Jordan Nof

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Tusk Venture Partners at tusk-ventures

Reviewed Updated Apr 27, 2026

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Location New York, NY
Check Size $500K-$10M
Last Verified Investment Odyssey (Series A (Tusk Venture Partners led $10M)) — May 2024
Social @JordanNof LinkedIn
Stage Focus
seed series-a
Sector Focus
regulated-industries fintech digital-health insurtech consumer transportation crypto

Background

Jordan Nof is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Tusk Venture Partners, the New York-based early-stage venture firm he launched in 2015 with political strategist Bradley Tusk to invest in technology companies operating in highly regulated markets 123. Within the partnership, Nof runs the investment side of the business — sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management — while Tusk leads the firm’s public-affairs and political-consulting work that differentiates it from generalist seed funds 24.

Nof is a graduate of Florida State University (B.S. in Finance) and earned an M.B.A. from the Crummer (Rollins) Graduate School of Business 15. Before co-founding Tusk Venture Partners, he spent six years as a Director at Blackstone, where he focused on the development of the firm’s corporate venture capital portfolio and on early-stage technology investments that could enhance operations across Blackstone’s portfolio companies 156. Prior to Blackstone he spent four years in the institutional investment management division at AllianceBernstein, where he managed global institutional sub-advisory relationships 15.

In addition to his role at Tusk, Nof is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, where he teaches a course on the foundations of venture capital 17. He sits on the boards of Alma, Wheel, Sunday, and Elaborate 127.

Tusk Venture Partners closed its debut fund at $36 million in November 2017, its second fund at $70 million in late 2019, and its third fund at $140 million in May 2022 8910. In February 2025, co-founder Bradley Tusk announced publicly that Fund III would be the firm’s last traditional venture fund, returning to an “equity-for-services” structure once Fund III’s lifecycle ends 1112. Nof remains Managing Partner through the deployment and harvest of Fund III.

Stated Thesis

Nof’s publicly self-reported thesis, repeated across podcast appearances and the firm’s marketing, is built around the slogan “regulation follows innovation” 413. He invests in early-stage technology companies operating in highly regulated markets — fintech (including crypto and insurtech), digital health, transportation, gaming, and consumer — where Tusk’s in-house political-affairs team can build “50-state regulatory roadmaps” and help founders proactively shape rules as a competitive advantage 413. Nof self-reports leading Tusk’s investments in Lemonade, FanDuel, Coinbase, Bird, Alma, Sunday, and Wheel 1214.

Nof has framed the firm’s portfolio construction philosophy as deliberately concentrated: “There’s a portfolio that’s more likely than not going to have less than 30 companies, which is very concentrated for early stage venture funds” 15. He summarizes the moat-building logic as: “I want to create a regulatory moat around businesses because we’re trying to help shape market winners” 15. On founders, he has stated his preference is to back repeat-pattern founders: “Innovation is quite persistent. Founders that have phenomenal ideas tend to have more than one” 15.

Inferred Thesis

This analysis is based on the publicly verifiable Jordan Nof-attributed portfolio (the deals where Nof is named as the lead or board director) plus Tusk Venture Partners’ broader portfolio. Tusk does not publish full partner-level attribution; the deals below are those where Nof is explicitly named in firm marketing, press, or board records 121415. Treat percentages as directional, computed from the named subset.

Sector concentration matches the stated thesis closely, but skews more toward digital health and insurtech than Tusk’s overall portfolio. Of 10 named “led” or board-seat investments attributed specifically to Nof (Lemonade, FanDuel, Coinbase, Bird, Ro/Roman, Alma, Sunday, Wheel, Lithic, MainStreet — plus the Odyssey Series A which Tusk announced as firm-led): - Digital health: 4 of 10 (40%) — Ro/Roman, Alma, Wheel, plus implied health-adjacent exposure 141516 - Fintech (incl. insurtech, crypto): 4 of 10 (40%) — Lemonade, Coinbase, Lithic, MainStreet 141517 - Consumer / transportation / other: 2 of 10 (20%) — Sunday (consumer/lawn care), Bird (mobility) 1518 - Gaming: 1 of 10 (10%) — FanDuel 14 (overlapping count; gaming is part of “other” above)

Where Jordan differentiates from Bradley Tusk within the partnership. Bradley is the public-facing political-capital side of the firm — author, podcast host, op-ed columnist, and the partner who originally engaged with Uber and ran the NYC rideshare-cap fight 1119. Jordan is the deal-execution side: he runs the investment committee, takes the board seats, and is the partner founders typically work with day-to-day after the check clears 1715. The board-seat list (Alma, Wheel, Sunday, Elaborate) — three of which are digital-health companies — suggests Jordan personally indexes more heavily on digital health and provider-side healthcare infrastructure than Bradley’s broader regulated-industries pitch implies 1716.

