Don’t Sleep on Seattle Startups | Vivek Ladsariya (Managing Director, Pioneer Square Labs)

Nov 20, 2025

Vivek Ladsariya, Managing Director at Pioneer Square Labs, dives into Seattle's startup scene and the potential of AI infrastructure. He discusses why Seattle is a top destination for AI talent and the impact of big tech on entrepreneurship. Ladsariya also critiques the venture studio model, explaining why many are struggling and how they must adapt to thrive. He emphasizes the importance of in-person collaboration and shares insights on investing in founders versus ideas, along with a unique investment addressing loneliness.

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INSIGHT

Mega Funds Changed Early-Stage Dynamics

Mega-funds reshaped Bay Area early-stage economics, making it harder for small funds to compete.
Regional markets like Seattle retain catalytic opportunities for smaller funds to build alpha through hands-on work.

ADVICE

Do The Unscalable Work

Do the unscalable things: meet many people and build relationships to find founders.
Focus on catalytic actions that nudge people into starting companies rather than competing on scale.

INSIGHT

Seattle Talent Is Broadly Captive

Seattle's talent is concentrated in many big tech players, not just Amazon and Microsoft.
That captive talent is reachable with patient relationships and activation energy from local investors.

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This week on The Data Minute, Peter sits down with Vivek Ladsariya, Managing Director at Pioneer Square Labs, for a deep dive into the Seattle startup ecosystem and the evolving world of venture studios.

Vivek breaks down why Seattle has become the quiet giant of AI infrastructure, holding the second-highest concentration of AI talent in the US, and explains why the "locked up" talent at Amazon and Microsoft is finally breaking free. He also gives a candid assessment of the venture studio model, why many studios are "zombies," how AI is forcing them to pivot to a holding company structure, and why he actually encourages his Seattle founders to move to San Francisco.

They also discuss the economics of small funds vs. mega funds, why signaling risk is real for follow-on rounds, and the "unscalable" things emerging managers must do to compete. Plus: a look at an investment fighting the loneliness epidemic and a rare story of a VC voluntarily taking dilution to save a cap table.

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Chapters:
00:00 – Intro: Seattle, Studios, and AI
01:10 – Welcome Vivek Ladsariya
02:22 – How mega funds warped the SF market
05:08 – Inside Pioneer Square Labs
06:40 – The "Bar Test": Speed of funding in SF vs. Seattle
09:23 – Is Seattle talent trapped in Big Tech?
11:46 – The "Cracked Kid" vs. The Seasoned Exec
15:50 – Why Seattle is the #2 AI hub in the US
17:02 – Why Vivek wants Seattle founders to move to SF
20:10 – The case against remote work for startups
21:53 – Why Seattle is the infrastructure capital of AI
24:11 – The Venture Studio model: Why do VCs hate it?
27:10 – How AI is disrupting the studio model
29:00 – The HoldCo future: Hims & Hers and Liquid Death
31:22 – Using a studio to compete with mega-fund platforms
33:45 – Why PSL will never raise a mega fund
36:16 – The psychology of follow-on reserves
38:56 – Signaling risk: "Why didn't Andreessen invest?"
41:30 – Secondaries vs. holding onto winners
45:28 – Are LPs tired of mega funds?
46:31 – Why you can't be a solo GP forever
48:56 – Investing in the loneliness epidemic (Tin Can)
50:43 – The most value-add thing a VC can do
52:07 – Outro

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