Ludlow Ventures

Investment decisions are led by Managing Partner Jonathon Triest, who co-directs the firm's strategy with Partner Brett deMarrais. The partnership structure is intentionally small, allowing both partners to jointly evaluate every deal. Triest is the firm's primary public-facing decision-maker.

Ludlow sources primarily through its partners' direct networks, particularly within the Midwest, New York, and San Francisco startup ecosystems. The firm's no-management-fee structure and Triest's extensive social media presence function as a beacon for founder referrals. Ludlow also cultivates relationships with other seed-stage funds that share deal flow.

No, Ludlow Ventures operates without a traditional asset-based management fee. The partners invest their own capital into the fund and are compensated through carried interest only, making it an outlier among institutional venture funds. This structure is designed to align the firm's financial incentives exclusively with portfolio company exits.

Ludlow Ventures targets pre-seed and seed-stage investments, often acting as the first institutional check into a company. The firm will occasionally participate in secondary transactions for later-stage companies like Waymo when the partners see a clear value disconnect. Follow-on investing is selective and concentrated.

Ludlow has not publicly listed excluded sectors, but the firm's historical portfolio shows a consistent absence of deep tech, biotech, medical devices, and capital-intensive cleantech hardware. The firm concentrates on software and internet-enabled businesses where capital efficiency and rapid iteration are feasible.