Jonathan Ebinger
Founder, Managing General Partner
Entrepreneur at heart; investing in innovators. Lived in the US Midwest, East Coast & West Coast. Use any reason to get outside. Two-thirds thru the National Parks & counting.
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More About Jonathan Ebinger
Jonathan is a General Partner at Transform Capital and co-founder of the firm. He brings 23+ years of investing experience to the role from his time as General Partner at leading early-stage venture capital firm, BlueRun Ventures.
Early in Jonathan’s career, he worked for MCI Communications developing innovative services in the wake of the AT&T break-up, which catalyzed the next generation of innovation in voice and data communications.
Starting his own internet business in the Web 1.0 world in 1996, he successfully exited to Qwest Communications, where he ran consumer marketing until he signed on with BlueRun Ventures in 2000.
Initially investing in mobile communications start-ups globally, Jonathan’s portfolio regularly took him to board meetings ranging from San Francisco to Reyjyvik to Beijing to Bangalore. Over six funds and over $1.5B in funds raised, he has helped finance and grow some of the biggest names in mobile, such as PayPal, Waze and Topsy. Jonathan has also developed an area of expertise in financial services and enterprise software, leading Series A investments in Coupa, FreedomPay, Kabbage and Paystand, among others.
The relationships built with founders and co-investors at BlueRun laid the foundation for what became Transform Capital. Jonathan found that with an approach of a smaller follow-on investor, opportunities arise that would otherwise be closed to larger investors with board and ownership mandates. He has found that providing value well in excess of the check size, and directing half of the firm’s GP profits to philanthropy is a formula for success, in addition to forging a new lane of philanthropy to a range of notable causes.
Jonathan received in B.S. Finance from Virginia Tech, and his MBA from The Darden School of Business at The University of Virginia. His current and former board and advisor positions include:
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Investment Committee Chair and Senior Advisor, Grit Capital Partners
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Investment Committee Member & Senior Advisor, UVA LVG Seed Fund
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Board Member, Apec Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Virginia Tech
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Vice Chairman, Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Advisory Board, UVA Darden School of Business
Jonathan and his wife reside in Healdsburg, California. They see their two adult daughters quite regularaly as they both currently live in San Francisco.
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Area of Interest for Investing
Fintech, Marketplaces, Enterprise software
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Nonprofits You Are Most Passionate About