Our purpose is clear: Build a world-class growth equity firm that supports the development of the next generation of technology-enabled services market leaders. Our daily work is guided by clear and interminable intentions, which express the commitments we make to ourselves and to the entrepreneurs whom we back.
Experience tells us that entrepreneurs who have an intrinsic passion for the work they perform are more likely to endure the hardship, trials and tribulations required to survive, break-through and ultimately to succeed in an entrepreneurial endeavor. We’re no different. We’re passionate about working with entrepreneurs to help them achieve their aspirations. Investing in and guiding the development of growth stage technology enabled services businesses is the work we love.
Owner operated, growth-stage businesses aren’t purposeless vessels from which value can be extracted through financial engineering. Rather, such businesses are an expression of an entrepreneur’s hopes, dreams and passions. Likewise, successfully investing in growth stage businesses takes more than writing checks. Successful investing is about being aligned with an entrepreneur and investing your time, energy and effort into the businesses’ purpose. We will only make an investment if we are passionate about a business and aligned with the purpose its owner/operators have set out to achieve.
The age of generalists is over. The age of specialists is upon us. We would never back an entrepreneur who isn’t an expert on the dynamics of the sector in which his/her business operates. We expect the same of ourselves. We specialize in making investments in recurring revenue technology-enabled services business. We embrace that we must be experts to be effective and that expertise comes from years of gathering knowledge. Our specialization on tech-enabled services enables us to bring a thoughtful and informed perspective to every interaction we have with an entrepreneur.
We take the responsibility of investing seriously. Investing is about much more than writing checks. We owe a fiduciary responsibility to our investors. We express our fiduciary duty by holding the capital entrusted to us as sacred. We also have a responsibility to the entrepreneurs whose businesses we finance to give our very best effort in support of their efforts. We express our duty to entrepreneurs by striving to be the most accessible, available and value-added investment partner an entrepreneur will ever work with. Our responsibilities to our investors and entrepreneurs exist in harmony, aligned with the common purpose to create value through profitable corporate growth.
The entrepreneurs we’ve backed are in the best position to say whether we live up to our daily intentions. Read what they have to say about us.
If you travel to the intersection of ‘investor’ and ‘operator’ it is there you will find Derek Pilling. I have had the opportunity to work with many great people, some in operating roles, and others as investors. Rarely do you find excellence on both within one individual. But, that is what you get when you work with Derek. Derek has incredible depth and expertise in the broad market of technology-enabled products and services. He is a true protector of the sources of capital he represents, taking his fiduciary responsibilities seriously. At the same time, he understands what it means to truly support the management teams of the companies he finances. From marketing and sales to delivery and operations, Derek has the knowledge, insight and psychological awareness to bring guidance and feedback to a management team in a manner that it can be accepted and adopted. Derek understands how to gauge performance and how to spot the trends that must be reversed or perpetuated. He is there, present, respectful, and available. Derek is a rare breed and if you get the chance to work with him, be you an investor or operator, you will be happy you did – and you’ll have the results to back it all up.
I have worked with Derek for over 5 years. For the entirety of the first three years, he was an invaluable and selfless adviser with no stake or board seat. We would meet on a quarterly basis, and I would update him on my business, and issues we were tackling. He would lend advice on many aspects of operations and go-to-market, but even more importantly he would advise when growth capital would benefit my company. It took time for the company to achieve the milestones necessary to justify raising growth equity. Through the whole process Derek educating me with no expectation or assurance that his firm would be selected to invest in my company. Ultimately, I chose to work with Derek despite having better economic alternatives. I’m thrilled with my choice. Derek has been great as an investor, Director and partner. His presence has been a grounding force when times were challenging and a driving force when opportunities became apparent. I was a scrappy and hungry entrepreneur when I first met Derek, but he’s helped me to develop into a true operating-oriented CEO. Any entrepreneur seeking to grow their business would find Derek to be a great investor, partner and mentor.
Derek is, quite simply, one of the best investors/board members I’ve worked with. He brings not only a strong foundation of capital strategy, but also a unique operational background and knowledge base. Derek has been an extension of our management team helping us drive the strategies and tactics that have allowed our business to grow three fold in three years.
I have known Derek for five years and finally had a chance to work directly with him this past year as one of my board members at Digital Fortress. I would highly recommend working with Derek to any entrepreneur looking to start or grow a technology business. Derek is thoughtful and strategic, yet very action oriented. He has the capacity and understanding to work through multi-dimensional issues, and most importantly to a CEO, balance reward and risk across different options for moving your business forward. Derek’s counsel and direction is always clear, concise and actionable. He is a board member that can bridge across longer term strategy and understanding the realities of operating a business. Derek has also helped me greatly with other board members and getting to consensus on several challenging board level issues. I would certainly work with Derek again given an opportunity to do so in the future.
