# Jake Gibson

> Jake Gibson co-founded NerdWallet with his middle-school friend Tim Chen, bootstrapped it for two years with zero revenue before Google's algorithm updates turned it into a traffic machine, then stepped away as it scaled toward its NASDAQ IPO. He spent years as an angel investor making early bets on companies like Chipper Cash (unicorn) and Albert, before co-founding Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV) with Sheel Mohnot in 2019. BTV has grown from a $75M debut fund to $450M+ AUM across three funds, focused exclusively on pre-seed and seed-stage fintech globally. In 2023, Gibson and Mohnot launched The Mint, a fintech-specific accelerator in San Francisco. He has a Kierkegaard quote tattooed on his ribs and describes his post-NerdWallet years as his 'commitment issues' phase.

- **Role:** Founding Partner at Better Tomorrow Ventures
- **Organizations:** Better Tomorrow Ventures, NerdWallet, The Mint Accelerator, 500 FinTech, GiveWell, JPMorgan Chase
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), B.S. Management Science (Quantitative Finance), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- **Known for:** Co-founded NerdWallet, which IPO'd on NASDAQ (NRDS), Built Better Tomorrow Ventures from $75M to $450M+ AUM across three funds in under 5 years, Early angel investment in Chipper Cash at $2.5M valuation - became a unicorn

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Joined JPMorgan Chase as Associate, Interest Rate Proprietary Trading
- **2008** — Promoted to VP, North American Interest Rate Trading at JPMorgan Chase
- **2010** — Co-founded NerdWallet with Tim Chen; served as COO
- **2011** — Google Panda/Penguin algorithm updates drove NerdWallet traffic explosion; ~$1.5M revenue
- **2014** — Departed NerdWallet; began full-time angel investing
- **2015** — Joined GiveWell board of directors
- **2016** — Began working part-time with 500 FinTech; early investments in Chipper Cash and Albert at $2.5M valuations
- **2019** — Co-founded Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV) with Sheel Mohnot; closed $75M Fund I
- **2021** — NerdWallet IPO on NASDAQ (NRDS)
- **2022** — BTV closed $225M Fund II (3x Fund I size)
- **2023** — Launched The Mint fintech accelerator in San Francisco
- **2024** — BTV closed $140M Fund III focused on fintech x AI; total AUM exceeds $450M

## Achievements

- Co-founded NerdWallet, which IPO'd on NASDAQ (NRDS)
- Built Better Tomorrow Ventures from $75M to $450M+ AUM across three funds in under 5 years
- Early angel investment in Chipper Cash at $2.5M valuation - became a unicorn
- Early angel investment in Albert at $2.5M valuation - raised $175M+
- Launched The Mint, first fintech-specific accelerator in San Francisco (2023)
- Authored 18+ articles on Entrepreneur.com
- Served on GiveWell board (2015-2017)
- BTV portfolio includes Ramp, Ironclad, Flexport, Lattice, Nova Credit, Human Interest

## Latest updates

- **2024-01** — Better Tomorrow Ventures closes $140M Fund III focused on fintech x AI
- **2023-05** — Launched The Mint, a fintech-specific accelerator in San Francisco with $500K checks for 10% equity
- **2022-02** — BTV closes $225M Fund II, triple the size of Fund I
- **2024-06** — BTV total AUM exceeds $450M with expanded team including Nihar Bobba, JC Bahr-de Stefano, and Yoni Lateiner

## Links

- Website: https://www.btv.vc/team-members/jake-gibson
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobgibson
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jakegibson
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYiqUB28uh8

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jake-gibson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-29