwest innovation ecosystem. He explains why interdisciplinary collaboration is the real driver of innovation, and how corporate partnerships amplify the social and economic impact of university-led research.This conversation offers a rare look inside the machinery of university innovation - and how UW’s model is helping shape the future of the region’s startup landscape.00:00 Meet François Baneyx: From France to UW innovation leader01:42 Universities as startup catalysts02:27 Academic path and leadership roles05:39 Inside CoMotion’s model and services09:06 IP, commercialization, and translating research11:53 Supporting startups from idea to market18:23 UW’s role in the Pacific Northwest innovation ecosystem24:29 Corporate partnerships and future direction34:13 Challenges and opportunities in university innovation37:40 Looking ahead: perspective on the future39:26 Closing reflectionsAbout Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.François Baneyx, Director, CoMotion, Vice Provost for Innovation, University of WashingtonFrançois leads many of the university’s collaborative innovation initiatives and a professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering. His research spans protein engineering, nanotechnology, and synthetic biology. Over three decades at UW, he has led the Department of Chemical Engineering and directed the Center for Nanotechnology. A former founder himself, François bridges academic research and entrepreneurship, helping transform breakthrough science into startups with real-world impact.

Building the Future: Space Tech, Startups, and the Seattle Advantage with Chris LeSeattle might not shout the loudest, but it’s quietly becoming one of the most important cities in the space tech revolution. In this episode, Chris Le - Managing Partner at Actuate Ventures - joins Ed Barker to explore how deep-tech founders are reshaping aerospace, why Seattle has the world’s highest concentration of satellite talent, and how “accidental discoveries” from orbit could change everything from communications to earthquake prediction.Key takeawaysSpace tech is no longer distant or theoretical - it’s commercial and happening now.Seattle’s ecosystem rivals LA and San Francisco but lacks visibility and local capital.Actuate Ventures backs practical deep-tech startups with near-term paths to market.The next breakthroughs may come from unexpected discoveries in orbit.Local investors hold the key to turning Seattle’s engineering strength into momentum.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:57 Meet Chris Le03:07 Chris’s journey from founder to Blue Origin to VC07:23 Inside Actuate Ventures - mission and model15:01 Mapping the growing space tech market20:47 Why Seattle matters for the future of space23:22 Seattle vs San Francisco - two ecosystem cultures24:07 The satellite capital of the world31:08 What makes a great space tech founder35:07 The future - global connectivity and new discoveries43:48 Closing thoughtsAbout Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.Chris Le, Managing Partner, Actuate VenturesChris was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, he previously founded three startups and then worked at Blue Origin where he immersed himself in aerospace product design and engineering. At Actuate, he positions the firm as “co-founders in a box,” combining capital and operational support for early-stage founders in novel hardware, software, and frontier tech domains. His investment sweet spot is pre-seed and seed deep tech startups - typically checks around $500K, focused on commercializable space-adjacent opportunities rather than billion-dollar moonshots. 

What makes a great angel investor - and how do you build a startup funding ecosystem from scratch?In this episode of Sound Investments, Ed Barker talks with John Sechrest, Managing Director of the Seattle Angel Conference, about the mechanics of early-stage investing and what it takes to create a thriving investor community.John breaks down the difference between funding a project and funding a business, why accountability matters more than hype, and how the Seattle Angel Conference trains new investors while connecting them to founders ready to grow. They also discuss how the model is expanding beyond Seattle and what it would take to design the ideal angel investment system for the next generation of startups.Takeaways:The fundamentals of angel investing - what new investors get wrong and how to start smartHow the Seattle Angel Conference works: training, syndication, and investor collaborationThe difference between investing in a business vs. a projectWhat makes a strong lead investor and how to run effective due diligenceHow angel investing builds startup ecosystems beyond the check itselfThe future of angel networks and how policy could accelerate local investmentChapters:00:00 Introduction02:21 John’s Journey to Angel Investing04:16 How Seattle Angel Conference Works07:22 Building Angel Investment Infrastructure11:06 The State of Angel Investing in Seattle13:27 Expanding Beyond Seattle16:57 What Makes a Good Lead Angel18:08 What Companies Succeed Through the Program22:53 Advice for Aspiring Angel Investors31:19 Designing the Ideal Investment System37:18 Government Funding and Tax Incentives40:31 Future Vision for Seattle Angel Conference43:00 Busting Angel Investing Myths44:59 CloseAbout Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.John Sechrest, Managing Partner, Seattle Angel ConferenceSierra leads strategy, investment, and commercialization for frontier technologies including quantum computing, AI, and next-generation infrastructure. Her career spans Microsoft, EY, and global blockchain startups, where she built programs in ecosystem development, go-to-market strategy, and emerging tech adoption. A graduate of Columbia University, Sierra combines corporate experience with startup execution to bridge the gap between research breakthroughs and real-world revenue. She is also an active mentor and speaker on critical technology, innovation ecosystems, and the future of deep tech in the Pacific Northwest.

