Nick Hanauer is one of the most successful entrepreneurs, investors, and managers in the Pacific Northwest with over 30 years of experience across a broad range of industries including manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, digital media and advertising, software, aerospace, health care, and finance. He is a co-founder and partner of Second Avenue Partners, a Seattle-based venture capital firm that provides management, strategy, and capital for early-stage companies.

Hanauer’s experience and perspective have led to an unusual record of serial successes. He has managed, founded or financed over 30 companies, creating aggregate market value of tens of billions of dollars. Some of his notable successes include Amazon.com, Aquantive Inc., (purchased by Microsoft in 2007 for $6.4 billion), Insitu Group (purchased by Boeing in 2008 for $400 million), Juno Therapeutics (acquired by Celgene in 2019 for $9 billion, and Market Leader (purchased by Trulia in 2013 for $350 million). He has helped found or manage a portfolio of companies across a diverse array of industries, including Marchex, Newsvine, Qliance, Seattle Bank, and Pacific Coast Feather Company.

At the same time, Hanauer, a self-described “proud and unapologetic capitalist,” has become a leading critic of Neoliberalism and orthodox economic policy. Hanauer was one of the first advocates for a $15 minimum wage. He is now one of the world’s most provocative thinkers about our society’s growing inequality and the dire consequences that increasing inequality creates for our democracies. He has a wide array of civic interests and has founded a variety of non-profit organizations. His political organizations include Civic Ventures, Civic Action, the League of Education Voters, and the Alliance for Gun Responsibility.

Hanauer’s opinion pieces have been featured in dozens of publications and is a frequent commentator on politics and economics in the media. He has given three TED talks, been featured in several feature documentaries, and a variety of television appearances. His opinion pieces have been featured in the New York Times, TIME Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Atlantic and Democracy Journal, among many other publications. He is the author of three books — The True Patriot and Gardens of Democracy with Eric Liu and Corporate Bullshit with Donald Cohen and Joan Walsh.

Hanauer and his wife Leslie are signatories of the Giving Pledge and co-manage the Nick and Leslie Hanauer foundation. He has received a variety of honors and awards including Harvard/MIT’s Humanist of the year award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the year award, and received an honorary PhD from Chapman University.