GrowthCap is pleased to announce The Top 25 Growth Equity Firms of 2022. Our ninth year running, this awards process was the most competitive since inception. Each year, we take great care in methodically evaluating the information we receive in support of each firm, inclusive of feedback on partners of the firm. Well over 1,400 nominations were received in the past year from CEOs, LPs, GPs, peer investors, board directors, attorneys, and consultants, among others.
Nominations provide detailed feedback on firm strengths including sector expertise, operational capabilities, key partners, firm culture, and other key attributes. We focused on the firms’ abilities to consistently identify investment opportunities, create value for portfolio companies, retain talent, and optimize outcomes for all stakeholders involved. We also factored in a firm’s momentum with CEO and LP communities as well as commitment to ESG.
Please join us in recognizing the Top 25 Growth Equity Firms of 2022.
Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology startup and scaleup software companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Since its founding in 1995, Insight has closed more than 750 investments and supported more than 110 strategic exits, including more than 55 successful IPOs of Insight portfolio companies. Insight’s mission is to find and fund scalable companies and work with visionary executives and founders, providing them with the practical, hands-on software expertise that fosters long-term success.
What sets Insight apart from its peers is the firm’s ability to leverage data and pattern recognition, which enables Insight to provide strategic support and scale up exceptional companies at every stage of the growth cycle. Critical to this ability is Insight Onsite, the firm’s software-focused operations team, which is comprised of 130+ operators who work alongside Insight portfolio companies in the areas of talent, sales, marketing, product, engineering and strategy, and help founders and executives identify and execute key strategic growth initiatives.
Insight also offers Insight IGNITE, the firm’s Technology Intelligence Ecosystem trusted by executives from many of the world’s most established businesses to connect, learn, and drive decision-making and business excellence. Insight IGNITE bridges this gap between innovative startups and global enterprises looking for enterprise-ready solutions through bespoke events, briefings, and programming designed to give Insight’s network of thousands of Global 2000 IT executives unparalleled access to Insight’s portfolio.
“For over 25 years, Insight Partners has helped seasoned CEOs and entrepreneurs turn their vision into reality faster and more seamlessly. We’re proud to be a trusted partner in software, and it’s our privilege to help exceptional companies at every stage of growth drive transformative change in their industries with capital and industry-leading operational support.”—Jeff Lieberman, Managing Director
TA is a leading global growth private equity firm, focused on investing in growing companies with high-quality business models across five target industries: technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. Since its founding in 1968, the firm has raised $48.6 billion in capital and invested in more than 560 companies worldwide, led by an industry-focused team of over 120 investment professionals. An active investor, TA is committed to building long-term partnerships with founders, entrepreneurs and management teams to help accelerate portfolio company growth and deliver lasting value. The firm’s dedicated Strategic Resource Group and Capital Markets Group provide further growth-orientated resources and support, including strategic counsel, operational guidance, and assistance structuring and financing transactions. TA has offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Austin, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong, with more than 260 total employees.
“At TA, we are dedicated to helping forward-thinking founders, leaders and management teams worldwide navigate their growth journeys and unlock their full potential. We take great pride in the trusted partnerships we develop across our portfolio companies, as well as the strategic guidance, industry insights and resources we provide to help them accelerate growth and build lasting value. We are honored to be recognized for our longstanding partnership approach and the continued dedication of our team.”—Ajit Nedungadi, CEO
TPG Growth has a 15-year track record of success in meeting the unique needs of earlier-stage companies, from traditional minority growth investments to growth buyouts and specialty capital. Having launched TPG Growth in 2007, TPG has had the opportunity to partner with some of the most innovative entrepreneurs, founders, and management teams of the past decade and a half. The team brings an established perspective and a differentiated blend of conviction, flexibility, and partnership to growth equity that allows them to invest behind unique opportunities early, particularly in markets that are at points of inflection, disruption, or significant change. TPG Growth also differentiates itself via active business building engagement. Its team takes meaningful ownership stakes in a smaller number of companies, thereby positioning the firm to add value via operational expertise.
Amidst changes in market sentiment, TPG has remained steadfastly focused on profitability and growth, and today, TPG Growth manages $23 billion in assets. Select investments include Airbnb, Beautycounter, C3, Calm, Campus Activewear, GoHealth Urgent Care, Greenhouse, Medical Solutions, MX, Nykaa, People 2.0, Pharmeasy, Spotify, Uber, and Zscaler.
