Profile

Mainsail Partners is a growth equity firm that invests in growing, bootstrapped software companies. Since inception, the firm has raised over $2.2 billion in committed capital. Mainsail prioritizes investments in B2B software companies, specifically focused on vertical SaaS, financial technology, healthcare IT, infrastructure and security software, and select horizontal SaaS. With a focus on bootstrapped companies, Mainsail leverages its software experience and best practices developed over two decades of investing in software businesses to help founder-led software companies grow.

Mainsail has a dedicated operations team that is purpose-built to work alongside software company management teams to help scale operations and accelerate growth. Mainsail works closely with portfolio companies to assist with various growth initiatives including hiring for key management positions, optimizing go-to-market strategies, pricing optimization, accelerating product development, M&A execution and much more.

Founded in 2003 with offices in Austin and San Francisco, Mainsail has invested in more than seventy bootstrapped companies.

Awards

2023 Top Growth Equity Firms

2023 Top Private Equity Firms

2023 Top Women Leaders in Growth Investing, Emily Azevedo

2022 Top 25 Growth Equity Firms

2022 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, David Farsai

2022 Top 25 Software Investors, Vinay Kashyap, Michael Anderson

2022 Top 25 Private Equity Firms

2022 Top Women Leaders in Growth Investing, Katherine Claire (KC) Kanoff

2021 Top 25 Growth Equity Firms

2021 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, Vinay Kashyap

2021 Top 25 Private Equity Firms for Growth Companies

2020 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors of 2020, Vinay Kashyap, David Farsai, Jason Frankel

2019 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, Vinay Kashyap

2018 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, Vinay Kashyap

2015 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, Stephen Wolfe

Key People

Gavin Turner, Managing Partner

Gavin co-founded Mainsail Partners to partner with founders of bootstrapped software companies to help them realize their potential. Over the past 20 years, the firm has grown into an experienced team of over forty software investors and operators that specialize in helping founders and executives navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with rapidly scaling software companies. Gavin has extensive experience investing in vertical SaaS, financial technology, infrastructure software and information services technology companies. He has been an active board member on numerous software companies including Nexus Systems, ResMan, SentryOne, nCourt, PayLease, GTreasury, and eSecuritel. Currently, Gavin serves as a director on the boards for the following software companies: Teamfront, Centerbase, Flight Schedule Pro, and Sourcescrub.

Michael Anderson, Partner

Michael is a Partner at Mainsail Partners. He has spent twenty years as an investor in private companies. Michael currently serves on the boards of LinenMaster, Apptega, Boostlingo and Syncro. He formerly served on the boards of Inspect Point, PeraHealth (acquired), Bio-Optronics (acquired by Advarra) and FairWarning (acquired by Imprivata).

Emily Azevedo, Partner

Emily is a Partner and the Head of Talent at Mainsail Partners. She joined Mainsail in 2016 and works predominantly on portfolio talent needs, including executive recruiting, leadership development, compensation and assessment. Emily currently sits on the board of Extensiv.

Chris Cassidy, Partner

Chris joined Mainsail in 2010. He works closely with Mainsail’s portfolio companies to optimize their go-to-market strategies. Chris helps sales and marketing leaders build their teams, clearly define their target market segments, build data and technology infrastructure and implement best practices to drive growth efficiently. He also works closely with the investment team to help identify new opportunities.

David Farsai, Partner

David joined Mainsail in 2012. He is responsible for originating, executing, and supporting new investments. David works closely with a number of portfolio companies. He currently serves on the boards of Red Oak Compliance, Apptega, Inspect Point, Boostlingo, Syncro and Sourcescrub. He formerly served on the boards of Bio-Optronics (acquired by Advarra), FairWarning (acquired by Imprivata), and was previously a board observer of Zen Planner (acquired by Daxko).

Jason Frankel, Partner

Jason joined Mainsail Partners in 2014. He works closely with a number of portfolio companies. Jason currently serves on the boards of Teamfront, ProShop, Flight Schedule Pro, ServiceCore, Centerbase, PlanHub and Fullbay. He formerly served on the boards of GTreasury, Aspire Software (acquired by ServiceTitan) and ResMan (acquired by Inhabit IQ).

