Seven Peaks Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on sparking innovation in the Pacific Northwest, has added Tom Gonser, founder of DocuSign, to its roster of partners.
Gonser most recently served as chief strategy officer at DocuSign, which provides eSignature and document workflow management solutions.
He previously worked at Apple, McCaw Cellular, AT&T Wireless and Wildfire Communications.
"Tom shares our belief that category-leading companies are being built in thriving regional markets across the country and in particular in the West, where easy access to the Bay Area has made markets like Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City very attractive to both entrepreneurs and investors," says Dino Vendetti, founder and managing partner of Seven Peaks Ventures. "We couldn't be more pleased to have Tom as a member of our investment team to help entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses."
"DocuSign has reached great heights because its solutions empower people to come to agreement rapidly anywhere in the world, regardless of location," says Gonser. "Seven Peaks also understands that it is possible to start a world-class business without moving to a big city. Our common desire to build and grow scalable businesses that have a consequential impact on the markets they serve attracted me to join the team. The energy out here is infectious, and I am excited to be a part of it."
Gonser is the fourth industry entrepreneur with operating experience to join Seven Peaks Ventures as an investment partner since Vendetti, a former Silicon Valley and greater Seattle area venture capitalist, founded the fund in 2013.
Gonser joins Matt Abrams and Steve Barham, who both joined last year from Oracle and LinkedIn, respectively; and Corey Schmid, who joined the fund in 2014 with a background in digital health, most recently at Philips.
"We're helping galvanise local entrepreneurs and build momentum in the greater Pacific Northwest and Mountain West markets and we're having a lot of fun doing it," says Vendetti. "Tom is the kind of partner we want, someone with experience building companies through all phases of growth and who has the vision to see what's possible."
