At a Glance
Lightbank was founded in 2010 by Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, co-founders of Groupon, with the vision of building a prominent venture capital presence in Chicago. The firm has established itself as a leading voice for Midwest entrepreneurship while maintaining a national investment scope. Lightbank focuses on early-stage technology companies, particularly in consumer and enterprise software sectors, writing initial checks typically ranging from $500K to $5M. The firm's investment approach emphasizes hands-on partnership with entrepreneurs, leveraging the founders' extensive operational experience from building and scaling Groupon. Notable investments include location platform Foursquare, property management technology company SMS Assist, parking app SpotHero, and personalized video platform Cameo. What distinguishes Lightbank is its commitment to the Chicago tech ecosystem while maintaining a broader investment mandate, and its founders' unique perspective as successful entrepreneurs who understand the challenges of scaling technology companies.
“Backing entrepreneurs building disruptive technology companies that can scale rapidly and create significant market value.”
Lightbank primarily invests at the Seed, Series A stages. This means they focus on companies that are building their initial product and finding product-market fit.
Lightbank is headquartered in Chicago, IL. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
Lightbank focuses on investments in Consumer, Enterprise, SaaS. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
Lightbank's typical investment check size ranges from $500K to $5M. Actual amounts may vary based on the stage, sector, and specific opportunity.
Lightbank manages approximately $150M in assets under management (AUM) across their funds.
