Profile

Founded in 2015, PeakSpan Capital is a leading growth equity firm investing exclusively in high-growth business-to-business (or “B2B”) software companies. With $1.5 billion in assets under management (“AUM”) and a team of 18 investment professionals (27 total) across their San Mateo and New York City offices, PeakSpan has supported 43 software businesses, realizing 16 full and partial exits to date. 

PeakSpan is committed to its mission of being the partner of choice for best-in-class, emerging growth-stage software entrepreneurs and teams who are looking to scale sensibly and capitalize on strategic, high-quality market opportunities. Through a highly focused and proprietary data-driven strategy, PeakSpan partners with scale-up software entrepreneurs with the goal of delivering the best risk-adjusted outcomes. PeakSpan leverages its deep domain (spanning 13 BluePrint Market Themes) and stage expertise, proprietary and patented technology platform and consultative approach to drive strategic initiatives, and an on-demand network of over ~300 operating advisors through their PeakSpan Expert Community (“PEC”) program, which provides for superior operational support across key strategic initiatives such as go-to-market, product strategy, organizational model best practices, industry or practitioners perspectives, and more.

Awards

2023 Top Growth Equity Firms

2015 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, Brian Mulvey

Key People

Phil Dur, Co-Founder & Managing Partner 

Phil Dur is a co-founder and Managing Partner at PeakSpan Capital based in the San Mateo office. Phil brings over 25 years of experience as a B2B software investor, including serving on the board of more than 40 growth-stage B2B software companies. At PeakSpan, he leads investments across the firm’s Customer Experience Management, Human Capital Management, and Next-Gen Commerce BluePrint Market Themes. Phil currently serves on the Board of Directors for Arist, Cloudbeds, Epignosis, EvaluAgent, Fuel50, GroupBy, Kudoboard, Leasecake, Madgicx, Stylitics, Tidio, TraceAir, Vyond, and Yodeck. Prior to co-founding PeakSpan Capital, Phil spent 10 years with Investor Growth Capital (growth equity platform for Investor AB) as a Managing Director leading their software investment team. 

Matt Melymuka, Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Matt Melymuka is a co-founder and Managing Partner at PeakSpan Capital based in the New York City office. Matt has spent his entire career dedicated to supporting growth-stage software companies and has partnered with more than 30 growth-stage B2B software businesses over the past 15 years. At PeakSpan, he leads investments across the firm’s Hospitality Technology, Marketing Technology, and Sales Technology BluePrint Market Themes. Matt currently serves on the Board of Directors for Cloudbeds, Cognism, Cordial, Konnecto, Oaky, Rallyware, Salonkee, and Vyond. Prior to co-founding PeakSpan, Matt was on the investment team at both Investor Growth Capital (software growth equity platform for Investor AB) and Greycroft Partners.

Jay Lance, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer

Jay Lance is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at PeakSpan Capital based in the New York City office. Jay brings over 18 years of experience in private assets. Prior to joining PeakSpan Capital in 2015, he worked at The Carlyle Group in their Global Market Strategies division focused on distressed and mezzanine debt approaches. Before that, Jay was employed at Ernst & Young LLP, managing four asset management clients, including one of E&Y’s Office of the Chairman accounts. Jay is a Certified Public Accountant in New York, a CFA® charter holder, as well as a Certified Financial Planner™.

Jack Freeman, Partner

Jack Freeman joined PeakSpan Capital in 2016 and is a Partner based in the New York City office. Jack has spent his entire career dedicated to supporting growth-stage software companies and has worked closely with more than 20 growth-stage B2B software businesses over the past decade. At PeakSpan, he leads investments across the firm’s Digital Health, Payments, and Supply Chain BluePrint Market Themes. Jack currently serves on the Board of Directors for Dispatch, Finally, FinPay, PetVisor, Sales Layer, ShipHawk, Tapcheck, and XOi Technologies. Prior to PeakSpan, Jack was at Macquarie Capital executing software M&A and capital markets transactions.

Sanket Merchant, Partner 

Sanket Merchant joined PeakSpan Capital in 2016 and is a Partner based in the San Mateo office. Sanket has spent his entire career dedicated to supporting growth-stage software companies and has worked closely with several dozen growth-stage B2B software businesses over the past 12 years. At PeakSpan, he leads investments across the firm’s Education Technology, Infrastructure, and Security BluePrint Market Themes. Sanket currently serves on the Board of Directors for Bongo, Epignosis, Fuel50, Kudoboard, MindBridge Ai, and Yodeck. Prior to PeakSpan, Sanket was at Houlihan Lokey focused on software M&A and private placements. 

