founded 2010 founder eric lefkofsky brad keywell headquarters chicago usa key people eric lefkofsky brad keywell paul lee website lightbank.com lightbank is a financial organization that specializes in making venture capital investments in disruptive technology companies in the united states including seed investments series a round and late stage investments . 1 2 3 4 5 it combines investment with guidance and direct involvement with the companies it invests in . unlike most investors in technology companies it does not concentrate its investments in silicon valley but prefers to have a presence across the united states . it was founded by brad keywell and eric lefkofsky . it is headquartered in chicago and it has made investments in companies in chicago new york city omaha and the bay area . 2 contents 1 investments 2 partners 3 see also 4 references 5 external links investments edit lightbank has invested in a number of companies 6 including the deal of the day website groupon . lightbank s eric lefkofsky and brad keywell were two of the original co founders along with andrew mason of groupon . 7 other lightbank investments include mediaocean innerworkings loyalty startup belly test preparation service benchprep qwiki clusterflunk and highground . 6 partners edit lefkofsky was a co founder of lightbank though he became special advisor in 2014 2015 during his tenure as ceo of groupon . he then returned to lightbank as managing partner in november 2015 after stepping down as ceo of groupon . 8 paul lee a partner at lightbank left the venture fund in november 2014 to start roniin a venture capital incubator which has a mentor model where veteran entrepreneurs mentor fresh ones and roniin provides seed capital to hopefully increase chances of startup success . 9 see also edit venture builders references edit rogers bruce 2012 10 24 . how chicago based lightbank is fixing a broken vc model . forbes . retrieved 2012 12 24 . a b rao leena 2012 12 23 . lightbank aims to change the vc game as it expands its investments beyond chicago . techcrunch . retrieved 2012 12 24 . baverman laura 2012 12 20 . lightbank and kleiner perkins create windy city vs. silicon valley design fight . bizjournals . retrieved 2012 12 24 . marek lynne 2012 06 11 . lightbank shines on more startups . crain s chicago business . retrieved 2012 12 24 . ricketts camille 2010 03 15 . groupon founders launch 100m lightbank fund to seed chicago startups . venturebeat . retrieved 2012 12 24 . a b portfolio . lightbank . retrieved 2012 12 25 . business insider inside groupon the truth about the world s most controversial company october 31 2011 sky blue . lefkofsky lands back at lightbank after stepping down as groupon ceo . chicagotribune.com . retrieved 2016 06 13 . paul lee wants to blow up the venture capital model . crain s chicago business . retrieved 2016 06 13 . external links edit official website lightbank profile on crunchbase lightbank profile on angellist v t e private 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