LongJump Research
Investment Thesis
LongJump is a first-check, founder-led pre-seed fund based in Chicago. Its pitch is that great companies can start anywhere, not just on the coasts. The fund is industry-agnostic but geographically focused: it backs founders building in the Midwest, with a strong bias toward Chicago. It describes its offer as capital, connections and community, and positions itself as a fund built by founders who remember fighting to stay alive, build a team, find customers and raise money all at once.
Stage Focus
Pre-seed only, and often the very first money in. The fund says it invests before a company has raised significant outside capital and frequently before any other investor is involved. It runs on monthly application cycles rather than warm introductions or pitch decks.
Check Size and Terms
The standard deal is $100K on a $5M post-money SAFE cap, plus $10K for 3% common equity with an equity-back guarantee, about $110K in total. LongJump will consider adjusting terms if the founder is raising on a different basis, but it holds to clear, disciplined terms because it goes first.
Lead Tendency
Because LongJump invests before other investors and sets its own standard terms, it behaves as a first-check investor and often anchors the round. Whether it formally leads is not stated, so the lead tendency is recorded as unknown.
Recent Activity
The site reports 48 investments in Midwest-based founders and $85M raised by portfolio companies after LongJump's pre-seed check. News posts show investments in GridLink, Houndsy and Qixent (May 2025), UnVale (October 2024), FreshX and Tercero Technologies (June 2024), and Cuentologia and Flora & Noor (January 2024). Ale Breuer joined as a founder partner in June 2025, and the firm ran The Raise, a pre-seed fundraising program for founders, with a 2026 cohort written up in March 2026. No fund size or AUM is published.
Portfolio Highlights
The portfolio page lists 33 companies across B2C, B2B SaaS, marketplace, fintech, consumer retail and ecommerce, deeptech and hardtech, edtech and health tech. Examples include Science on Call (tech support for restaurants), FreshX (cold-chain freight software), Nara (AI benefits automation), Rise Reforming (green chemicals from waste gas), Tercero Technologies (FPGA AI for defense sensors), Kosmos (prediction market aggregation), GridLink (EV fleet software), Stridekick (social fitness challenges) and Rivet (AI community management for creators). No named exits are published on the site.
Team
- Rebecca Kahnweiler, Managing Partner (announced September 2023)
- Tina Hrabak, Partner
- Founder partners: Brian Luerssen (CEO, Draftbit), Ablorde Ashigbi (CEO, 4Degrees), Garry Cooper (CEO, Rheaply), Ale Breuer (Chicago Booth), Betsy Fore (Velveteen Ventures), Kristen Sonday (CEO, Paladin), Tim Grace (Techstars Columbus), Arnav Dalmia (CEO, Cubii)
Founder partners lead mentorship of portfolio companies and receive carry in the fund. The network includes more than 190 founder and operator LPs.
Decision Process
Every application is reviewed by partners individually, then discussed as a group. Strong applicants get a 45-minute partner interview, then diligence, with final decisions four to six weeks after the interview. Each investment gets a deal lead who writes the memo. Full partner consensus is not required: a strong yes from the deal lead plus at least one other aligned partner is enough for an offer. This is a partnership model with a light consensus bar.
Founder Preferences
Impressive builders with unique market insight, tech-focused or tech-enabled businesses that can scale quickly, and a business where a roughly $110K check makes measurable progress. The fund first-cycle data showed 91% of 168 applicants were from underrepresented groups, and many portfolio founders are women or founders of color. No warm intro is required.
Geographic Focus
Midwest, especially Chicago. The fund explicitly prefers founders building in the Midwest and describes itself as the best network between the coasts.