Profile

Sageview Capital is a private investment firm with over $2 billion in assets under management that focuses on partnering with industry-defining innovators to build enduring software and tech-enabled businesses. Rather than apply a formulaic operating playbook to each company, we collaborate with entrepreneurs on a custom approach, leveraging the Sageview team’s decades of experience, operational expertise, and network. 

As active investors, Sageview runs a concentrated portfolio to help ensure proper dedication to each company, whether to help 1) improve operational efficiency (e.g., improve financial reporting, identify and track the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and/or scale General and Administrative expenses (G&A)); 2) scale sales & marketing to improve customer success; 4) recruit, hire, and retain top talent; and 5) identify M&A opportunities to help with post-acquisition integration; and/or capital markets and exit opportunities. 

Historically, the Sageview team has been the single largest investor in every fund, making up over 20% of its invested capital. This significant commitment aligns the firm’s interests with those of its investors and portfolio companies; Sageview’s success is truly dependent on the portfolio’s success. Every investment truly matters. 

www.sageviewcapital.com

Awards

2023 Top Growth Equity Firms

2023 Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors, Mike McClure

2023 Top Software Investors, Jeff Klemens

2023 Top Women Leaders in Growth Investing, Caitlin Vorlicek

2022 Top 25 Growth Equity Firms

2022 Top 25 Software Investors, Jeff Klemens,

2021 Top 25 Growth Equity Firms

2021 The Top 25 Software Investors, Ned Gilhuly, Scott Stuart

Key People

Ned Gilhuly, Co-Founder & Partner

Ned Gilhuly is a Founding Partner of Sageview Capital. He is responsible for all aspects of Sageview’s business and sits on the firm’s Investment Committee as well as the Portfolio Committee. Before founding Sageview Capital, Ned was a Partner at KKR (having joined in 1986) and was responsible for building out and overseeing KKR’s business in Europe. He also served on KKR’s Investment Committee from its inception in 2000 until his departure in 2005. Ned graduated from Duke University magna cum laude with a BA in history and economics in 1982. He received an MBA from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.

Scott Stuart, Co-Founder & Partner

Scott Stuart is a Founding Partner of Sageview Capital. He is responsible for all aspects of Sageview’s business and sits on the firm’s Investment Committee and the Portfolio Committee. Before founding Sageview Capital, Scott was a Partner at KKR (having joined in 1986) and was responsible for the utilities and consumer products industry groups. He also served on KKR’s Investment Committee from its inception in 2000 until his departure in 2005. Scott graduated from Dartmouth College with an AB in English. He received an MBA from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.

Dean Nelson, Senior Partner

Dean Nelson joined Sageview in 2014 as a Senior Partner based in Greenwich. In his role, Dean is active in sourcing and serving as the senior representative of Sageview on deals. He also works with management teams across Sageview’s portfolio on operational opportunities. Before joining Sageview, Dean was at KKR where he founded and led KKR Capstone, an operating team focused on improving performance in KKR’s portfolio companies. In addition to leading KKR Capstone, he also served on KKR’s Portfolio Committee. Prior to KKR, Dean was with The Boston Consulting Group for 15 years, serving as a Partner and head of the firm’s Chicago office. Dean attended Purdue University, where he received a BS in chemical engineering, summa cum laude. He also has an MBA from the University of Chicago, summa cum laude.

Jeff Klemens, Partner

Jeff Klemens joined Sageview in 2006 and is a Partner in the Palo Alto office. Before Sageview, Jeff was an Associate at SPO Partners & Co., and started his career with Goldman Sachs as an analyst in the Industrial and Financial Sponsors groups of the Investment Banking Division. Jeff graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California in 2001 with a BS in business administration. While at USC, Jeff held leadership positions in numerous organizations across campus and was awarded the Order of the Torch which recognizes 12 graduating seniors for outstanding leadership, academic achievement, service and mentorship, and contributions to the USC community.

Mike McClure, Partner

Mike McClure joined Sageview in 2011 and is a Partner in the Palo Alto office. Before joining Sageview, Mike spent 3 years at New York-based Trilantic Capital Partners, where he focused on investing in leading growth-stage companies across North America. Mike holds a BA in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Jake Colognesi, Partner

Jake Colognesi joined Sageview in 2019 and is a Partner in the firm’s Greenwich office. Before joining Sageview, Jake worked at Volition Capital where he was actively involved in both enterprise and consumer investments. He started his career in the software group at Cowen and Company and thereafter as a growth equity investor at Fidelity Ventures. Jake attended Colby College, where he received a BS in economics and competed as a Division I alpine ski racer. He later received an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Funds Raised

Key Investments

Avalara: Invested April 2011, exited August 2019 via IPO
Sector: Software – tax/compliance/e-commerce

Avalara is a leading provider of cloud-based sales tax management software. The company’s core products provide accurate, timely, and cost-effective sales tax calculation, administration, reporting, and remittance.

Reflexis Systems: Invested December  2013, strategic sale to Zebra Technologies in September 2020
Sector: Software – retail/work force management

Reflexis Systems is a market-leading workforce management software company that specializes in task management. The company’s solutions include workforce scheduling, time and attendance, task management, and a real-time retail execution platform.

360insights: Invested July 2016
Sector: Software – retail/incentive management

360insights is a leading provider of incentive management software and services to manufacturers that sell through channels. 360insights helps companies manage spiffs (provided to channel sales representatives); customer rebates; co-op (provided to channel for local advertising); and sell-through allowances (discounts to retailers for volume sold).

CallRail: Invested September 2017
Sector: Software – SMB / marketing & analytics

CallRail is a leading intelligence platform that makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to market with confidence. Serving more than 200,000 companies worldwide, CallRail’s solutions help businesses track and attribute each lead to their marketing journey, capture and manage every call, text, chat, and form, and use real-time insights to optimize their marketing.