Stage: Predominantly Seed and Series A by self-reported check sizes of $500K–$10M 413. Nof has stated the fund leads rounds 4. Concrete examples of Nof-led rounds: Sunday’s $6M Series A in August 2019 18, Alma’s $8M Series A in June 2019 16, the firm’s $10M Series A lead for Odyssey in May 2024 20.

Geographic focus: US-focused with a stated rough split of 40% West Coast, 40% East Coast, and 20% elsewhere across the broader Tusk portfolio 9. Nof’s own board-seat companies (Alma, Wheel, Sunday, Elaborate) skew NYC and US-distributed.

Concentration over diversification. Nof’s stated 30-company-or-fewer portfolio target is roughly half the size of a typical seed-stage fund deploying comparable capital, and is consistent with a model in which the partner takes meaningful board involvement at most portfolio companies rather than spraying small checks 15.

Pattern not in stated thesis: provider-side digital health. Three of Nof’s four named board seats — Alma (mental-health practice software), Wheel (telemedicine clinician infrastructure), and Elaborate (clinician workflow / lab results) — are provider- or clinician-facing rather than consumer-facing healthcare. This is a tighter sub-sector pattern than “digital health” alone and is not emphasized in Tusk’s general marketing.

Portfolio

This table reflects investments where Jordan Nof is specifically named as having led the deal, taken the board seat, or otherwise acted as the lead partner. The broader Tusk Venture Partners portfolio (~80 investments per CB Insights) is documented on the Bradley Tusk profile and on the firm portfolio page 14; entries here are a subset where Nof’s individual involvement is sourced.

Company Year Stage Source
Lemonade 2016-12-05 Series B (Tusk participated; Nof named as leading Tusk’s involvement) 12
FanDuel 2016-2018 Multiple rounds (Nof named as leading Tusk’s involvement) 12
Coinbase ~2017 Multiple rounds (Nof named as leading Tusk’s involvement) 12
Bird 2017-2018 Series A and Series B (Tusk participated; Nof named in deal team) 1521
Ro / Roman ~2018-2019 Tusk participated; Nof named as leading the deal 15
Alma 2019-06 Series A ($8M, Tusk Venture Partners led; Nof joined the board) 16
Sunday 2019-08 Series A ($6M, Tusk Venture Partners led; Nof named as lead and quoted) 18
Wheel ~2020-2021 Seed extension / follow-on (Tusk participated; Nof board director) 1522
MainStreet ~2020 Series A (Nof led for Tusk; small business tax credits) 15
Lithic (formerly Privacy.com) 2021-05-20 Series B ($43M, Bessemer led; Tusk participated; Nof named as having “known Lithic and CEO Bo Jiang for years”) 17
~unknown Elaborate (date TBD) Tusk investment; Nof board director
Odyssey 2024-05-29 Series A ($10M, Tusk Venture Partners led; Bradley Tusk announced) 20

This table is approximately 12 named deals — far fewer than the ~80 total Tusk Venture Partners investments — reflecting only those where Nof’s individual partner-level role is publicly documented. Years marked ~ are best estimates from secondary sources where exact announcement dates were not located within the time budget.

