Jovono

Jovono is a venture capital firm investing in missionary founders building world-class companies that solve hard problems or make delightful products. Founded by Evan J. Zimmerman — also co-founder of the Y Combinator-backed patent-tech company Edge and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree — the firm is based in California. Jovono targets "paradigm shifters": technologies so radically new they change how people think about problems, explicitly rejecting pattern-matching in favor of evaluating each company individually against its 14-point Charter, which treats information as the defining resource of the technological age. Its sector focus spans national-security technology, fintech, climate, healthtech, legal tech, and ocean sensor networks — deliberately broad, prioritizing paradigm-shifting potential over a fixed vertical thesis. Typical check sizes range from $50,000 to $1.5 million, with a sweet spot around $100,000. Portfolio companies include Anduril Industries, Flexport, DoNotPay, Sofar Ocean, Persist AI, Cogram, Fellow Health, and Catona Climate, with successful exits including Convoy (acquired by Flexport), Zeekit (acquired by Walmart), and OpenROV (merged into Sofar Ocean). Its approach emphasizes active, hands-on support — staying available through hard times, opening network access, and helping negotiate contract terms — without micromanaging founders.