Thunder

We're a tech-enabled investment bank for founders, by founders. We help companies navigate their capital strategy for acquiring funding to fuel their growth.

Founders: AI-assisted fundraising for companies. Join the network for free to see which investors are more likely to invest in you.

Investors: Access vetted deal flow and invest with no fees direct on cap table

Thunder X Capital, LLC offers securities through Stonehaven, LLC, a Member FINRA/ SIPC.

Managing Director & Founding Partner

Interplay

Operating Partner

PEF Community

Brining together the London PEF community

Chapter Lead

Hustle Fund

Angel Squad Member

Angel Investor & RE/VC/PE LP

Investor / Advisor 

Generation Esports

President & COO

Walmart Technology

Director Of Digital Media

LiquidSky Software, Inc. (Acquired)

Chief Revenue Officer

ConveyIQ by Entelo

VP of Marketing

Misc Small Businesses and Startups

Built, grew, and sold a few small businesses that are still actively running today.

Founder

I'm a serial entrepreneur that has raised $135M+ and has had multiple exits. I'm now on a mission to support founders with their capital strategy and acquire the capital they need to grow their businesses. 

Thunder.vc is a tech-enabled investment bank for founders, by founders.

When it comes to supporting the founders in our Thunder.vc community, here are some free resources that can help you with your capital raising efforts.

 - Fundraising Demystified newsletter - Sign up at http://join.thunder.vc
 - Free list of AI-recommended VCs specific to your business - https://web.thunder.vc/list-of-investors-vcs-for-founders 
 - Free tool to source lending partners for your working capital needs - https://lp.thunder.vc/apply-for-working-capital-for-your-startup-company
 - Private Slack community for founders - Apply to join at https://app.thunder.vc/signup

Jason Kirby

Founders think raising capital is hard.
Try selling your company while running it. ⚙️

If you’re a founder thinking about selling in 2026, here’s your M&A survival guide (from two people who’ve done it the hard way):

5 Steps to Sell Smart - Not Desperate:

1️⃣ Start early. Build relationships with strategics 12–18 months before you plan to sell. Seek partnerships, integrations, and POCs in the early days to build trust and rapport with them.

2️⃣ Know your numbers. Buyers don’t fund dreams; they fund predictability. After a few intro calls you'll know if you're ready or not with the numbers.

3️⃣ Run a process. Competitive tension is your best negotiation leverage. In today’s market, selling to a strategic is harder; that's why you need to prepare for a private equity buyer, it keeps strategics honest and makes them move faster.

4️⃣ Avoid the earnout trap. Structure cash up front. Earnouts sound great, but rarely workout. Maintain control over the KPIs of an earnout or drop the earnout all together.

5️⃣ Control your narrative. Don’t let your board, your VC, or your emotions run the process. If you're not 100% behind the narrative, it will fall apart.

Bonus6️⃣ Don't run a process without help. Selling your company is a full-time job, similar to fundraising, but even harder. As the CEO, you'll be expected to hit your targets. Having a banker or board member leading the process allows you to stay focus and drive momentum on both fronts.
  
If you want to explore M&A and want to pick someone's brain, comment below or send Oliver Low a DM! He leads M&A deals at Thunder.vc and sold his previous company, he knows what it's like to be in your shoes.

4x Exits, $100M+ Raised. Helping founders raise/exit with clarity, control, and conviction.

I just denied an applicant solely because they have a @hotmail email address. Does that make me a bad person?

I'm looking for tech forward partners who have a deep understanding of technology companies. 

If I was one of my clients and saw that the partner that's supposed to competently understand my business had a hotmail account... I'd immediately discount their abilities. That's my justification.

Is that a fair assessment? or am I just an a** hole

If you're a founder looking to hire a PR in the middle of a crisis, it's likely too late and the damage will get worse.

David Meadvin (CEO, One Strategy Group) breaks down why even the best crisis consultants can’t fix what founders don’t already have... trust.

If your reputation isn’t built before the storm hits, you’re in for a rough time.

💡 2 actionable truths from David’s experience:

1. Your reputation is earned long before crisis day. The founders who invest in team trust and transparent communication recover fastest.

2. The calmest person in the room wins. When everyone panics, composure becomes a superpower, and the board will remember it.

Founders: Don’t wait until you’re trending for the wrong reason.
Start building your “reputation reserve” now.

👇 Watch/listen to the full story:

Watch the full video here. Most founders think they’ll never face a real crisis, until they do. In this episode, David Meadvin shares what happens whe

Open article: The $100M founder’s playbook for surviving bad press by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

The $100M founder’s playbook for surviving bad press

I'm hiring a partner to join Thunder.vc... anyone else getting the AI slop applications like these?

Like they're not even trying to mask the AI. I've gotten like 10 of these identical applications via email. Their cover letters make them sound like a perfect fit, but the resume and the past jobs are WAY off, like not relevant at all. And they all say the same thing.

