Cascade Ventures

Cascade Ventures is a venture capital firm that recently rebranded to Long Way Ventures in April 2026, reflecting an evolution of the firm's strategy beyond its original Pacific Northwest focus. Founded originally as Cascade Seed Fund in Oregon, the firm built its reputation on early-stage software investments in the Pacific Northwest and broader US startup ecosystem. The rebranding reflects the firm's growth beyond its regional roots — the new fund targets $10 million and will allocate up to 20% to international investments, a meaningful expansion from the original Pacific Northwest thesis.

The firm's original thesis centered on the Pacific Northwest's unique concentration of technology talent — Seattle and Portland have historically produced strong enterprise software and consumer internet companies, and Cascade Seed Fund positioned itself as a local partner for these founders. The firm's portfolio includes Auth0 (identity management, acquired by Okta for $6.5 billion) — which represents one of the most successful exits in Pacific Northwest venture history and validates the firm's early thesis around identity and security infrastructure.

For founders considering Cascade (now Long Way Ventures), the key is understanding that the firm's strategy has evolved to reflect its expanded scope and ambition. The rebranding is not just a name change — it reflects a fund that has learned from its Pacific Northwest roots and is now applying those lessons more broadly. The firm's original focus on B2B SaaS, cloud infrastructure, and data analytics remains, but the geographic constraints have loosened.

The firm writes checks ranging from $500,000 to $5 million, positioning it as a true seed investor that can provide meaningful early capital. The expanded strategy means Long Way Ventures is now open to a broader set of opportunities than the original Cascade Seed Fund — including software companies outside the Pacific Northwest and international opportunities that fit the firm's thesis around category-defining enterprise software.

For founders in the Pacific Northwest or broader US who are building enterprise software companies and seeking early-stage capital from investors who understand the space, Long Way Ventures represents a credible option with a track record that includes one of the region's most significant exits. The rebranding signals an ambition to build on that track record more broadly.

Long Way Ventures' investment thesis centers on identifying early-stage enterprise software companies with strong founding teams and clear paths to product-market fit. The firm's origin in the Pacific Northwest shaped its thesis around B2B SaaS and cloud infrastructure — verticals where the region has meaningful company density and the firm has developed deep operational expertise.

The original Cascade thesis focused on software companies in the Pacific Northwest that could benefit from the region's talent concentration and relatively lower cost structure compared to Silicon Valley. That thesis produced Auth0, which validated the approach with a transformational exit. The rebranding reflects the firm's belief that the same investment approach can work more broadly — not just in the Pacific Northwest but across the US and internationally.

Long Way Ventures writes $500K to $5M checks at seed and early stages, providing not just capital but also operational guidance and access to the firm's network of industry executives and investors. For first-time enterprise software founders, this hands-on approach can be particularly valuable in navigating the challenges of go-to-market execution and scaling the business.

The firm's evaluation criteria center on founder quality, product differentiation, and market opportunity. Long Way Ventures looks for founders who have deep domain expertise in their target market and can demonstrate that their solution addresses a real pain point with meaningful user or customer adoption.

Following the rebranding, Long Way Ventures has maintained an active investment pace in enterprise software while expanding its geographic scope beyond the Pacific Northwest. The firm has participated in seed rounds for software companies across the US, reflecting the expanded strategy.

The Auth0 exit has been a meaningful validation of the firm's approach — and the subsequent success of Okta's integration of Auth0 has reinforced the thesis that identity and security infrastructure represents a durable market opportunity. Long Way Ventures continues to evaluate opportunities in security, cloud infrastructure, and data analytics.

Recent investments reflect the firm's thesis around enterprise software that addresses real operational problems. The expanded international allocation means the firm is now actively evaluating non-US opportunities that fit the investment criteria.

Auth0 is the transformative exit that defines the Long Way Ventures track record. The identity management platform was acquired by Okta for $6.5 billion in 2021 — one of the largest exits in Pacific Northwest venture history. Auth0's success validated the firm's early thesis that identity and authentication infrastructure would become essential as enterprises moved to cloud and SaaS-based architectures.

Extrahop (network detection and response, acquired by Accenture) represents another meaningful exit in the Long Way Ventures portfolio. The company's cybersecurity platform demonstrated the firm's thesis around security infrastructure that addresses real enterprise needs.

Snowplow (data analytics) reflects Long Way Ventures' continued conviction in data infrastructure companies that help enterprises understand and act on customer behavior. The company's open-source-first approach to analytics has built a substantial community and commercial business.

The portfolio's diversity reflects Long Way Ventures' openness to different enterprise software categories — as long as the founding team demonstrates deep technical capability and a clear understanding of customer needs.

Long Way Ventures evaluates investments based on founder quality, product differentiation, and market opportunity. The firm has a strong preference for technical founders who have deep domain expertise in their target market and can demonstrate that they're building products that address real pain points.

Product differentiation matters significantly in the firm's evaluation. Long Way Ventures looks for companies that have genuine technical or process advantages over existing solutions, rather than incremental improvements that could easily be replicated by better-resourced competitors.

Market opportunity must be large enough to support a meaningful venture outcome, with clear paths to $100M+ revenue potential. The firm prefers B2B software models with recurring revenue metrics and strong gross margins.

Team composition and domain expertise are carefully evaluated. Long Way Ventures looks for founding teams that combine technical depth with business acumen — the ability to build a great product AND understand how to sell it to enterprise customers.

Warm introductions from founders in Long Way Ventures' portfolio, other investors in the enterprise software ecosystem, or industry executives who know the firm are the most effective path to a meeting. The firm has built relationships across the Pacific Northwest startup community and is expanding those relationships nationally.

Cold submissions are accepted but face longer odds without a referral. For founders without existing relationships, the key is to demonstrate strong founding team credentials and clear product-market fit indicators in your initial outreach.

The firm's evaluation process typically takes 2-4 weeks from initial meeting to investment decision, with a thorough due diligence process that includes reference calls and detailed discussion of the business model and financial projections.

Long Way Ventures expects founders to have a solid handle on their financials — including burn rate, runway, unit economics, and path to profitability or the next funding round. Early-stage B2B SaaS companies with clear financial models and realistic projections stand out in a process where many seed-stage founders are still developing their financial planning capabilities.

Working with a fractional CFO can meaningfully improve a founder's ability to tell their story to Long Way Ventures and other early-stage investors. Professional financial guidance helps build accurate projections, prepare investor-ready financials, and confidently answer due diligence questions.

Our team has helped numerous enterprise software startups prepare investor-ready financials and financial models that support the seed and Series A fundraising process. We understand the metrics that early-stage VCs evaluate and can help founders build the financial foundations that make investor conversations productive.

Whether you're preparing to pitch Long Way Ventures or other seed-stage VCs, financial preparedness is one of the most controllable variables in the fundraising process. Our team specializes in helping early-stage companies build the financial foundations that make investor conversations productive and efficient.

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