LongJump

What LongJump does

LongJump is a Chicago-based, founder-led pre-seed venture capital fund that writes first checks of $110K into early-stage companies building in the Midwest, with a stated bias toward Chicago founders. The fund's standard deal is a $100K investment on a $5M SAFE cap plus $10K for 3% common equity with an equity-back guarantee, and the investment process is run as a self-serve, no-warm-intro-required online application (Tally form) reviewed in monthly cycles with group partner review, a 45-minute partner interview, and a 4-6 week decision window.

The core product is the fund itself — LongJump has made 45 investments to date and its portfolio companies have raised $69.5M in follow-on capital — but the firm layers two productized programs on top: The Raise, a cohort-based pre-seed fundraising education program built in partnership with World Business Chicago and supported by the Coleman Foundation, and the LongJump Network, a 200+ member limited partner community of founders, operators, and investors from companies including Ocient, Sprout Social, Kin Insurance, Cameo, and OkCupid that delivers insights and intros to portfolio companies. The investment process infrastructure (standardized SAFE terms, monthly cycles, dedicated deal lead per portfolio) functions as the firm's operating technology stack, supported by commodity tooling (Tally forms, Webflow) rather than proprietary software.

LongJump's revenue model is standard venture fund economics — management fees on committed AUM plus carried interest distributed to Founder Partners who lead portfolio mentorship — with no disclosed fund size, AUM, or fee schedule. Distribution is community-led: a Tally application front door, a 200+ LP referral network, and in-person ecosystem programming (TechChicago Week KICKoff, Founder Summits, December Community Gatherings) generate deal flow. The customer base is structurally diversified across industries and is geographically bounded to the Midwest.

Name

LongJump

Legal name

LongJump

Website

https://longjump.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LongJump is a Chicago-based, founder-led pre-seed venture capital fund that writes $110K first checks into Midwest startups (with a Chicago bias) through a standardized SAFE structure, supplemented by The Raise fundraising program and a 200+ LP operator network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pre-Seed Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Fundamental/Discretionary Equity Long/Short (FSAHAAAA)

Keywords

• Pre-seed venture capital
• First-check investing
• Founder-led fund
• Startup capital
• Founder mentorship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund carried interest (carry): Founder Partners lead mentorship and support of portfolio companies, and in exchange receive carry (carried interest) in the fund. This is a profit-sharing revenue stream tied to fund investment performance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

LongJump is a Chicago-based, founder-led pre-seed venture capital fund that invests $110K at the earliest stages into Midwest founders (with a Chicago bias) via a standardized $100K SAFE on a $5M cap plus $10K for 3% common equity with an equity-back guarantee. The fund distributes its capital through a self-serve online application, provides each portfolio company with a dedicated deal lead, and supplements the capital with mentorship from a network of Founder Partners and a 200+ LP network of founders, operators, and investors.

Product overview

LongJump's offering is a single unified venture capital platform centered on its pre-seed fund, layered with structured programs and a community network rather than a software product suite. The core offering is the LongJump Fund — a first-check, founder-led VC investing $110K at the earliest stages into 45+ Midwest/Chicago-backed portfolio companies — supported by The Raise pre-seed fundraising program, the LongJump Network of 200+ founder/operator/investor LPs, the LongJump Insights editorial and events platform (including the annual Founder Summit, TechChicago Week KICKoff, and December Community Gathering), and an application-driven investment process backed by a dedicated deal-lead model. Together these comprise LongJump's productized approach to founder support rather than discrete software modules with APIs or integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Raise: LongJump's pre-seed fundraising program built for founders who are serious about closing a round, featuring multi-session cohorts culminating in an investor matchmaking day.

Products and services

• LongJump Fund (Pre-Seed VC Fund) First-check, founder-led venture capital fund investing $110K (standard deal: $100K on a $5M SAFE cap plus $10K for 3% common equity with an equity-back guarantee) at the earliest stages into founders building fast-growing, scalable businesses. Industry-agnostic and focused on the Midwest with a strong bias toward Chicago. Portfolio companies have raised $69.5M following LongJump's pre-seed investment across 45 investments.
• The Raise (Pre-Seed Fundraising Program) LongJump's pre-seed fundraising program, built in partnership with World Business Chicago with support from the Coleman Foundation for first-time founders who are post-product and preparing to close a round. The 2026 cohort spanned six sessions from January through March 2026 with fifteen founding teams and culminated in an investor matchmaking day of 70+ meetings with active investors from the LongJump network.