“At TPG Growth, our team takes a thematic approach, identifying compelling business models and opportunities across our core sectors—business services, healthcare, internet & digital media, and software & enterprise technology. Post-investment, our dedicated operations team delivers business-building capabilities, deep industry expertise, and creative problem-solving to help our companies grow and scale. It’s a privilege to partner with world-class founders and management teams as they navigate their growth journey and we look forward to continuing to play a strategic role in helping companies achieve their goals.”—Matt Hobart and David Trujillo, Co-Managing Partners
Blackstone Growth (BXG) is Blackstone’s dedicated growth equity investing platform. They are experienced growth investors backed by the scale, operating expertise, and global reach of the world’s largest alternative asset manager. BXG focuses on providing capital to companies seeking to manage the execution risks associated with high-growth environments.
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. They seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for their investors, the companies they invest in, and the communities in which they work. They do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Their $975 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
“By drawing upon Blackstone’s massive base of operational infrastructure and company-building resources, BXG brings a hands-on model to growth equity as we seek to create category winners rather than just find them. Our bespoke approach to partnering with entrepreneurs enables us to help our portfolio companies navigate challenging macro environments and take full advantage of periods of dislocation.”—Jon Korngold, Global Head of Blackstone Growth (BXG) and Co-Head of Technology Investing
Founded in 1976, KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages approximately $504 billion in assets across growth equity, private equity, infrastructure, real estate, and credit (as of December 31, 2022). KKR’s growth equity strategies leverage the firm’s expertise and reach, offering differentiated capital and strategic solutions to growing companies. To date, the firm has raised four dedicated growth equity funds and has made growth investments in more than 50 companies across the technology and healthcare sectors.
KKR offers a unique combination of resources that directly help high-growth companies scale, including deep industry expertise and pattern recognition, an extensive global presence across 23 offices on four continents, a global network of 100+ portfolio companies and myriad executive relationships, and proprietary solutions such as: KKR Capstone, which helps portfolio companies optimize operational performance; KKR Capital Markets, which provides tailored capital markets advice and helps with equity / debt financing and capital structure improvement; the KKR Global Institute, which provides expertise and analysis on emerging developments and long-term trends in geopolitics and demographics; and KKR’s Global Macro and Asset Allocation team, which works alongside deal teams to assess macro influences at the company, sector, and market levels.
“When we launched our first growth equity strategy over eight years ago, we sought to offer a differentiated approach to growth investing that built on our 40+ year history of private equity investing and leveraged our full platform and capabilities to help growing companies achieve their next phase of success. Since then, we’ve helped scale a number of high-performing and innovative businesses and have delivered strong returns for our investors. We look forward to building on this momentum further by continuing to support the growth of best-in-class healthcare and technology companies for the benefit of patients / consumers, business enterprises and communities around the world.”—Ali Satvat and Dave Welsh, Partners and Global Heads of Health Care Strategic Growth and Next Generation Technology Growth, respectively
Great Hill Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm that invests in high-growth, disruptive companies across five core sectors: software, digital commerce, financial technology, healthcare, and digital infrastructure. Since its founding in 1998, Great Hill has raised over $12 billion of commitments across eight funds, and invested in more than 95 companies, establishing an extensive track record of building long-term partnerships with founders and entrepreneurs to help middle-market industry pioneers achieve their full potential. With an individualized approach to each of its investments, Great Hill is a long-term growth-oriented investor and serves as a true partner to its portfolio companies’ management teams.
As part of its focus on value creation, Great Hill provides robust executive networks, deep domain expertise and strategic counsel to accelerate portfolio company growth and enhance strategic value. Great Hill has a dedicated Growth team that works hand-in-hand with the firm’s investment teams and portfolio companies to accelerate businesses by optimizing efforts across go-to-market, customer acquisition, product expansion, and talent initiatives, as well as geographic expansion and sourcing strategic acquisitions.
