INVESTMENT THESIS
Geography
Chicago-based (preferred) or in some cases we’ll consider startups with strong Chicago ties, plan to relocate to Chicago
Diversity
We don’t have a diversity mandate per se but nearly three-quarters of our startups are led by underrepresented founders. We deeply believe that when we support a more diverse startup community that everyone wins and all boats rise.
Team
Brilliant, scrappy, gritty, coachable, humble and hard working founders with the highest integrity and tremendous passion for the problem they are solving. Strong problem/founder fit is critical.
Product
We are industry agnostic, but we love investing in products that help us build community, hack serendipity, or we personally use in other ways. (We eat Tovala meals, host virtual events on Gamerjibe, make intros via Bridge, manage relationships with 4Degrees, share stories with Gather Voices, drive hiring with Consider, and so much more.)
Timing
As early as possible, usually first-check to seed (typical post-money valuations/caps <$8M, with sweet spot of $3-4M)
Check Size
$10k to $100k (in rare cases larger)