Bridging Tech Breakthroughs with Sierra ClouseEd Barker sits down with Sierra Clouse to unpack Barclo Venture Studio’s model for moving deep tech from research to market in the Pacific Northwest. They cover why “research → roadmap → revenue” beats slideware, how to score opportunities across the future tech stack, and where sovereign security, post-quantum cryptography and data-center realities collide. Sierra traces her path from Microsoft to global ecosystem building, and lays out what it will take for Cascadia to become a true hub for critical technologies.Key Takeaways:Critical tech > category labels – Governments think in mandates, not “SaaS vs deep tech.” Funding and competition follow that lens.Research → Roadmap → Revenue – Barclo venture studio creates proof with design partners, pilots and testbeds, not coursework.The future tech stack – Compute and infrastructure set the ceiling for intelligence (AI) and apps; you can’t outrun your compute.Readiness matters – Use TRL-style scoring to separate science projects from products, features, and true companies.Near-term quantum wins – Security and simulations are already commercial, with post-quantum resilience moving fast.Cascadia’s opening - Untapped university pipelines + under-served founders + venture studio flywheel = PNW advantage - if we act.Chapters:00:00 Intro01:39 Sierra’s path to Barclo05:40 Barclo Venture Studio - elevator pitch08:59 Partnering with Qubits Ventures11:31 The 4 Cs: Cohort, Content, Community, Coaching16:05 Mapping the future tech stack (compute → intelligence → apps)22:15 Scoring opportunities: TRLs and “product vs science project”25:47 Universities, tech transfer and founder sourcing29:13 Why hard tech founders struggle with traditional VC32:04 AI bubble vs infrastructure reality36:35 Near-term quantum use cases (security, simulations, data)39:40 Why the Pacific Northwest - and what’s missing43:48 Sovereign security, geopolitics and “you can’t SaaS your way to sovereignty”49:19 Barclo’s 2030 vision51:41 WrapAbout Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.Sierra Clouse, Managing Partner, Barclo Venture StudioSierra leads strategy, investment, and commercialization for frontier technologies including quantum computing, AI, and next-generation infrastructure. Her career spans Microsoft, EY, and global blockchain startups, where she built programs in ecosystem development, go-to-market strategy, and emerging tech adoption. A graduate of Columbia University, Sierra combines corporate experience with startup execution to bridge the gap between research breakthroughs and real-world revenue. She is also an active mentor and speaker on critical technology, innovation ecosystems, and the future of deep tech in the Pacific Northwest.

The Future of AI and Corporate Innovation with Taylor BlackWhat happens when one of the world’s biggest tech companies leans into the AI boom - while staying connected to the scrappy, risk-taking energy of startups?In this episode of Sound Investments, Ed Barker sits down with Taylor Black, Director of AI and Venture Ecosystems at Microsoft, to explore the shifting landscape of artificial intelligence, corporate innovation, and venture creation.Taylor shares his journey from developer in Seattle to a key figure shaping Microsoft’s approach to AI and startups. Along the way, he offers a candid look at the challenges of driving innovation inside a global enterprise, the opportunities for founders building alongside tech giants, and how AI is rewriting the rules of work and strategy.From portfolio theory to vertical AI plays, design choices in model evolution to the unique strengths of the Pacific Northwest ecosystem, this conversation maps where the next wave of AI-powered companies might emerge. Whether you’re a founder, investor, or technologist, you’ll come away with new perspectives on the bets worth making - and the future being built right now.Chapters00:00 - Cold Open | Taylor Black, Microsoft01:32 - Introduction & Background02:05 - From Developer to AI Venture Leader04:36 - Inside Microsoft’s Venture Studio & the AI Shift06:55 - Innovation Challenges in Large Enterprises11:41 - AI as a Fundamental Shift in Computing13:16 - Startups in Microsoft’s Ecosystem16:36 - Strategic Bet-Making & Portfolio Theory20:08 - Competing with Platform Giants24:55 - Vertical AI Solutions & Market Opportunities27:49 - AI Thought Partners & Cognitive Collaboration30:56 - Design Choices & Model Evolution34:53 - New Startup Categories & Bootstrap Models36:33 - The Pacific Northwest Tech Ecosystem40:55 - The Future of AI: Optimism & ChallengesAbout Your HostEd Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. He's now building a podcast production company, Studio 1878. Sound Investments is a modest attempt to shine some light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.Taylor Black, Director of AI & Venture Ecosystems, MicrosoftTaylor works in Microsoft’s Office of the CTO, where he leads cross-company innovation, internal venture studio efforts, and strategic startup partnerships. He earned a BA in philosophy & classics at Gonzaga University, and both an MA in philosophy and a JD from Boston College. Early in graduate school, he co-founded a web development and product business and never practiced law. Since joining Microsoft in 2021, he has focused on scaling internal incubation models and mentoring founders. Taylor is also the founding director of a new interdisciplinary AI institute at The Catholic University of America, and serves as a deacon candidate and foster/adoptive parent.