Profile

Guidepost Growth Equity (“Guidepost”) is a leading growth equity firm based in Boston that manages ~$2.1 billion of capital commitments across four funds. Guidepost partners with entrepreneur-led technology businesses, focusing on application software and data services and infrastructure software and tech-enabled services. Guidepost invests between $20-80 million of equity as a minority or majority partner and provides the flexible capital, operational support, and strategic guidance necessary to enhance the continued growth of its companies.

Guidepost provides portfolio company operational support through its Value Creation Group (“VCG”) which is focused on five critical areas for growth stage companies: Product & Technology, Strategic HR, Sales & Marketing, Generative AI and Strategy & Operational Finance. Guidepost has developed best practices, maturity models and an operating advisor network available to its investment partnerships across these functional areas. The Firm is exclusively focused on partnering with entrepreneur-led companies utilizing technology to transform dynamic markets. As a trusted partner to its companies, Guidepost works closely with these entrepreneurs to build strong independent Boards of Directors, augment management teams for scalable functional capabilities, evaluate strategic options, and provide critical operational and financial support.

Awards

2025 Top Private Equity Firms, Top Women Leaders, Top Software Investors, Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, Top Growth Equity Firms

2024 Top Growth Equity Firms, Top Software Investors, Top Private Equity Firms, Top Women Leaders

2023 Top Growth Equity Firms, Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, Top Software Investors

2022 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors

2021 Top Growth Equity Firms, Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors

Key People

Chris Cavanagh, General Partner

Chris Cavanagh focuses on originating, evaluating, and managing growth equity investments in application software and data services sectors. Previously, Chris was a Vice President at Great Hill Partners. He began his career as an investment banking analyst at Citigroup in New York, where he focused on the consumer products and retail sectors. Chris earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Notre Dame.

Gene Nogi, General Partner

Gene Nogi focuses on vertical and infrastructure software and tech-enabled services companies. Previously, Gene was a Partner with Symmetric Capital, a lower middle-market growth equity firm. He began his private equity career as an Associate with Summit Partners. Gene holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. cum laude in economics from Amherst College.

Russ Pyle, General Partner

Russ Pyle focuses on infrastructure software and tech-enabled services companies. Previously, Russ was a Partner at M/C Venture Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. Earlier in his career, Russ was an Associate at TA Associates in the technology group and an investment banking analyst at Alex. Brown & Sons. Russ holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an A.B. cum laude from Princeton University.

Funds Raised

Since its founding in 2007, Guidepost Growth Equity has raised ~$2.0 billion in committed capital across four funds and has invested in over 35 companies.

Key Investments

PetScreening: Invested January 2025
Sector: Application Software & Data Services 

PetScreening is the market leading provider of pet compliance and policy management  software, enabling real estate property managers and asset owners to streamline tenant  pet screening, validate assistance animal statuses, and ensure compliance with housing  regulations.

Kaizen: Invested October 2024
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services 

Kaizen is a leading provider of subscription-based regulatory reporting and compliance  software for Tier 1 financial institutions. The Company’s transaction reporting assurance  platform enables clients to test the accuracy and quality of regulatory reports at scale,  ensuring accurate, complete, and timely reporting in an increasingly complex regulatory  environment.

ActiveViam: Exited February 2024 (acquired by Nordic Capital)
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services

ActiveViam provides industry-leading risk management and data analytics infrastructure software purpose-built for the significant speed and volume demands of financial services. The Company’s comprehensive analytics platform enables global banks, asset managers, hedge funds, exchanges, and other financial services providers to manage real-time risk and regulatory compliance.

Mineral: Exited December 2023 (acquired by Mitratech)
Sector: Application Software & Data Services

Mineral gives small businesses peace of mind by proactively solving HR and compliance challenges with data, technology, and personalized advice.

Intellum: Invested July 2023
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services

Intellum provides a leading enterprise learning management system for internal and external audiences including employee, customer, and partner education. The Company’s SaaS platform enables the world’s largest and most sophisticated organizations to effectively create, manage, deliver, and optimize highly personalized eLearning programs at a global scale.

SearchStax: Invested July 2023
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services

SearchStax provides end-to-end site search solutions including managed Solr Search-as-a-Service and site search management software. The Company helps its customers deliver a modern digital experience through deploying and managing advanced search infrastructure, ensuring high availability and security and enabling highly personalized site search.

ClassWallet: Invested March 2023
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services

ClassWallet provides a digital wallet based decentralized spend management platform for state agencies and K-12 school districts. The Company enables its clients to disburse funds efficiently and compliantly at scale, while automating every step of the spend management lifecycle including purchasing and procurement, accounts payable automation, and expense management.

Shibumi: Invested September 2022
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services

Shibumi provides industry-leading strategic program and portfolio management software. The Company’s SaaS platform adaptively manages and prioritizes a portfolio of strategic initiatives to enable organizations to successfully deliver continuous enterprise-scale transformation.

Traction on Demand: Exited April 2022 (acquired by Salesforce)
Sector: Tech-Enabled Services

Traction on Demand is North America’s largest independent Salesforce consulting partner and app development firm.

