# Jonathan Ebinger

> Jonathan Ebinger is a General Partner at BlueRun Ventures and Co-Founder of Transform Capital, a late-stage growth fund built on an unprecedented philanthropic model that donates half the traditional GP carry to universities and nonprofits. With nearly 25 years in venture capital, he backed PayPal as one of its first institutional investors, led Series A investments in Kabbage (acquired by American Express), Coupa Software (NASDAQ: COUP), and Waze (acquired by Google for $1.15B), and championed the thesis that real-time data would reshape lending, payments, and enterprise procurement. His four-factor investment framework - team, market, technology, and whether the company actually matters - reflects a philosophy that has made him one of Silicon Valley's most recognizable early-stage fintech investors.

- **Role:** General Partner at BlueRun Ventures; Co-Founder & Managing General Partner at Transform Capital
- **Organizations:** BlueRun Ventures, Transform Capital, Grit Capital Partners, UVA LVG Seed Fund, Batten Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (UVA Darden), Concordia Summit
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** MBA, University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, B.S. in Finance, Virginia Tech - Pamplin College of Business
- **Known for:** One of PayPal's first institutional investors (Nokia Venture Partners/BlueRun era), Led Series A in Kabbage - acquired by American Express, Led Series A in Coupa Software - IPO on NASDAQ (COUP), rose ~85% on debut

## Career timeline

- **Early 1990s** — Marketing and finance roles at MCI Communications
- **Mid-1990s** — Senior positions at Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions
- **1996** — Founded Simply Savings, Inc., an internet shopping service
- **~1999** — Sold Simply Savings to Qwest Communications; became VP of Marketing (Consumer) at Qwest
- **2000** — Joined Nokia Venture Partners (later BlueRun Ventures) as General Partner
- **2005** — BlueRun Ventures became independent from Nokia and rebranded
- **2010** — Led Series A investment in Kabbage; named 'Mobile Cloud 9' top investor
- **2011** — Led Series A investment in Coupa Software; joined board
- **2012** — Named 'Mobile Cloud 9' top investor for second time
- **2019** — BlueRun Ventures closes BRV VI at $130 million; Ebinger transitions to co-founding Transform Capital
- **2019** — Co-founded Transform Capital with Sean Foote and Aihui Ong; pioneered the 80/10/10 philanthropic profit-sharing model
- **2022** — Transform Capital announces landmark model publicly; business wire press release draws fintech/VC media coverage
- **2024** — DraftKings acquires Jackpocket (BlueRun portfolio) for $750 million

## Achievements

- One of PayPal's first institutional investors (Nokia Venture Partners/BlueRun era)
- Led Series A in Kabbage - acquired by American Express
- Led Series A in Coupa Software - IPO on NASDAQ (COUP), rose ~85% on debut
- Invested in Waze circa 2008 - acquired by Google for $1.15 billion
- First institutional investor in Jackpocket - sold to DraftKings for $750 million (2024)
- Topsy social analytics investment - acquired by Apple
- Enpocket mobile advertising investment - acquired by Nokia (2007)
- Named 'Mobile Cloud 9' top investor in 2010 and 2012
- Co-founded Transform Capital with an unprecedented 80/10/10 philanthropic model
- Transform Capital donations benefit UVA, Darden, Virginia Tech, Morehouse, Tulane, and numerous nonprofits
- Vice-Chairman of Batten Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Advisory Board at UVA Darden
- Nearly 25 years as a General Partner across six BlueRun funds totaling over $1.5 billion AUM

## Latest updates

- **2024-03** — DraftKings acquires Jackpocket for $750 million - a major exit for BlueRun Ventures, where Ebinger helped lead the first institutional investment
- **2022-05** — Hello Heart closes $140M Series D; BlueRun portfolio company validates digital health thesis
- **2022-04** — Transform Capital publicly announces its 80/10/10 philanthropic model via Business Wire; Axios Pro Fintech coverage
- **2021-10** — Jonathan Ebinger appears on The Full Ratchet Podcast (Episode 302) discussing open banking, recruiting outside the Bay Area, and donating half the GP carry

## Links

- Website: https://brv.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanebinger
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jebinger

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jonathan-ebinger
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-18