Most early stage investment processes are opaque - making what’s already a challenging and anxiety-inducing process even more so.

Our goal is to be the opposite - so we’re committed to demystifying as much of our process as we can, so you know where you stand. As we learn what serves you best (and what we can reasonably accomplish), this structure may shift in the future.

Our Investing Process

Our process is rather different than your typical venture fund - read on to learn how.

We accept applications, not pitch decks.

You do not need a referral or introduction to be considered for a LongJump investment. But you do have to complete an application.

We do this for a number of reasons: to reduce bias, to streamline the information exchange from you to us and to help us, as full-time founders, manage the investment process more efficiently.

Our application helps us learn the basics about you, your business, your team, and your progress to date. It’s reasonably comprehensive, so plan accordingly.

Our promise to you is that we will review every application and even if we don’t move your company forward to an interview, you will get specific feedback from us as to why.

Application review happens monthly

We know this isn’t always ideal, especially if you are looking to raise capital near the beginning of one of our cycles. Right now, we feel most comfortable with this structure so we can effectively our time between running our companies and investing.

What happens after you apply

After you apply, you’ll get an automated email from us confirming we have your application.

Application review

Each application is reviewed by every partner at LongJump. After we review them individually, we discuss as a group in order to determine which companies we are most excited to learn more about. The application review process typically takes us 2-3 weeks after an application cycle closes.

Partner Interview

If we choose to move forward to learn more about you and your company, you’ll receive an invitation from us to interview with the LongJump partnership.

This interview is typically conducted remotely over Zoom and is ~45 minutes. These interviews are much more discussion than pitch. They are designed for us to explore questions we have about your application/business and are highly conversational.

If you’re not invited for an interview, we’ll still be in touch to let you know that.

Partner Diligence

After your interview, the partnership will discuss and if we want to proceed further, one partner (sometimes two) will be designated as your deal lead.

This partner will then work directly with you to answer any additional questions we have before making an investment decision. This process sometimes involves members of the LongJump network with specific domain expertise in your market. This helps in our diligence and also gives you the opportunity to get to know the fund LPs who may be strong advisors for you post-investment.

Again, if we choose not to move forward after your interview, we’ll spend time with you to share feedback and, oftentimes, we’ll find ways to support beyond capital.

Decisions & Offers

If your deal lead is interested in making an investment, they will write up a deal memo and share it with the rest of the partnership. That gives us the opportunity to ask any final questions and get aligned on a decision.

We do not require partner consensus to invest. Assuming the deal lead is a strong yes and has at least one other partner with a similar commitment to the deal, we’ll make an offer.

Questions on our terms or process? Check out our FAQs or shoot us an email at hello@longjump.vc