Developed by
LongJump with support from
World Business Chicago and
the Coleman Foundation, this six-part, in-person program helps post-product, pre-pre-seed founders prepare to raise institutional capital. Participants will receive one-on-one support from real investors and will be expected to give and receive feedback to/from program peers.
Participants will work with the LongJump team on all aspects of a pre-seed fundraising process for their startup, understanding how investors evaluate deals and building the collateral needed to raise (deck, founder memo, case studies, data room, and more). The program will culminate with a curated investor matchmaking event with VCs and angel investors.
In our inaugural 2026 cohort, 13 companies took 76 investor meetings in a single day at the capstone matchmaking event. Three companies raised over $1M in the six months following the program, with several more raising rounds over $100K.
Applications close end of day on October 30, with interviews scheduled on a rolling basis through early November - it's in your best interest to apply early as we will be scheduling interviews as applications come in. Fifteen founders will be selected. Five will receive $10,000 non-dilutive grants following the program to help kick off their friends & family or pre-seed rounds.
Program Dates and Expectations
Founders are expected to attend all program sessions and will be removed from the program for non-attendance. Founders will be expected to complete deliverables in between program sessions.
Sessions 1, 2, 3, 5 and the Investor Matchmaking event are in-person, full-day workshops in Chicago's Loop. Mentor match-ups and individual check-ins will be scheduled 1-on-1 with the founder.
Tentative Program Dates:
Pre-program One-on-Ones with LongJump: December 2026
Session One - The Mindset of Investors: Tuesday, January 19 (full-day workshop)
Session Two - Running a Process: Tuesday, February 2 (full-day workshop)
Session Three - Preparing Your Collateral: Tuesday, February 16 (full-day workshop)
Session Four - Mentor Match-ups: Week of February 22
Session Five - Pitch Takedown and Practice Session + Individual Check-ins with LongJump: Tuesday, March 2 (full-day workshop)
Investor Matchmaking: Tuesday, March 9 (full-day event)
We're looking for Chicago-based founders planning to fundraise in 2027 (ideally, spring or summer), who have been building their company for less than a year, have launched an initial product or MVP, and have raised under $100K in dilutive capital. Businesses should be pursuing a venture-scale opportunity.
Founders from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented within venture capital are strongly encouraged to apply.
Note: This program is not designed for nonprofits, consulting firms, or service-based businesses.
This application should take around 30 minutes. Your answers save as you go, so you can start it and come back.
Hot tip: Short answers are welcome. We'd rather hear your voice than a polished essay. We know founders use AI in these, and that's okay, but we can tell when this AI is doing the heavy lifting - don't abuse it. 🤖