Vinay Kashyap, Partner

Vinay Kashyap is a Partner at Mainsail. Vinay has been investing in founder-owned software companies for over fifteen years. Vinay currently serves on the boards of Fexa, JobNimbus, PlanHub, Fullbay, and GTreasury. He formerly served on the boards of ServiceCore, Nexus Systems (acquired by Bottomline Technologies), SentryOne (acquired by SolarWinds), PlayMaker Health (acquired by Trella Health), and Zen Planner (acquired by Daxko).

Taylor McKinley, Partner

Taylor is a Partner at Mainsail Partners. He is responsible for originating, executing, and supporting investments in software companies. Taylor currently sits on the boards of Instinct Science, SmartMoving and Centerbase. He formerly served on the boards of Extensiv, ResMan (acquired by Inhabit IQ), FairWarning (acquired by Imprivata), Bio-Optronics (acquired by Advarra), nCourt (acquired by Providence Strategic Growth (PSG)) and was a board observer at Steelwedge Software (acquired by E2open).

William Salisbury, Partner, CFO, CCO

Bill is a Partner and Mainsail’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. Bill works with Mainsail’s portfolio companies to help them scale their financial operations as they migrate from bootstrapping to mature operating models. Bill also helps the investment team at Mainsail evaluate new investment opportunities. He currently serves on the board of GTreasury.

Funds Raised

Since its founding in 2003, Mainsail Partners has raised over $2.2 billion in committed capital and has invested in over seventy companies. Mainsail invests in growing, bootstrapped software companies and makes a select number of platform investments each year.

Key Investments

Disciplined in its investment strategy, Mainsail Partners seeks to invest in growing, bootstrapped software companies. This focus has generated experience and resources specifically relevant to helping founder-led companies grow. The targeted support helps companies navigate the challenges that often accompany the need to rapidly scale. Since inception, Mainsail Partners has invested in over seventy companies.

Mainsail’s current software investments include:

Teamfront: Invested in 2023
Sector: Software for field and local services.

LinenMaster: Invested in 2023
Sector: Software for commercial laundries.

ProShop: Invested in 2023
Sector: Software for machine shops.

Red Oak Compliance Solutions: Invested in 2023
Sector: Compliance software for financial institutions. 

SmartMoving: Invested in 2022
Sector: Business management software for moving companies.

Fexa: Invested in 2022
Sector: Facilities management software.

Apptega: Invested in 2022
Sector: Cybersecurity and compliance management software.

Flight Schedule Pro: Invested in 2022
Sector: Business management software for aviation industry.

ServiceCore: Invested in 2022
Sector: Software for liquid waste and roll-off businesses.

Instinct Science: Invested in 2022
Sector: Software for veterinary hospitals.

Inspect Point: Invested in 2021

Software for fire inspection companies.

ServiceTitan via acquisition of Aspire Software: Invested in 2021
Sector: Home and commercial services software.

Centerbase: Invested in 2021
Sector: Legal practice management software.

Boostlingo: Invested in 2021
Sector: Language interpretation management software.

JobNimbus: Invested in 2020
Sector: Home services software.

PlanHub: Invested in 2020
Sector: Construction plan room and bidding software.

Syncro: Invested in 2020
Sector: Software for IT organizations.

Sourcescrub: Recapitalized in 2021 (Originally Invested in 2019)
Sector: Information services for financial services industry.

Fullbay: Invested in 2019
Sector: Software for heavy duty repair shops.

GTreasury: Invested in 2017
Sector: Treasury management software.

Extensiv: Invested in 2015
Sector: Cloud-based supply chain software.

Capital Responsibility

Mainsail admires bootstrapped founders and respects the companies and cultures they have built. Mainsail’s team is purpose-built to support these software founders in their next phase of growth through a hands-on and collaborative approach. Visit Mainsail’s website for some of the reasons founders choose Mainsail as their partner.