Phillip Cunningham, Vice President of Strategic Development & Investor Relations

Phillip Cunningham joined PeakSpan Capital in 2022 and is a Vice President of Strategic Development and Investor Relations based in the San Mateo office. Phillip brings nearly a decade of experience as an operator, investor, and advisor to growth-stage software businesses. At PeakSpan, he runs programming to ready portfolio companies for exit and manage investor communications. Prior to PeakSpan, Phillip was Head of Corporate Development at Cloudbeds and helped them raise ~$250M in equity financing and complete three (3) tuck-in acquisitions. He was also on the investment team at PeakSpan Capital from 2017-2019 and on the Software M&A team at Goldman Sachs previously.

Kyle Reitinger, Vice President 

Kyle Reitinger joined PeakSpan Capital in 2019 and is a Vice President based in the San Mateo office.  Kyle has spent his entire career dedicated to supporting growth-stage software companies and has worked closely with more than a dozen growth-stage B2B software businesses across his career. At PeakSpan, he leads investments across the firm’s Property Technology BluePrint Market Theme and supports efforts across both Next-Gen Commerce and Marketing Technology. Kyle currently serves on the Board of Directors for Aidium, Leasecake, Madgicx, Onboard, Sales Layer, ShipHawk, Stylitics, and Tidio. Prior to PeakSpan, he was in the Technology Investment Banking Division at RBC Capital Markets covering M&A and capital markets transactions for Internet and Software businesses.

Justin Kelly, Vice President

Justin Kelly joined PeakSpan Capital in 2022 and is a Vice President based in the New York City office. Justin has spent his entire career dedicated to supporting early- and growth-stage software across Enterprise Software, FinTech, and Digital Health. At PeakSpan, he leads investments across the firm’s Digital Health BluePrint Market Theme and supports efforts across both Customer Experience Management and Payments. Justin currently serves on the Board of Directors at EvaluAgent. Prior to PeakSpan, Justin was a Senior Associate at AXA Venture Partners and started his career in investment banking at Houlihan Lokey, working on M&A and financing deals in software and tech-enabled services.

Funds Raised

Since its inception in 2015, PeakSpan Capital has been committed to its mission of being the partner of choice for best-in-class, emerging growth-stage software entrepreneurs and the goal of delivering the best risk-adjusted outcomes for its stakeholders. 

The firm has $1.5 billion in AUM and is currently investing out of their $585 million Fund III.

Key Investments

Cyara: Invested December 2015
Sector: Customer Experience Management and Infrastructure

Cyara revolutionizes the way businesses transform and optimize their customer experiences. Cyara’s AI-based CX Transformation Platform empowers enterprises to deliver flawless interactions across voice, video, digital, and chatbot experiences. With Cyara, businesses improve customer journeys through continuous innovation while reducing costs and minimizing risk. In January 2022, Cyara received a $350M growth investment from K1 Investment Management.

Kenna Security: Invested November 2016 and Exited June 2021.
Sector: Infrastructure and Security

Kenna Security is a cybersecurity leader that offers a risk-based vulnerability management platform that prioritizes vulnerability risks. Kenna’s risk-based vulnerability management technology enables organizations to work cross-functionally to identify, prioritize, and remediate cyber risks rapidly. Kenna was acquired by Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) in June 2021. 

Cloudbeds: Invested April 2017
Sector: Hospitality Technology

Cloudbeds is the hospitality industry’s fastest-growing technology partner, serving a global customer base of thousands of properties across 157 countries. Its award-winning Cloudbeds Hospitality Platform seamlessly combines operations, revenue, distribution, and growth marketing tools with a marketplace of third-party integrations to help hoteliers and hosts grow revenue, streamline operations, and deliver memorable guest experiences. Cloudbeds was named No. 1 PMS and No. 1 Hotel Management System by Hotel Tech Report in 2022, Best PMS, and Best Channel Manager by the World Travel Tech Awards in 2021, and has been recognized by Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 in 2021. In October 2021, Cloudbeds received a $150M growth investment from SoftBank.  

Epignosis: Invested October 2017
Sector: Human Capital Management and EdTech

Epignosis is an award-winning and leading provider of high-velocity learning management solutions that gives organizations of all sizes an easy-to-use, fully-featured, disruptively priced SaaS platform that achieves their internal and external learning objectives. 

Zingle: Invested March 2018 and Exited September 2019
Sector: Hospitality and Customer Experience Management

Zingle is a leading provider of mobile customer service solutions, enabling businesses across a variety of verticals and use cases to more effectively and efficiently communicate with their end customers, driving increased customer satisfaction, revenue uplift and cost savings through process and workflow automation. Zingle was acquired by Medallia for an undisclosed amount in September 2019. 

Cordial: Invested June 2018
Sector: Marketing Technology

Cordial is the only true marketing platform that empowers brands to fully automate their marketing strategies and power billions of high-conversion messages based on data—while producing record-breaking customer engagement and revenue growth. They are an award-winning, high-growth company on a mission to help brands send a better message. In July 2022, Cordial received a $50M growth investment from NewSpring Capital.

