1. ADVISE
If you are an entrepreneur interested in pursuing a high-growth business model (i.e., reaching $30-$50 million in revenue within the next five years), and securing equity financing and intellectual partners on this journey, you should consider starting the investment process with JumpStart.
In order to receive a JumpStart investment, your business must be headquartered in Northeast Ohio (the only exception is a willingness to relocate your headquarters to Northeast Ohio) and have less than $10 million in annual revenue. Furthermore, you must have a plan and a desire to grow your business to $30-$50 million in annual revenue and must be open to raising additional growth capital. JumpStart typically assesses whether an idea or company can reach this level by asking the following questions:
- Is the business based on a highly differentiated, breakthrough idea, ideally complemented with defensible technology or other barriers to entry?
- Is there a large (over $1B) potential market and is the "pain" of living without this idea/technology great?
- Is the management team demonstrably committed to the business? Does the team want, over time, to take on additional owners of the business (i.e., equity investors) in exchange for investment money?
- Is there a plausible, concrete "exit" for the business, such as a sale to a strategic buyer or an initial public offering?
If you believe you and your business meet these criteria, please complete our ADVISE Request Form. If, based on the ADVISE Request Form, your business idea appears to fit our Investment criteria, one of our Investments team members will contact you to conduct a phone-based or in-person ADVISE session, after which you may be encouraged to take the next step and APPLY for a JumpStart investment.
Confidentiality Policy
JumpStart relies critically on its reputation, which is based in turn on JumpStart's ability to operate with integrity. This includes maintaining appropriate confidentiality in regards to investment opportunities. However, as is the case with most venture capital firms, JumpStart does not sign confidentiality agreements primarily because these agreements often preclude such basic things as JumpStart conducting due diligence, funding other organizations that might do something similar, and introducing two entrepreneurs in the same field.