I hope these desperate people aren't paying for a service like this. I've already created a filter to block them.

For those of you hiring, how obvious has been the AI and what are you doing about it?

Spoke my mind on the AI bubble and where I think it's going and shared some personal deal dynamics I rarely mention publicly. Check it out on the The Mergers podcast

Jason Kirby sold his startup for $40M - but only after the CEO of Samsung Electronics went to prison and nearly blew up the deal.

Investors got greedy.

The new Samsung CEO shut everything down.

Jason's team showed up at 9am to celebrate… and there was nothing to announce.

Welcome to the world of venture capital — where founders are often left holding the bag.

This week on The Mergers, Kenneth Kashif Thomas and Rory Mason sat down with Jason Kirby, now founder of Thunder.vc, to hear the wild behind-the-scenes of what really happens when you raise, scale, and try to exit a venture-backed company.

Jason has:

- Raised $100M+, 
- Sold 4 companies
- Advised on $200M+ in founder exits
- Navigated M&A deals with Walmart, Samsung, Verizon... and lived to tell the tale
- Watched VCs ghost founders when they no longer show “breakout velocity”
- Built Thunder VC to help bootstrapped and “orphaned” founders find exits, growth capital, or both

In this episode:

🖊️ What most founders get dead wrong about term sheets, preferences, and secondary sales
🖊️ The dirty secret of management fees and why VCs often win even when startups lose
🖊️ How to create “phantom leverage” when you have no options left
🖊️ Why AI is a bubble — and why that might not matter

If you’re a founder, investor, or operator - you need to hear this

🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/dDCNNsTr
 📺 Watch the full episode: https://lnkd.in/eNztGnxG

When Oliver Low sold his startup, he thought he’d hit the dream exit.

Instead, he walked straight into a trap most founders never see coming:

The earnout...

He hit his growth targets, but the parent company missed theirs — and the big payout disappeared.

Nine out of ten earnouts fail for this exact reason.

That’s why, at Thunder, we help founders structure exits, not just chase them.

Here’s the truth no one tells you:

Selling early isn’t losing. It’s creating optionality.

Once you have liquidity, you can take bigger swings, with less risk — and 10x your next outcome.

But you only get there if you understand deal architecture: competitive process, buyer psychology, and clean incentives.

Oliver Low breaks it down in this week’s episode:
 🎧 “How to Sell Your Startup: The Founder’s M&A Playbook”

💡 Tactical takeaways:
- How to avoid the 9/10 earnout failure rate
- Why selling in the fourth inning is often smarter than waiting
- How private equity is changing founder exits forever

Listen on: Youtube Spotify Apple Most founders wait too long to sell and end up losing leverage. In this episode, Jason Kirby and Oliver Low share the

Open article: The M&A playbook for founders in 2025 by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

He left venture capital to help take Life360 from Seed to a $7B public company. 

When Itamar Novick joined Life360, it wasn’t yet the household name it is today. The team was small. The product was early. The vision was big but uncertain. 

Like every early-stage company, there were challenges: 

💬 Raising VC capital was tough. 
💸 The company didn’t have much cash. 
🚀 The future was uncertain. 

But instead of staying in VC, Itamar made the rare move, he joined the founding team, betting his career & his networth on building something lasting. 

Years later, that decision helped shape Life360’s journey to 80M users, $200M+ raised, and a dual listing on the ASX and NASDAQ.

In our latest episode of $100M Exits, Itamar shares: 

🔥 Why he left venture to join a scrappy startup 
🔥 How Life360 scaled from early chaos to IPO readiness
🔥 What founders can learn from dual IPOs and post-IPO growth

Watch the full video here. When Itamar Novick joined Life360, it wasn’t yet a global brand — it was a small, ambitious startup still proving itself. T

Open article: The VC who quit to build a $7B company - Itamar Novick on Life360’s wild ride by Jason Kirby • 2 min read

The VC who quit to build a $7B company - Itamar Novick on Life360’s wild ride

BULLVISION Consulting Inc.

At BULLVISION Consulting Inc., I help small-cap public companies (US and Canadian) strengthen their digital market presence and build credibility and investor awareness. 

My expertise ensures clients meet industry standards while elevating their digital presence.

What I Offer:

📈 Shareholder Communications: Clear, strategic messaging that keeps investors engaged

📢 Digital Marketing & Thought Leadership: Positioning executives as visible, high-impact industry leaders

🔗 LinkedIn Branding & Strategy: Turning CEOs into trusted voices that attract investors

✍️ Ghostwriting & Copywriting: Compelling content that builds credibility and authority

Why Work With Me?

With 17+ years of experience in public company management, portfolio management, compliance, shareholder communication and marketing , I understand the complexities of small-cap markets firsthand. 

Having held many management roles with public companies, navigating regulatory challenges, market positioning, and investor engagement. My experience gives me a unique perspective on building credibility, attracting investment, and driving long-term success.

📲 Click the website link in my bio to visit my website or schedule a free 20-minute call.