Pantheon: Invested February 2019
Sector: Software – WebOps

Pantheon is a leading cloud-based website operations platform. The company packages best-in-class hosting, content management, load balancing, performance monitoring, website development software tools, and more into one easy-to-use solution designed for businesses, schools, and government organizations that demand high-performance websites and agile web development.

Pax8: Invested December 2020
Sector: Tech-enabled business services

Pax8 is a cloud commerce marketplace and distributor, selling cloud software and services to IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs), which are then sold through to ultimate end-user SMB customers. The company’s marketplace platform enables MSPs to buy, bill, provision and manage cloud-based software & services for their customers on-demand.

Atmosphere: Invested December 2021
Sector: Tech-enabled business services / Advertising

Atmosphere is a leading free streaming multi-channel platform for businesses offering 64 original and partner TV channels licensed for commercial venue usage. Atmosphere also provides value-added features for venue operators including a digital signage feature for businesses to run their house promotions within the content. The platform was developed using proprietary content, technology and data to deliver unparalleled experiences for businesses, consumers and advertisers.

Capital Responsibility

As stewards of capital, Sageview consistently aims to deliver the highest returns at the lowest possible risk to its investors. To do so, the firm must maintain strict investment discipline, rigorously evaluate key performance and financial metrics, and measure any significant risk factors, including Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, before and throughout an investment. Sageview believes that considering ESG issues as part of many financial and non-financial considerations in the investment process can generate a more holistic view of an investment, thus enhancing the firm’s ability to manage risk, generate returns, and preserve capital for its investors. Sageview believes ESG considerations are imperative in creating value for its stakeholders and creating a long-term, sustainable strategy for the companies it backs. At a firm level, Sageview strives to incorporate ESG principles across the organization, following the below key tenants as it relates to its ESG policy:

– Implement ESG best practices at a firm level and continually reevaluate and improve upon the metrics it tracks and the initiatives it takes.

– Consider ESG risk factors when evaluating potential target companies.

– Incorporate ESG measuring and monitoring into Sageview’s investment process and strategy.

– Incorporate ESG best practices within Sageview’s portfolio companies to the best of the firm’s ability.

– Prioritize fair compensation best practices at Sageview and encourage its portfolio companies to do the same.

– Hold Sageview and its portfolio companies accountable to applicable local, national, and international laws.

– Maintain a safe and healthy work environment.

– Prohibit bribery and other improper payments, consistent with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and, as applicable, similar laws in other countries.

Sageview’s investment professionals are responsible for assigning a portfolio company an ESG score as well as managing and instilling Sageview’s ESG program across its portfolio companies. The ESG Committee reviews the ESG scores assigned to each potential investment by the respective investment team to ensure no biases or conflicts of interest before Sageview closes a deal. All investment professionals at Sageview receive annual training to ensure an understanding of Sageview’s ESG policies, assist with identifying material ESG risks, and ensure the effective implementation of Sageview’s ESG integrated investment approach.

CEO Reviews

John Street, Co-Founder & CEO of Pax8

“We’re so delighted to have Sageview as one of our investors—they’re strong, experienced businesspeople, true partners in business. They have access to extensive connections globally and as we expand internationally, we expect that we’ll be able to tap into that network. We also know that they’re very good at business analytics and our business is so data-driven that we look forward to leveraging the resources of Sageview.”

Andy Powell, Co-Founder of CallRail

“As an entrepreneur who cares deeply about our company’s long-term success, selecting the right investment partner was a critical decision for us. Sageview has consistently gone above and beyond to support our team as we’ve scaled the business to become the clear leader in our market. We’ve leaned on Sageview for help with leadership recruiting, pricing optimization, M&A evaluation, strategic advice, financing, and more. Every time they’ve been able to dedicate time and deliver tangible value in a thoughtful way. Sageview is the ideal partner for entrepreneurs looking for an engaged investor who will bring value to the table beyond simply money.”

Gabe Rogol, CEO of Demandbase

“Sageview is one of our most strategic partners. I rely on them for some of my most difficult challenges. For example, they were instrumental in helping us pull off three acquisitions in a twelve-month period, including the acquisition of a company called Engagio, which enabled us to consolidate the category, improve our win rates, improve our net retention, dramatically increasing our value.”

Matthew Wright, Founder & CEO of Specright

“We had an opportunity to pick our next investment partner, and we picked Sageview. They were undoubtedly a great team, which our team resonated with, they bring an understanding on how to scale companies, and they’ve created category leaders which is what we’re trying to accomplish today. Within six months of working with them, they’ve already done many top-to-top instructions, allowing us to get to the c-suite of many of our top prospects, they’ve engaged in helping us improve our KPIs, and really understand what it takes to create a long-lasting industry leading business.”

Bianca Padilla, Co-Founder & CEO of Carewell

“When I think of Sageview, I think of the word quality; from the team, the process they run, the investments that they make, the depth of their network, to the value they add. When we were looking for investment partners, above everything we were looking for teams who were aligned with our vision, were as committed to the market, the opportunity, and our customer base as us, and doing what is right by them from the very start. That’s exactly what we found when we made the decision to partner with Sageview.”

Zach Rosen, Co-Founder & CEO of Pantheon

“We decided to work with Sageview in a financing round that was very competitive. We decided to partner with Sageview given their focus on partnership. We felt at the time, and this has been proven over and over again, that they have decades of experience in building companies from hundreds of employees to thousands, a ton of wisdom to bring to bear in building venture-backed start-ups, and a very aligned view of our market and industry. Ultimately, we decided they would be the best leaders to have around the table with us as we built the company. Sageview is my first call on the most challenging decisions we’re going to make, which is a testament to the trust and partnership we have.”