“We’re honored to be recognized as one of GrowthCap’s Top Growth Equity Firms for the second year in a row. For 25 years, Great Hill has focused on partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs to grow their companies and disrupt their industries, a strategy that continues to produce results for our portfolio companies and our investors. This recognition is a testament to the talented and dedicated professionals across our firm.”—Chris Gaffney, Michael Kumin, Mark Taber and Matt Vettel, Managing Directors
Sixth Street Growth invests in fast-growing companies with a focus on forming long-term partnerships with market leaders across application software, infrastructure software, healthcare technology, and fintech. Sixth Street Growth is part of Sixth Street, a leading global investment firm with approximately $65 billion in assets under management and committed capital. The firm’s experienced team of growth investors and operational leaders offers broad capital flexibility, a partnership solutions mindset, and value-add capabilities designed to approach each investment as a bespoke opportunity to accelerate sustainable growth. The firm’s dedicated More than Capital portfolio operations group collaborates with management teams on strategic growth drivers, brings expertise and resources to help companies achieve operational excellence, and partners with businesses to evaluate value creation opportunities. Founded in 2009, Sixth Street has partnered with over 70 CEOs and management teams and invested more than $9 billion in its Growth strategy since inception.
“Sixth Street Growth follows a founder-oriented investing philosophy that uses our flexibility, scale, and expertise to create investments designed to help management teams grow their businesses and achieve strategic objectives. We are proud of our team and the market-leading companies we have had the privilege of investing with to date, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside great teams and exceptional people to help companies accelerate and build sustainable long-term growth.”—Michael McGinn, Co-Head of Sixth Street Growth
Silversmith Capital Partners is a Boston-based growth equity firm focused on partnering with, and supporting, the best entrepreneurs in growing technology and healthcare companies. Since its founding in 2015, the firm has raised four funds totaling $3.3 billion of capital under management. Silversmith typically invests between $20 million to $125 million in profitable, growing companies that have achieved scale in a capital efficient way and is flexible on deal structure.
Representative investments include ActiveCampaign, Appfire, Apryse, DistroKid, impact.com, Iodine Software, Market Access Transformation, LifeStance Health, and Webflow.
“At Silversmith, our mission is to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs who have built innovative SaaS & information services and healthcare IT & services companies. For us, that means tenacious founders and CEOs who are relentlessly focused on delivering products and services that provide real, measurable value, and that customers love. We would not be a top growth firm without the hard work they to do each and every day to build great businesses.”—Jim Quagliaroli, Managing Partner
Sageview Capital, LP is a private investment firm with over $2 billion in assets under management. The firm 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, Sageview collaborates with founders and management teams on a custom approach, leveraging the 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 improve operational efficiencies, scale General and Administrative expenses (G&A), build out scale sales & marketing, improve customer success, recruit, hire, and retain top talent, identify M&A opportunities, and help with post-acquisition integration, and/or capital markets and exit opportunities.
Sageview’s partners have over 150 years of combined investing and operating experience and have sat on nearly 80 corporate boards across various market cycles. In addition to a history of successfully scaling many businesses, 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 truly depends on the portfolio’s success. Every investment matters.
“Our strategy at Sageview Capital is to back ambitious entrepreneurs with proven products that are seeking a partner to help them scale and achieve a commanding lead in their industries. We look for companies in which our decades of industry experience, Global 2000 network connections, and operational expertise can have a meaningful impact and help create the industry leaders of tomorrow. We run a concentrated portfolio to ensure we have enough capacity to be actively involved in each investment, and over 20% of our capital comes from the Sageview team to ensure our interests are fully aligned.”—Ned Gilhuly and Scott Stuart, Co-Founders & Managing Partners
Oak Hill Capital is a longstanding private equity firm that has been investing in the North America middle-market for 36 years. Oak Hill began its investment activities in 1986 as the family office of Robert M. Bass. This unique heritage is ingrained in the firm’s culture and is demonstrated by Oak Hill’s extensive history of partnering with world-class entrepreneurs and founder-owned businesses by supporting companies through their next phase of growth.
Oak Hill’s experienced team applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach to investing across four specialized sectors: business services, industrials, media and communications, and consumer. Oak Hill works actively in partnership with management to implement strategic and operational initiatives to create franchise value. Oak Hill’s well-established ESG program and initiatives also play a major role both in the Firm’s investment decisions, as well as in the growth strategy of its portfolio companies.
Since its founding, Oak Hill and its predecessors have raised approximately $20 billion of initial capital commitments and co-investments, and have invested in approximately 100 companies with an aggregate enterprise value at acquisition of over $60 billion. Oak Hill is currently investing out of its latest fund, Oak Hill Capital Partners Fund VI.
