Portland venture capital: Capybara, DFJ Frontier open a Portland office for early stage investments

Seems like we’re going to need to change our tune about venture capital firms not being interested in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest.

Mike Rogoway over at The Oregonian reveals that DFJ Frontier in partnership with Capybara Ventures has opened another office for early stage venture capital—right here in Portland, Oregon.

But that’s not the best part of the news. The best part, as Rogoway highlights, is:

California-based DFJ is partnering with longtime Portland venture firm Capybara Ventures to focus on companies that need relatively small, initial investments to help launch their businesses.

Capybara has some familiar faces in its portfolio, including Portland-based AboutUs and Attensa. They have also invested in Eleven Wireless, the company founded by Nedspace co-founder Josh Friedman.

Now the—ironically—big question: how small is small?

According to DFJ Frontier, they generally invest from low six figures to low seven figures:

DFJ Frontier typically invests $100,000 to $1,000,000 initially, with additional capital reserved for follow-on investment as the company successfully achieves key milestones. We will also structure syndicates for companies that require a larger initial capital infusion.

Combine that with Capybara’s distinct focus on high tech startups seeking early stage investment and this partnership may be just the thing to jump start a fresh crop of Portland and Silicon Forest startups.

As Mike reminds us, DFJ Frontier is the third such firm to open an office in Portland, recently. Voyager and Madrona have also  set up Rose City branches, as of late, in order to manage existing investments—and find new ones.

If you’re interested in learning more about this new partnership and the Portland office’s focus, DFJ Frontier and Capybara will both be in attendance at the Big Idea Bash startup event, this Wednesday.

(Hat tip Lisa MacKenzie)