Inference: Invested July 2018 and Exited December 2020
Sector: Customer Experience Management and Infrastructure

Inference is a leading provider of next-generation, omni-channel Interactive Voice Response/IVR and Intelligent Virtual Agent/IVA solutions that elegantly orchestrate and automate complex customer engagement tasks for clients across a host of industry verticals. Inference was acquired by Five9 in November 2020 for an undisclosed amount. 

PetVisor: Invested December 2018
Sector: Digital Health 

Petvisor is a best-in-class veterinary and pet services business management and client engagement software platform looking to transform pet care through innovative technology. In November 2023, PetVisor received a $100M growth investment from Apax Digital. 

MindBridge: Invested February 2019
Sector: Infrastructure and Payments

MindBridge is a global leader in financial risk discovery and anomaly detection that helps financial professionals access better ways of working by identifying, surfacing, and analyzing risk across broad financial datasets. The application combines audit and finance expertise with data science and AI ingenuity to support professional judgment and serve the human need for financial transparency. In March 2023, MindBridge received a $80M (CAD) growth investment from PSG.

Cognism: Invested July 2019
Sector: Sales Technology

Cognism is a leader in international sales intelligence, setting a new standard for data quality and compliance, trusted by 1800+ revenue teams worldwide. Cognism helps businesses find, engage, and close their dream prospects by providing premium company and contact information, including firmographics, technographics, sales trigger events, intent data, verified business emails, and phone-verified mobile numbers. In January 2022, Cognism received a $83M growth investment from Blue Cloud Ventures and Viking Global.

XOI Technologies: Invested July 2019
Sector: Supply Chain

XOi provides an end-to-end SaaS field service execution platform. XOi is built for HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Construction, Kitchen Equipment, and more. Connecting people from all parts of the field service ecosystem with the equipment they service, and centered around the data your techs collect on a job site, XOi transforms your business from the ground up through streamlined workflows, instant access to knowledge, robust insights, and game-changing customer transparency.

Luma Health: Invested June 2019 and Exited September 2021
Sector: Digital Health

Luma’s Patient Success Platform unifies and automates each of a patient’s healthcare journeys—access & operational, clinical, and financial—to help them be healthier. It integrates with more than 80 EHRs to give staff and clinicians a fuller view of the patient with less manual outreach. In November 2021, Luma received a $130M growth investment from FTV Capital.

Stylitics: Invested July 2019
Sector: Next-Gen Commerce

Stylitics is an outfitting and styling technology partner to the world’s most forward-thinking retailers. We help retailers deepen customer relationships, maximize every sales opportunity, and create efficiencies everywhere from the design studio to the sales floor. An end-to-end outfitting solution that’s one part tech, one part brand strategy, and one part visual merchandising. Starting with a database of stylish outfit images that are created automatically according to your brand, Stylitics makes it possible for retailers to deliver personalized, outfit-driven experiences for every product, to every customer, everywhere—no stylist required. In May 2022, Stylitics received a $80M growth investment from PSG. 

Ecwid: Invested March 2020 and Exited June 2021
Sector: Next-Gen Commerce

Ecwid provides a SaaS-based e-commerce platform that targets micro-small business customers and enables them to quickly and seamlessly stand up a fully-featured online storefront across multiple channels. In June 2021, Ecwid was acquired by Lightspeed for $500M. 

Yodeck: Invested August 2020
Sector: Customer Experience Management

Yodeck is a leading provider of digital signage solutions to businesses across a host of vertical markets (hotels, restaurants, retail, QSR, corporate offices, etc.) with a value proposition hinged on strong form ease of use, a complete feature set, and disruptive pricing. Yodeck prides itself on providing an exceptional digital signage solution to businesses of all sectors and sizes, from local diners to global leaders who already trust them, including Delta Airlines, Autodesk, Adobe, Domino’s, Deloitte, and Swissport.

Vyond: Invested April 2021
Sector: Marketing Technology

Vyond is an enterprise-grade agile video creation studio that accelerates positive business outcomes. Today’s stakeholders (prospects, customers, employees, and communities) have a higher threshold for engagement and are more video-native than ever. Vyond enables your business to quickly create relevant, engaging videos that motivate today’s overloaded, distracted stakeholders to take action. Vyond is reinventing business communications.

Tapcheck: Invested April 2022
Sector: Payments

Tapcheck is the highest precision earned wage access platform on the market, enabling employees access to their wages on-demand at no cost to the employer. Tens of thousands of employers have added Tapcheck to their benefits package, and have found that offering on-demand pay significantly increases employee satisfaction, reduces turnover, and is something that distinguishes them from competitors.

