Kirby Winfield

Kirby Winfield is a seasoned startup operator and investor, and is currently the Founding General Partner at Ascend.vc, a pre-seed stage venture fund investing in marketplace, e-commerce/DTC, and B2B software startups in the Pacific Northwest. Early in his career, Kirby was a founding team member and operating executive at back-to-back tech IPOs, with Go2Net (GNET) and Marchex (MCHX). He is also a two-time venture capital-backed CEO, with AdXpose (DFJ, Ignition) acquired by comScore (SCOR), and Dwellable (Maveron, VersionOne) acquired by HomeAway (AWAY). Kirby has invested in dozens of technology startups, and served as a Board Director of the real estate CRM platform Sharper Agent (acquired by LEDR/Z), and the in-store customer experience platform Spectrio (acquired by Bertram Capital). He currently serves as a Board Director at Bean Box, the premier Direct to Consumer gourmet coffee gift and subscription brand; Keepe, the leading vetted, on-demand contractor network for property managers; and SyncFloor, the consumer-grade music licensing platform for independent labels and artists. Other notable investments include Attunely, Blume, Cap Hill Brands, Crowd Cow, Dolly, Fabric, Stackery and Wrench. Kirby has served as Board Chair at Special Olympics of Washington, where he helped bring the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games to Seattle. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Seattle Preparatory School, Board Member at the University of Washington's Haring Center Capital Campaign, and Board Advisor at the Friendship Circle of Washington. In his free time, Kirby enjoys running, tennis, and traveling with his wife, son and daughter.