Sequel’s Washing: Looking for winners

BOULDER — Tom Washing is in the business of picking winners.

We=re not talking a few bucks on a horse here; Washing usually backs his judgment to the tune of around $4 million each time.

Washing is one of the five partners in Sequel Venture Partners, a Boulder-based private venture capital firm, which is currently managing $216 million of investor funds.

What Washing and his colleagues are betting on is the huge reservoir of talent in the Colorado business community, especially among high-tech start-up companies along the Front Range.

Sure there is risk, says Washing, but if you know what you=re doing and can control many of the key factors, that risk can be minimized and avoided. Which is exactly what Sequel has been doing for almost three years with some spectacular results.

The firm=s initial $66 million was invested in 16 companies, 13 of them along the Front Range.

AAll 16 are doing well,@ Washing says, which may be something of an understatement considering one of the earliest investments was in stellar performer MatchLogic, since swept up in multimillion-dollar mergers and takeovers.

It was Washing=s insight, business acumen and leadership that launched Sequel and helped so many other organizations reach success. These telling traits are among the many reasons he will be honored by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce as the Esprit Entrepreneur Lifetime Achievement award on Oct. 14.

Sequel recently closed a second financing round after persuading pension funds, corporations, foundations and wealthy individuals, both in the United States and overseas, to commit to another $150 million.

Some of that money already has been used to back seven more promising local start-up ventures. This group includes Boulder electronic book business netLibrary, which is growing at a phenomenal pace thanks largely to Sequel=s $4.5 million capital injection.

Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Washing got into this business in 1983 after switching lanes from a parallel career as an East Coast corporate lawyer. Two years later he moved to Boulder as a partner in Hill, Carman & Washing, where one of his first and most successful clients was Exabyte.

Today, people are queuing up to seek investment capital from Sequel. In an average year between 500 and 600 business plans come through the door, of which maybe 10 get the big tick from Washing and his colleagues.

With that many applications it would be understandable if a few ripe plums slipped through his fingers. So has Washing ever turned down a budding Bill Gates? AI can=t recall anything like that,@ he smiles.

Some people approach Sequel with little more than an idea, others have fully fledged business plans. Washing reckons he can tell within minutes when a proposal is not right for Sequel; alternatively, there could be months of negotiation and investigation, and the deal still might not go through.

AAt the end of the day you=re betting on people. It=s people you=re really investing in,@ says 58-year-old Washing. AA lot of business judgment is based on our knowledge of the people involved.@

Which is where Sequel has a big advantage. By investing mostly in one region and in the early stages of specific high-tech industries — telecommunications, health care, information technology and e-commerce — the five partners between them know virtually all the players.

AThere=s a lot of talented people and a lot of excellent technology in Colorado,@ says Washing. AI=m lucky to be in this business here and at this time. I enjoy it, I have a lot of fun and I love working with entrepreneurs.@

Despite the pressures of high finance, Washing makes sure he has a life outside of work, starting with his family. He and his wife Susan have a 3-year-old daughter, Taylor, while one son, Whit, is an actor in New York and the other, Jason, works for Excite in California.

Washing admits to being an avid skier. AWe have a place in Vail and always make time for skiing;@ he=s a keen fisherman, a scuba diver and nature photographer and also enjoys reading and music.

Sequel=s investment philosophy includes a hands-on role with clients — a seat on the board, involvement in recruiting key staff , writing business plans and often changing the core direction of the company.

Washing currently sits on more than half a dozen boards and spends Aa huge amount of time@ recruiting. He=s also chairman of the advisory committee of the University of Colorado=s Center for Entrepreneurship and a member of the Business Advisory Council at the university=s business school.

In addition, he has been heavily involved in the Venture Capital Association of Colorado, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, the Boulder Development Commission and Boulder=s Esprit Entrepreneur program.

Denis Nock, director of the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at CU, says Washing=s involvement and support for the center has been invaluable.

ATom could not be more dedicated,@ says Nock. AHe was instrumental in establishing the board four years ago, he=s involved all the time and I have just been extremely fortunate to work with him.@

Nock also praised Washing and his partners for providing an annual $2,000 MBA student scholarship and for taking two MBA students as interns this summer.

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