Leap Forward Ventures

We invest in startups making real-world systems more intelligent, adaptable, and cleaner.

The physical world is changing → from the ways we use energy, to a reinvention of industry & manufacturing, to the impacts from a changing climate.

This rapid transformation creates opportunities for technology, both software and hardware, that solves our most urgent problems.

We partner with early-stage startups, and try to be the type of investors we always wanted as founders: supportive, responsive, working hard for you when you need help, and out of your way when you don't.

We are in a unique moment in time where the right founders will transform the world at unprecedented speed & scale. We're here to help.

hello@leapforward.vc

Our Companies

Team

David Rusenko Managing Partner David was previously the founder & CEO of Weebly, which he grew to 350 people and a $365M acquisition by Square, where he went on to run global eCommerce. He is on the board of Building Decarb Coalition and an advisor to Climate Changemakers and has over a decade of experience investing in and advising startups. He has spoken extensively on product-market fit, and written about the climate tech landscape and idea space. He was born in France and grew up in Morocco.

Jessica Alter Venture Partner Jessica is a two time founder, climate investor, and long time startup mentor. She founded Tech for Campaigns, which brings sophisticated commercial marketing and data strategies to the political world, and FounderDating, the LinkedIn for entrepreneurs (acquired by OneVest). She has also held executive go-to-market roles at Figma and Bebo. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Michigan.

Michael Wara Advisor Michael is Director of Stanford's Climate and Energy Policy Program as well as interim Policy Director for the Sustainability Accelerator within the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He leads a group that provides assistance to policymakers in the development of novel climate and energy law and regulation. Wara’s legal and policy scholarship focuses on wildfire, climate mitigation, energy innovation, and regulated industries.

Andrew Krause Advisor Andrew is the CEO of Northern Pacific Power, a technology-enabled electrification contractor focused on new ways to transition homes away from fossil fuels. He is also a Designer-in-Residence at The Design Lab where he co-founded the Agile Electrification Project to prototype new business models in support of residential solar installers. Andrew brings deep real-world experience to help evaluate potential investments and advise portfolio companies. He has a MS in Sustainability from ASU.

Get in Touch

Building something meaningful? We're eager to hear about it. We've been there before and we understand how time consuming fundraising can be, so we promise not to waste your time.

Our goal is to come to a decision quickly, and to always give real feedback you can actually use, regardless of the outcome.

Shoot us an email, we'd love to talk about how we can support you and help accelerate your growth.

hello@leapforward.vc