Heather Redman

Venture Out supports aspiring entrepreneurs with strong domain expertise to launch startups.

PlayNetwork is a consumer engagement company that helps brands use entertainment media to connect with customers, in-store and beyond. Entertainment media (music, video, and other content formats) is a powerful brand component that adds what other things can’t: emotion. Using emotional content as part of a customer experience – from campaign, to store environments, to web, to mobile – heightens the feeling and connection consumers have with a brand. By combining creative insights, branded content, delivery platforms, and behavioral data, PlayNetwork creates entertainment media experiences for over 400 brands spanning 100,000 locations in over 120 countries, our work touching more than 100 million people every day.

The Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) manages investments for retirement plans including public employees, teachers, school employees, law enforcement officers, firefighters and judges. We also manage investments for several other important public funds that benefit Washington’s industrial insurance program, colleges and universities, and developmental disability programs. The WSIB’s excellent investment performance dramatically contributes to the state’s bottom line by earning the lion’s share of money needed to cover state pension benefits. The WSIB is organized much like most investment management organizations, with a board and executive committee providing enterprise leadership. Distinct teams provide investment management, research and asset allocation, financial accounting and administration, legal services, and risk oversight. The Investment team is comprised of investment professionals who manage the WSIB’s major asset classes, including public equity, private equity, real estate, tangible assets, and fixed income. The Operations team provides comprehensive support of the investment and administrative functions, including legal services, investment accounting, trade settlement, cash management, and close monitoring of investment transactions, and operational compliance. The Institutional Relations team manages external stakeholder relations, corporate governance, public affairs, media inquiries, and communications such as regular performance reports, annual reports, and web site content.

Venture Out supports aspiring entrepreneurs with strong domain expertise to launch startups.

We are an early-stage venture firm based in Seattle investing in high-potential AI and ML technology companies across the US, Canada, and the UK. We believe artificial intelligence and machine learning will disrupt every industry and are looking for the next generation of leaders in every field who are building companies with machine learning at the heart of their strategy.

9Mile Labs is an Enterprise/B2B high-tech startup accelerator based in Seattle, WA. 9Mile Labs offers workspace, funding, and a group of mentors and advisors to help entrepreneurs make the right decisions and connections to take startup ideas to success. 9Mile Labs has recruited a brilliant set of mentors who are driven to help propel the startups in the program to the next level.

Techstars helps founders scale their startups into world-changing businesses. Founded in 2006, Techstars is on a mission to invest in startups to enable more capital to flow to more entrepreneurs around the world in order to deliver exceptional returns to our investors. We do this by operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, as well as by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Our results show why Techstars is Better for Founders than any other global accelerator: On average, 74.5% of Techstars companies will raise money within 3 years of their program; 18.5% of Techstars portfolio companies have exited 5 years after their program and 31.1% after eight years. (PitchBook June 2023)