Quantifiable outcome

• $69.5M raised by portfolio companies following LongJump's pre-seed investment
• +4 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fifth Star FundscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongJump partnered with Chicago-based nonprofit Fifth Star Funds (founded 2021, provides early-stage funding to tech founders of color) to provide additional support including coaching and coworking space to portfolio founders. Partnership milestone announced in 2024 alongside a $125,000 grant from the Richard L. Duchossois Foundation to Fifth Star Funds.
• World Business ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongJump co-built The Raise pre-seed fundraising program with World Business Chicago, with support from the Coleman Foundation, for first-time, post-product founders. The 2026 cohort (15 companies, January–March 2026) spanned health, biotech, AI, consumer, and business tools.
• Coleman FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Coleman Foundation provided support for The Raise program alongside LongJump and World Business Chicago, underwriting the pre-seed fundraising curriculum for first-time founders.
• TechstarscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrad Schnitzer of Techstars was a guest speaker in The Raise 2026 program, and TechNexus (closely related) attended the investor matchmaking day. LongJump also featured 'LongJump ❤️ Techstars' content highlighting ecosystem ties.
• TechNexus Venture CollaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechNexus (Chicago) attended The Raise 2026 investor matchmaking day. Fred Hoch and Terry Howerton of TechNexus are also part of LongJump's investor network.
• Chicago:BlendminorGTM or Marketing PartnerChicago:Blend co-hosted the TechChicago Week KICKoff rooftop soccer happy hour alongside LongJump, LaFamilia, and VamosVentures, and contributed Blend:Talks content to the TechChicago Capital Summit covered by LongJump.
• LaFamilia FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLaFamilia co-hosted the TechChicago Week KICKoff rooftop soccer happy hour alongside LongJump, Chicago:Blend, and VamosVentures.
• VamosVenturesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVamosVentures co-hosted the TechChicago Week KICKoff rooftop soccer happy hour alongside LongJump, Chicago:Blend, and LaFamilia.
• J.P. Morgan Innovation EconomyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJ.P. Morgan's Innovation Economy team sponsored the TechChicago Week KICKoff hosted by LongJump and partners.
• CDWminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCDW sponsored the TechChicago Week KICKoff hosted by LongJump and partners.
• 1440minorGTM or Marketing PartnerTim Huelskamp, founder of 1440, joined LongJump's portfolio for a chat on bootstrapping a multi-million dollar media business at the December 2025 community gathering.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Listen Ventures: Chicago-based early-stage fund investing in consumer-facing technology companies. Listed in LongJump's LP network and operates in the same regional ecosystem.
• Hyde Park Venture Partners: Chicago-based early-stage venture firm focused on Midwest B2B SaaS and tech startups. Attended LongJump's Raise 2026 investor matchmaking day and is part of LongJump's LP network, making it a direct regional peer operating in the same geography and stage.
• M25: Chicago-based pre-seed and seed venture firm investing in Midwest founders. M25 led Stock's $1.5M pre-seed round in which LongJump participated, demonstrating overlapping deal activity and comparable geographic focus.
• Chicago Ventures: Early-stage Chicago venture firm investing in technology companies. Part of LongJump's LP network and operates in the same Chicago ecosystem, competing for similar pre-seed and seed deals.
• Corazon Capital: Chicago-based venture firm investing in early-stage technology companies. Listed in LongJump's LP network and competes in the same Midwest pre-seed/seed market.
• Lightbank: Chicago-based venture firm focused on early-stage consumer and enterprise tech. Part of LongJump's LP network, comparable in stage and geography to LongJump's investments.

Direct peers

• Backstage Capital: Pre-seed venture fund focused on investing in underrepresented founders. Directly comparable to LongJump's diversity-first mission and pre-seed stage focus; both deploy similar check sizes into undercapitalized founders.
• Pear VC: Pre-seed and seed venture firm investing in founders at the earliest stages. Attended LongJump's Raise 2026 investor matchmaking day; comparable in stage and check-size orientation, though geographically focused on the West Coast.
• Hustle Fund: Pre-seed venture fund investing in early-stage software startups with small, standardized checks. Featured as speaker at LongJump's TechChicago Week; directly comparable as a pre-seed fund with a community-driven, founder-friendly investment model.

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Global accelerator and early-stage investor operating programs worldwide. LongJump maintains a strategic partnership with Techstars (featured 'LongJump loves Techstars' content and Techstars speakers at The Raise); comparable as a broader early-stage capital and program provider in the same ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/longjumpfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/longjumpvc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments42 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LongJump