Jared Polis
About Jared Polis
Jared Polis lives in Denver, Colorado. He has been the 43rd Governor of Colorado since January 2019 and was re-elected in 2022. Before that he served Colorado's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2009 to 2019. He also spent six years on the Colorado State Board of Education.
His business career started at Princeton, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1996. While still a student he co-founded the internet access provider American Information Systems (AIS), which was sold in 1998. The Western Governors' Association says the sale price was $22 million. He later helped turn his parents' Blue Mountain Arts greeting card company into an e-commerce business. He also founded the online flower retailer ProFlowers, which launched in 1998. A 2020 congressional biography says he had launched three successful companies by age 30.
In 2006 he co-founded the startup accelerator Techstars in Boulder, together with David Cohen, Brad Feld and David Brown. Crunchbase also lists him as chairman and founder of Fuser. Its short bio names him as co-founder of STANLEY +Techstars AI in Advanced Manufacturing. We could not confirm from other sources what his role in that program is. It is probably tied to his Techstars co-founder title.
Crunchbase lists 3 personal investments, 3 portfolio companies, 0 lead investments and 2 exits. PitchBook also lists him as an individual angel investor with 3 investments and 2 exits. It lists the three deals as MadKast in October 2007, Foodzie in December 2008, and a grant to Colorado Mountain College in February 2021. Crunchbase's three investments are Foodzie (seed), madKast (Series A) and EventVue (Series A). The grant is not an equity deal.
His largest documented early-stage position is Techstars. Roll Call reported in 2013 that his Techstars-related holdings were worth more than $700,000. The same report said his stock holdings included an open-sea fish farm off Panama and a Denver movie production company. Those holdings show he invests outside software, but the sources do not give investment dates for them.
We found no public record of new angel investments by Polis in recent years. He has held public office since 2009, so founders should not assume he takes inbound pitches.
We found no public record of an AI investment by Jared Polis. Neither Crunchbase nor PitchBook lists one, and we found no portfolio announcement or press report naming him as an investor in an AI company.
The only AI link is the Crunchbase bio, which names him as co-founder of STANLEY +Techstars AI in Advanced Manufacturing. That is an accelerator program run under the Techstars name. It is not a record of a personal investment in an AI startup.
Polis has not published an angel thesis, a preferred check size or a stated set of criteria. The record we found is too thin to infer one. His documented deals are early-stage, with MadKast, EventVue and Foodzie classed as seed or Series A, and the companies are mostly consumer internet and web software. PitchBook files MadKast as internet software and Foodzie as vertical market software. Crunchbase shows he has not led any rounds.
He is based in Denver, and several of his documented ventures are tied to Colorado. We could not find a public statement from him on check size or AI focus, so none is given here.
- Techstars: startup accelerator he co-founded in Boulder in 2006. Crunchbase lists him as co-founder.
- Foodzie: seed round listed on Crunchbase. PitchBook dates the deal December 2008 and classes it as vertical market software.
- madKast: Series A listed on Crunchbase. PitchBook dates the deal October 2007 and classes it as internet software.
- EventVue: Series A listed on Crunchbase. The date is not public in the sources we found.
- Colorado Mountain College: PitchBook lists a grant in February 2021. It is not an equity investment.
- crunchbase.com/person/jared-polis
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/106631-56
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Polis
- westgov.org/about/our-governors-bio/jared-polis
- 5280.com/jared-polis-wants-to-disrupt-colorado-politics
- rollcall.com/2013/09/10/polis-builds-unusual-but-profitable-financial-
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techstars
- congress.gov/116/meeting/house/110763/witnesses/HHRG-116-IF02-Bio-Poli
Investing activity
Jared Polis has made 3 investments according to Crunchbase across 3 portfolio companies, and has seen 2 exits and founded 3 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Jared Polis
Is Jared Polis an active angel investor in AI startups?
We found no public record of an AI investment by him. His documented angel deals date from 2007 and 2008, and he has been Colorado's governor since 2019.
How much does Jared Polis invest per check?
He has not published a check size. We found no reliable public figure, so none is given.
What stage of startup has Jared Polis backed?
His listed deals are early-stage: a seed round in Foodzie and Series A rounds in madKast and EventVue. Crunchbase shows no lead investments.
What companies has Jared Polis founded?
He co-founded American Information Systems while at Princeton and founded ProFlowers. He helped build Blue Mountain Arts' online business and co-founded Techstars in 2006. Crunchbase also lists him as chairman and founder of Fuser.
Where is Jared Polis based?
He is based in Denver, Colorado, United States.
Should AI founders pitch Jared Polis?
Public sources show no recent angel activity and no AI portfolio. He holds public office, so an unsolicited pitch is unlikely to be the best route. A warm introduction through the Techstars or Colorado startup community is a more realistic one.
Is Jared Polis an angel investor?
Yes. Jared Polis invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 3 investments and 2 exits.
How can founders reach Jared Polis?
Founders on Lounge can see Jared Polis's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Jared Polis to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.