In Their Own Words

“I want to create a regulatory moat around businesses because we’re trying to help shape market winners not just move the whole sector forward.” — Jordan Nof, Sand Hill Road / Medium interview with Erasmus Elsner, “Finding regulatory moats at the Series A,” 2022 15

“There’s a portfolio that’s more likely than not going to have less than 30 companies, which is very concentrated for early stage venture funds.” — Jordan Nof, Sand Hill Road / Medium, 2022 15

“Innovation is quite persistent. Founders that have phenomenal ideas tend to have more than one.” — Jordan Nof on what he looks for in founders, Sand Hill Road / Medium, 2022 15

“It’s hard enough of a job to find the right team, the right product, the right strategy.” — Jordan Nof, Sand Hill Road / Medium, 2022 15

“If we can look our own kids in the eye and tell him about a company that we’re excited about… it’s not the deal for us.” — Jordan Nof on the firm’s deal screen, Sand Hill Road / Medium, 2022 15

“We invested in Sunday because their platform delivers safe, non-toxic products that are tailored to each consumers region, climate, and soil.” — Jordan Nof on the Sunday Series A, Pulse 2.0, August 2019 18

“I think the market is having the moment that it has needed for a long time.” — Jordan Nof on market conditions, TechCrunch interview around the close of Tusk’s $140M Fund III, May 17, 2022 9

What Founders Say

“We feel incredibly fortunate to have found a world-class investment team at Tusk Ventures led by Jordan Nof to join our board.” — Harry Ritter, founder and CEO of Alma, on the company’s $8M Series A led by Tusk Venture Partners, AlleyWatch, June 2019 16

No additional independently sourced founder testimonials specifically describing the working relationship with Jordan Nof were located within the time budget for this profile. Several Tusk-portfolio founders (e.g., Wheel’s Michelle Davey) have appeared alongside Nof in promotional events without producing standalone third-party quotes about him personally 22. If a reader has a sourced founder quote about working with Nof, please submit it via the profile page.

Connections

  • Co-founder & Managing Partner, Tusk Venture Partners (2015-) — alongside Bradley Tusk; partner team also includes Michaela Balderston (promoted to partner; joined at firm’s outset) and Brad Welch (joined from Morpheus Ventures) 9
  • Board Director, Alma — joined June 2019 with Tusk’s $8M Series A lead; Alma agreed to be acquired by Spring Health on January 29, 2026 1623
  • Board Director, Wheel — virtual care infrastructure; co-founded by Michelle Davey 122
  • Board Director, Sunday — non-toxic lawn care; led the Series A in August 2019 118
  • Board Director, Elaborate — clinician workflow / lab results company 17
  • Adjunct Professor, Columbia Business School — teaches the foundations of venture capital course 17
  • Director, Blackstone (2009-2015 approx., 6 years) — corporate venture capital portfolio development; early-stage tech investing for the Blackstone portfolio 156
  • Institutional Investment Management, AllianceBernstein (4 years prior to Blackstone) — global institutional sub-advisory relationships 15
  • Frequent co-investor pattern (Bird): Craft Ventures (Series A lead), Valor Equity Partners and Index Ventures (Series B lead) 21
  • Frequent co-investor pattern (Lithic Series B): Bessemer Venture Partners (lead), Index Ventures, Rainfall Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures, Walkabout Ventures 17
  • Frequent co-investor pattern (Sunday Series A): Forerunner Ventures (Brian O’Malley), Bullish 18
  • Frequent co-investor pattern (Odyssey Series A): Andreessen Horowitz (Katherine Boyle, existing investor), Bling Capital (Ben Ling), Cubit Capital (Ben Kohlmann) 20

Sources

  1. Tusk Venture Partners team page, “Jordan Nof.” Accessed April 2026. https://www.tusk.vc/team-cards/jordan-nof↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. LinkedIn, “Jordan Nof — Co-founder, Managing Partner, Tusk Venture Partners.” Accessed April 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordannof↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. TechCrunch, “Tusk Ventures has closed its debut fund with $36 million,” November 3, 2017. Accessed April 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/03/tusk-ventures-has-closed-its-debut-fund-with-36-million/↩

  4. VC Sheet, “Jordan Nof (Tusk Venture Partners) — VC Breakdown & Contact.” Accessed April 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/who/jordan-nof↩↩↩↩↩

  5. Crunchbase, “Jordan Nof — Co-Founder, Managing Partner @ Tusk Venture Partners.” Accessed April 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/person/jordan-nof↩↩↩↩↩

  6. The Org, “Jordan Nof — Co-Founder, Managing Partner at Tusk Ventures Partners.” Accessed April 2026. https://theorg.com/org/tusk-ventures/org-chart/jordan-nof↩↩