Salonkee: Invested June 2023
Sector: Hospitality Technology

Salonkee brings the simplicity and joy of online beauty appointment bookings to the tip of your fingers. Salonkee intends to foster the time-gaining, easy, and secure possibility of our all-digital era to give you more time to focus on the important things in life, your personal beauty being one of them.

Capital Responsibility

PeakSpan is dedicated to thoughtful environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) management in our firm and community. We aim to be additive in value and seek to reduce risk when challenges arise, whenever possible. PeakSpan strives to have an inclusive and open environment and understands that we are responding to a rapidly changing world as we address ESG and other issues. We believe that strong ESG policies strengthen the long-term prosperity of a company for all stakeholders (employees, vendors, investors, entrepreneurs). We recognize that our commitment to our stakeholders is to deliver the best risk-adjusted returns, and we believe that we live in harmony with our ESG Framework.

PeakSpan seeks to integrate ESG considerations throughout its investment lifecycle to minimize risks, promote innovation, and advance certain sustainability outcomes and inclusive policies. PeakSpan supports the SASB Standards and Framework and seeks to align its investment activity with our investment mandate within the software industry.  

PeakSpan believes that ESG is a journey, and the firm will seek to not simply assess a target company’s ESG capability but, where possible, intend to collaborate closely with them to improve ESG performance during its investment. We will also strive to impact our surrounding communities where possible.

ESG, as it relates to Asset Managers, differs from the standards for our portfolio companies. Therefore, we have used the SASB Standards for Asset Managers to record our efforts in further advancing our ESG compliance and positive climate and community impacts.

CEO Reviews

James Isilay, Founder & CEO at Cognism

“If you are looking for an investor who’s been there and done that, this is the team for you. Their depth of knowledge and experience around the most relevant issues facing our business is amazing.”

Ruslan Fazlyev, Co-Founder & CEO at Ecwid

“It was a blast working with you, Phil! You absolutely crushed every possible expectation on how much resource, effort, and value an investor can allocate to a portfolio company, and you were always very timely; when you called us it was usually a second earlier to us understanding we needed you.”

Aaron Fulkerson, Founder & Former CEO at MindTouch

“Building a growth company that creates durable value is a daily battle—it’s just hard. Having PeakSpan in your corner as you build your business is like bringing a gun to a knife fight.”

Dimitris Tsingos, President at Epignosis and Yodeck

“PeakSpan practices what they preach. They are passionate about helping you grow your business the right way, and they’re always there to help. They’ve been an amazing partner to Epignosis.”

Anne Fulton, Co-Founder & CEO at Fuel50

“I had the opportunity to develop a relationship with PeakSpan for three years before partnering with them. Their knowledge of our category is remarkable, and the impact they had even before they invested was amazing.”

Callan Schebella, Co-Founder & CEO at Inference

“It doesn’t really matter who you are working with in the organization; they do exactly what they say they are going to do. They are incredibly respectful of your time. If I had a chance to work with anyone at PeakSpan again, I would not hesitate at all. It was a fantastic experience from start to finish.”

Ford Blakely, Founder & CEO at Zingle

“PeakSpan was instrumental in helping me scale our business and secure an awesome outcome for stakeholders. They helped us sharpen our focus and go-to-market strategy, bring on new talent, and improve awareness. It was like having another co-founder in the business.”

Felix Rodriguez, Co-founder & CEO at Finally

“From the first call on, we knew PeakSpan was something special. Being an early startup, you need a lot of help, you need another person to talk to, and with PeakSpan, they’re a part of that mission, and that’s really refreshing. It’s not just making an investment.”

Taylor Cavanah, Co-Founder & CEO at PetDesk

“PeakSpan deeply understands the challenges entrepreneurs face, and they speak our language. They get scaling, they get software, and they’re committed to responsible company building.”

Mykhaylo Kostandov, Co-Founder & CTO at Rallyware

“Above all, they are just good, genuine humans, and they really care. This is the foundation for everything else that we work on, and I am so excited to build great things together.”

Yahav Hartman, Co-Founder & CEO at Madgicx

“We looked for a partner with a lot of experience and knowledge, someone who can really take us to the next level and help us unlock our growth potential. For us, PeakSpan felt like a natural partner. We know PeakSpan always has Madgicx in their hearts and we know that PeakSpan always has our back.”

Adam Harris, Co-Founder & CEO at Cloudbeds

“These guys were there during the hard days and celebrating along the good ones. You could tell early on with their thesis, the amount of time and effort they spent with us, they care.”

Rohan Deuskar,  Co-founder & CEO at Stylitics

“From our first meeting, they were just really open, transparent, and very much on our side as a company. I don’t think I’ve met a group of people who work as hard as they do.”

Gary Lipkowitz, CEO at Vyond

“I took over 200 calls, with about 80 firms over a two-year period. And out of that group, PeakSpan was by FAR the best partner for us.”