The Jewish Founders & Funders holds periodic informal meetups for connecting Jewish venture-scale entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists. We meet at the Venture Mechanics Startup Launchpad in Bellevue. (Subscribe to Launchpad Press to learn about 200+ other events held each year at Venture Mechanics.)

The Origin Story

The Jewish Founders & Funders (JFF) group is the reincarnation of the original Jewish Angel Network, which launched in 2024, but now open to founders as well as investors. You do not have to be Jewish to attend a JFF meeting - all allies are welcome!‍

Founded by 10x serial tech entrepreneur Ron Wiener and spiritual leader Rabbi Levi Farkash of the Chabad of Bellevue and Director of Eastside Jewish Business Network, the group is the first of its kind in the Puget Sound area. The mission is simple yet powerful: to cultivate a thriving ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs and promising startups by providing not just financial support but also mentorship, guidance, and a network of invaluable resources.

At the heart of the Jewish entrepreneurship group lies a commitment to uphold the values of community, collaboration, and progress. We believe in harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit while staying true to our Jewish heritage, creating a dynamic space where innovation meets tradition.

Whether you're an innovative startup seeking funding or an enthusiastic investor passionate about making a meaningful impact, we invite you to be part of this exciting journey. Together, we'll drive innovation, support groundbreaking ideas, and pave the way for a brighter, more innovative future.‍

Meeting Structure‍

Like the other “Founder & Funder” diversity groups, the meeting format is flexible but usually involves a keynote speaker (typically in a “fireside chat” interview format), followed by three pitches from Jewish founders, plus a presentation from a philanthropic cause that is in some way connected to the Jewish-American or Israeli communities. ‍

Sponsorship Opportunities‍

Our founding sponsors are The Chabad of Downtown Bellevue, the Jewish National Fund and Venture Mechanics, but we invite others with interest in potential sponsorship to reach out to the group for more information.
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Come and be a part of this transformative venture as we embark upon this incredible journey. Together, let's build, innovate, and shape the future.

At least one of the co-founders of the business must be of Jewish heritage. 

We prefer pre-seed, seed and Series A stage companies although exceptions can be made. 

The company doesn't have to be local to the Pacific Northwest but local/regional startups are likelier to be selected for the limited number of presentation slots we have. 

We invite 2-4 companies to present at the regular meetings of the JFF. The screening committee will inform you if there is interest in having you come and present to our group. As this Sparkxyz platform does not notify us when new applications are submitted please also send an email to [email protected] to let us know when you've filled out your profile.

One advantage of submitting your business plan to the JFF is that you can transfer your entire dealroom to any other angel group or collective on the SparkXYZ platform with a single pushbutton. We will often recommend other groups to apply to in order to help round out your raise if our group did not speak for all of it.