Small-Cap Professional

Investing News Network

📈 SUMMARY: I manage the investments in public and private financings and direct sales of securities (stocks, warrants, and options) with a portfolio that spans CAD, USD, and AUD, reflecting a well-rounded perspective.

⚖️ETHICAL MGT: Upholding INN's 15-year legacy, I ensure our investment activities align with ethical standards and avoid conflicts of interest, reinforcing their commitment to trust and independence in investment news and education.

💡IMPACT & EXPERTISE: In my role at INN, I bring essential skills vital to the investment sector, focusing on the small-cap stock market. My expertise spans various aspects of trading, financing processes, and investor retention strategies. I possess an in-depth understanding of the entire financing lifecycle, from opening to closing financing deals. This expertise extends to managing brokerage interactions, transfer processes, re-registrations, and overseeing security transfers. My steadfast commitment to regulatory compliance ensures that all of INN's investment activities are conducted with the utmost ethical integrity and strategic soundness, adhering to financial laws and industry standards at every step.

Investment Trustee

Forte Copper Corp.

📊 SUMMARY: I wear many hats in this role, reflecting the dynamic nature of a small-cap exploration company. I oversee all aspects of traditional and digital marketing, which is essential in shaping our corporate narrative and elevating our brand presence in the market. As the liaison between regulators, the exchange, service providers, shareholders, management, and the board, I ensure effective and seamless communication across all fronts. My efforts are key in ensuring the public company operates smoothly.

📢 MARKETING & COMMUNICATION: My role encompasses the development and execution of comprehensive marketing strategies, both in traditional and digital realms. I lead initiatives that enhance our brand's visibility and engagement, leveraging various platforms to reach and resonate with our target audience. A part of my role includes crafting and disseminating press releases. In communications, my goal is to ensure clarity and consistency in our messaging, which is vital for investor confidence and company reputation.

⚖️ COMPLIANCE: My responsibilities include ensuring compliance with regulatory bodies and adherence to corporate governance standards. This role demands a meticulous approach to managing corporate records, handling board relations, and aligning our strategic plans with legal and ethical guidelines.

💡 IMPACT & EXPERTISE: This multifaceted role allows me to leverage my marketing and corporate compliance expertise. My oversight ensures our initiatives meet regulatory standards. I aim to foster a strong, unified corporate communication and identity internally among our teams and externally in the investment community.

VP Corporate Development & Corporate Secretary

Pac Roots 

Served as the corporate secretary and the marketing/communication manager. manager

Ecovatec Solutions Inc.

Online Marketing and Communications

Black Dragon Gold Corp

I served as Corporate Secretary and Managed Shareholder Communications and Marketing.

Corporate Compliance and Shareholder Communications

Executive Office Manager

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE)

Corporate Services

3 Tier Logic

Poydras Gaming Finance Corp.

Coporate Services

Longview Capital Partners Inc.

Investment Banking

Your Story’s Too Big to Stay Small. 
I help public companies break free from 2010 marketing and show up for today’s market.

With a background in IR and compliance, I know what you can’t say,
but with a lifelong passion for marketing, I know what you should.
I blend brand strategy, digital visibility, and AI insights
to build trust with real investors.

Most are strong on geology but weak on storytelling.
I craft a cohesive narrative across every touchpoint:
website, press releases, social, even how execs show up on LinkedIn.

No cookie-cutter content.
No getting paid for not showing up.

Just a capital-facing strategy that builds brand equity, fast.


📊 75% of investors use social media to make investment decisions. Yet too many companies rely on outdated communication strategies.

Your digital presence isn’t optional, it’s a competitive edge.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞?

With 17 years in exploration and junior mining, I’ve navigated governance, marketing, investor communications, and capital markets. 

As a former compliance professional and marketing manager, I have a deep understanding of the regulatory, financial, and investor landscape.

I also spent seven years managing a portfolio of junior mining stocks, giving me firsthand insight into how investors evaluate exploration-stage companies.

Now, as specialist in mining marketing and investor communications, I help public companies refine their messaging, leverage digital platforms, and stand out in a competitive market.

𝐀𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐈𝐧:

➜ Shareholder Communications: Clear, strategic messaging that keeps investors engaged
➜ Digital Marketing & Thought Leadership: Positioning executives as industry leaders
➜ LinkedIn Branding & Strategy: Turning CEOs into visible, high-impact voices
➜ Ghostwriting & Copywriting: Compelling content that builds trust and drives investor interest

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐞:

📈 CEOs who engage online build 33% more trust with investors (𝘎𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳)
💰 Companies with visible leadership see a 12% higher market valuation (𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭)
⬆️ Click the website link in my bio to learn more or book a free 20-minute call.

#BullishOnDigital

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The Battle

Jason Kirby

Anna Dalaire

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taplio

The Battle

Jason Kirby

Anna Dalaire

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jason Kirby's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJason Kirby's LinkedIn Performance