Matt McIlwain

Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group · Joined 2000

View Live Interactive Profile →

Biography

Matt McIlwain joined Madrona in 2000 from an unusually operational background for a venture investor - Vice President of Business Process at Genuine Parts Company, engagement manager at McKinsey, and earlier investment banking at Credit Suisse. He is closely identified with Madrona's long-duration company-building style and with the Seattle cloud and enterprise software ecosystem that grew up around the firm. The right story to attach to him isn't a single flashy seed check; it's Madrona's repeated 'day one to IPO' framing, where Smartsheet, Redfin, Impinj, and Apptio function as decades-long case studies in patient company formation rather than quick exits. Search-visible Madrona materials do not disclose his education, so that field is intentionally left blank here.

Previous Experience

Notable Investments

SmartsheetRedfin RDFNImpinj PIApptioAmperityQumuloSuplariPayScaleMotherDuckRelationalAISkytapTier 3XetHubIsilon SystemsEdgeRunner AIRead AITypefaceXnor.aiTuriOctoAIGradialVerceptVisual LayerSynthesize BioA-Alpha BioNautilus BioOzetteModulus TherapeuticsAccoladeAxiomAtomicScalaBoosterTerraClearExtraHopFarecast.comPlacediConcludeWorld Wide PacketsPerformant

Career Timeline

2000
Joins Madrona as a Managing Director after roles at Genuine Parts Company, McKinsey, and Credit Suisse.
2010s
Backs a run of Seattle enterprise and cloud companies including Smartsheet and Apptio.
2018
Portfolio company Smartsheet goes public; Madrona closes Fund VII and says it manages nearly $1.6 billion.
2022
Madrona raises $690 million across Fund 9 and Acceleration Fund 3.

Sources & References

Madrona ↗Wikipedia - Madrona Venture Group ↗