  7. Columbia Business School Directory, “Jordan Nof.” Accessed April 2026. https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/detail/jn2825↩↩↩↩↩↩

  8. Fortune, “Exclusive: Tusk Venture Partners Raises $70 Million For Its Second Venture Fund,” December 18, 2019. Accessed April 2026. https://fortune.com/2019/12/18/tusk-venture-partners-second-fund/↩

  9. TechCrunch, “Tusk Venture Partners just closed its third fund with $140M, double its predecessor fund,” May 17, 2022. Accessed April 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/17/tusk-ventures-just-closed-its-third-fund-with-140m-double-its-predecessor-fund/↩↩↩↩

  10. Venture Unlocked podcast (Samir Kaji), “Tusk Venture Partners Jordan Nof: Evolving to an early stage firm, navigating regulatory hurdles for startups, and what the future holds for crypto,” June 30, 2022. Accessed April 2026. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tusk-venture-partners-jordan-nof-evolving-to-an/id1535501313?i=1000568278325↩

  11. TechCrunch, “Bradley Tusk says he makes more money with ‘equity-for-services’ than he did as a traditional VC,” March 26, 2025. Accessed April 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/26/bradley-tusk-says-he-makes-more-money-with-equity-for-services-than-he-did-as-a-traditional-vc/↩↩

  12. Bradley Tusk on Substack, “Does the Current Venture Model Still Work?” Accessed April 2026. https://bradleytusk.substack.com/p/does-the-current-venture-model-still↩

  13. Seed to Exit podcast, “Jordan Nof, Managing Partner at Tusk Venture Partners | Investing in Regulated Markets,” October 2024. Accessed April 2026. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-seed-to-exit-259701858/episode/jordan-nof-managing-partner-at-tusk-259701873/↩↩↩

  14. Tusk Venture Partners, “Portfolio” page. Accessed April 2026. https://www.tusk.vc/portfolio↩↩↩↩↩↩

  15. Erasmus Elsner / Sand Hill Road on Medium, “Finding regulatory moats at the Series A with Jordan Nof of Tusk Venture Partners,” 2022. Accessed April 2026. https://medium.com/sand-hill-road/finding-regulatory-moats-at-the-series-a-with-jordan-nof-of-tusk-venture-partners-5e5c0e7abf54↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  16. AlleyWatch, “Alma Raises Another $8M and For its Community and Shared Space for Mental Health Professionals,” June 2019. Accessed April 2026. https://www.alleywatch.com/2019/06/alma-coworking-mental-health-harry-ritter/↩↩↩↩↩↩

  17. Yoni Rechtman / Tusk Venture Partners on Medium, “Privacy.com Becomes Lithic with $43 million Series B,” May 20, 2021. Accessed April 2026. https://medium.com/tusk-venture-partners/privacy-com-becomes-lithic-with-43-million-series-b-2c9c3e66ea79↩↩↩

  18. Pulse 2.0, “Lawn Care Subscription Service Sunday Raises $6 Million,” August 2019. Accessed April 2026. https://pulse2.com/sunday-raises-6-million/↩↩↩↩↩↩

  19. Wikipedia, “Bradley Tusk.” Accessed April 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Tusk↩

  20. TechCrunch, “Tech startup Odyssey goes on journey to help states implement school choice programs,” May 29, 2024. Accessed April 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/29/odyssey-school-choice-edtech/↩↩↩

  21. Crunchbase, “Bird Series B - 2018-03-09” funding round profile. Accessed April 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/bird-series-b–7966b36b↩↩

  22. TechCrunch, “Tusk Ventures’ Jordan Nof and Wheel’s Michelle Davey to talk fundraising tips on Extra Crunch Live,” July 14, 2021. Accessed April 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/14/tusk-ventures-jordan-nof-and-wheels-michelle-davey-to-talk-fundraising-tips-on-extra-crunch-live/↩↩↩

  23. PR Newswire / Spring Health, “Spring Health Joins Forces with Alma, Expanding Access to Precision Mental Health Care,” January 29, 2026. Accessed April 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spring-health-joins-forces-with-alma-expanding-access-to-precision-mental-health-care-302673454.html↩