Lucid: Exited January 2022 (acquired by Cint Group AB)
Sector: Application Software & Data Services

Lucid provides a programmatic survey sample marketplace and media measurement platform that enables brands, agencies and partners to complete world-class market research and measure the effectiveness of their advertising.

dscout: Invested January 2022
Sector: Application Software & Data Services

dscout is the world’s leading SaaS qualitative research platform. dscout enables hundreds of the world’s most innovative companies to pinpoint, understand, and track the moment-to-moment product, service, and brand experiences that influence their customers.

Network To Code: Invested October 2021
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services

Network to Code is a leading provider of network automation and DevOps infrastructure services to global enterprises. The Company leverages open source technology, commercial networking platforms, custom software integration and deep network automation expertise to help its customers accelerate automation initiatives and bridge the gap between DevOps and network engineering.

OutSystems: Partial Exit
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services

OutSystems provides a platform that enables enterprise customers to rapidly develop software applications in a “low code” environment using a visual, model-based approach, instead of traditional programming methods.

WP Engine: Partial Exit
Sector: Infrastructure Software & Services

WP Engine is the world’s #1 platform for WordPress. The WP Engine platform provides brands the solutions they need to create remarkable sites and apps on WordPress that drive their business forward faster.

Capital Responsibility

Guidepost firmly supports creating sustainable growth collaboratively with its entrepreneurs, investors, and team members. The firm believes that the principles of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) are important to achieving its collective goals. Guidepost created its ESG program to capitalize on this belief by incorporating these principles holistically across the firm, investment strategies, portfolio companies, and entrepreneurs. Throughout its investment process it incorporates ESG principles to identify potential value creation opportunities and mitigate risks. The firm’s ESG due diligence checklist actively assesses each potential investment against key ESG criteria and is an important part of its Investment Committee decision-making process. Additionally, its ESG findings during diligence are incorporated into its value creation plans for post investment execution. The firm actively monitors and enhances its portfolio’s ESG performance during its investment period through the following initiatives: 

Annual ESG Questionnaire: Guidepost collects ESG data from all portfolio companies, enabling its companies to see where they are versus their peers and assessing how it is doing as a portfolio. It also serves to identify any potential risks that may need attention and to highlight best practices. 

Annual ESG Symposium: Through this event, the firm provides its companies with the questionnaire findings and progress against prior year performance to targets. It also reviews ESG targets for the following year and shares best practices from its portfolio companies and ESG experts in its network.

Additionally, Guidepost actively incorporates ESG principles within its internal operations: 

Environmental: The firm’s environmental programs aim to limit unnecessary impact of its office footprint. 

Social: Guidepost is an equal opportunity employer with a diverse staff. Promoting diversity is critical to its hiring and operational practices. Guidepost endeavors to be a responsible employer by creating a culture in which it develops a diverse pool of high-caliber employees and staff and has a commitment to talent management and development to give everyone at the firm an opportunity to perform to the best of their ability. The Firm supports and volunteers several times a year with non-profit organizations serving its local community, including Community Servings, Cradles to Crayons, Rosie’s Place and the Greater Boston Food Bank. 

Governance: Guidepost serves on the board of directors of every investment it makes and establishes independent boards for all portfolio companies. It actively maintains and reviews all SEC RIA required, updating when necessary. This includes continuous monitoring and updating the employee handbook, compliance, cyber security, and data protection policies.

CEO Reviews

Patrick Comer, Founder & CEO of Lucid (exited)

“What I can truly say is, without reservation, that not only should [other entrepreneurs and founders] work with Guidepost but that I would be happy to work with Guidepost again and again.”

Nathen Christensen, CEO of Mineral (exited)

“I would absolutely recommend to other entrepreneurs who want to build great businesses to partner with Guidepost. I am also looking forward to continuing my partnership with Guidepost, working as an advisor to their portfolio companies.”

Kathy Perrotte, Co-Founder & CEO of ActiveViam (exited)

“Guidepost is the perfect partner for founder entrepreneurs. They foster a collaborative culture, partnering closely with portfolio companies to unlock leadership potential and drive accelerated growth. I would gladly work with them again and again!”

John Marchese, CEO of Network to Code

“When we met with the Guidepost team it was their approach with their companies that stood out to us. As we did our diligence, we quickly realized that these were down-to-earth investors, and that they were willing to roll up their sleeves and help entrepreneurs, like ourselves, build businesses at similar stages as our company”

Michael Hurnaus, CEO of Tractive

“Guidepost actually does what they say (they’ll do) before the term sheet (and) after they’ve invested.”

Greg Malpass, Founder & CEO of Traction on Demand (exited)

“I knew in my gut that what got Traction to $40M was not going to get us to $100M. We needed a partner in growth who is an expert at helping companies get to the next level…and we decided Guidepost was that expert.”

Michael Jones, CEO of Spoonflower (exited)

“Guidepost has been a very important part of our recent success. They were a great sounding board to discuss key challenges and opportunities, believed in our growth opportunity, and early on helped expand our senior executive team.”