The passion that Kristina Montague brings to her role as Managing Partner of The JumpFund is immediately evident in her conversation with Roshawnna. The JumpFund is an investment fund that operates within an interesting and necessary niche: it is by women for women.

After recognizing a gap in gender equality within the entrepreneur space, Kristina and her team of partners set out to create a fund that could bring some gender balance to the startup ecosystem. The enormous success that The Jumpfund has played a part in facilitating is evidence of the need that The JumpFund has fulfilled.

As a whip-smart Angel Investor, Kristina outlines a laundry list of helpful tips for entrepreneurs that hope to attract investment. She also dives into the importance of creating programs that foster the growth of female-led companies, which are an unfortunate rarity in our society. Kristina brings a wealth of experiential knowledge to the table in this insightful and thought provoking conversation with Roshawnna!

Roshawnna and Kristina discuss:

• 2:00—Kristina shares her background and the background and ethos of The JumpFund a fund of women investing in women.
• 5:00 – Kristina talks about the types of businesses that JumpFund looks to back.
• 8:00 – How Kristina came to be in the role that she is in now.
• 10:00 –Kristina talks about 36|86, a tech conference that The JumpFund back companies have had great success at.
• 12: 00 – Kristina talks about how her background in education has shaped her role as an Angel Investor.
• 16:00 –Kristina talks about the massive gamble that she took in leaving her secure role at the University of Tennessee to pursue the life of an Angel Investor.
• 21:00 – Kristina talks about what makes The Jumpfund unique.
• 24:00 – Kristina talks about the importance of relationship building in the investor/entrepreneur process.
• 26:00—Kristina details what she looks for in a team to invest in.
• 27:30 – On having the roadmap for the company fully fleshed out before approaching investors. 
• 29:00 – Kristina talks about the importance of bringing a co-founder into the fray to bounce ideas off of.
• 32:00 – Kristina discusses founders striking a balance between their full-time work on their startup and maintaining a job for revenue stream as well.
• 34:00 – On the importance of customer discovery in gaining investment funding to create a viable business.
• 36:00 --Kristina talks about some common mistakes that founders make.
• 37:00 – Kristina discusses investment vs. bootstrapping.
• 42:00 – Kristina talks about the importance of striking a life/work balance.