“Since Oak Hill’s founding 36 years ago, the Firm’s core values and dedication to being principal-minded investors, in which we emphasize economic alignment, capital preservation, risk management, and corporate citizenship, remain unchanged. Our differentiated theme-based approach to investing and creating value is designed to achieve institutionalized success, which we believe is characterized by consistent, repeatable processes that are scalable and lead to compelling investments in any market environment. We promote a collaborative ‘One Firm-One Mission’ culture, which is exemplified by our extensive history of partnering with portfolio companies and their management teams to build sustainable franchises. It is a privilege to be a part of such a long-standing and impactful firm and to work alongside such a talented team at Oak Hill.”—Brian Cherry, Steve Puccinelli, Tyler Wolfram, Managing Partners
For over two decades, Vista has continued to deliver a differentiated and disciplined approach to investing in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses and today is one of the most active and experienced enterprise software investors globally.
Vista offers compelling capital solutions and the partnership and expertise to help the founders and executives of today’s leading enterprise software businesses innovate, grow and thrive. Founders and CEOs who partner with Vista join an ecosystem of more than 80 companies and over 90,000 employees active in more than 175 countries. To harness the collective power of this network, Vista hosts Best Practice Sharing Summits and portfolio-wide events to promote shared learnings and foster a culture of connection and support.
Companies in the Vista portfolio also gain access to Vista’s Value Creation Team, which comprises more than 100 seasoned enterprise software executives and subject matter experts who provide strategic counsel and hands-on support to enable portfolio executives and their organizations to fuel innovation and unlock opportunity. This dynamic, collaborative approach builds stronger, more resilient businesses with enduring market value.
“At Vista, our passion for partnering with visionary founders and management teams and our conviction in the transformational power of enterprise software create an ecosystem where businesses scale and thrive, and we are pleased to again be recognized as a GrowthCap top growth equity firm.”—Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO
Founded in 2000 as one of the first technology-focused private equity firms, Accel-KKR has since invested in 350+ mid-market software and technology-enabled services businesses around the world. Today, Accel-KKR manages over $14 billion in capital commitments. Accel-KKR has raised four dedicated growth equity funds, including Accel-KKR Growth Capital Partners IV which, at $1.35 billion, was more than double its predecessor fund. The firm stands out amongst its peers for collaborative and supportive partnerships with management while delivering strong results and value creation.
Accel-KKR makes available the full range of the firm’s expertise, network and resources to all its investments. The Accel-KKR operating team is comprised of former software operators and experts that help management teams solve a variety of issues unique to scaling enterprise software businesses. The firm hosts a number of exclusive leadership development programs and operating summits to foster cross-portfolio learning and harness the collective expertise. The trust and momentum built between Accel-KKR and its portfolio of growth capital companies have often led to accelerated growth, global expansions, transformative M&A and market leadership positions for the businesses.
Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority growth investments and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta, London and Mexico City.
Founded in 1995, TCV has built a track record of partnering with private and public technology companies that have developed into global, category-defining players. With $21 billion assets under management, TCV is a flexible, long-term-oriented partner that strives to be the hardest working, most-value-add investor for each of its portfolio companies. TCV has made over 350 investments and has supported 150 strategic transactions, including 79 IPOs. In keeping with its pioneering crossover strategy origins, TCV has re-invested in over 80 percent of its companies at IPO, reasserting its belief in the companies’ prospects for long-term success.
A purpose-built organization, TCV has 50 sector-specific investment professionals. TCV also has 16 venture partners and advisors available to it: a group of tenured technologists who assist across the investment process including sourcing, due diligence, and working hand-in-hand with portfolio leadership teams post-investment. Over time and market cycles, TCV’s principles of thematic investing, emphasis on quality and growth, and relentless focus on partnering with market leaders has remained steadfast. The firm is laser-focused on empowering mission-driven teams to build and scale companies that delight consumers and businesses around the world.
Select investments include: Airbnb, Aviatrix, Brex, Built, Celonis, Clio, Dollar Shave Club, ETQ, Facebook, Miro, Netflix, Nubank, Relex, Revolut, Spotify, and Toast.
“We at TCV believe technology is the world’s great industry, and, since our founding nearly 30 years ago, have had the privilege of partnering with an extraordinary set of entrepreneurs who can see something about the future that others can’t. Rather than measuring success by month or quarter, we take a long-term approach to our partnerships, committing substantial capital, resources, and hard work over many years to help these mission-driven teams realize their vision and achieve category leadership.”—Jay Hoag, Founding General Partner
PSG was founded by Mark Hastings and Peter Wilde in 2014 and has since raised $14 billion in capital. The firm partners with software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities, and build strong teams. Having backed more than 115 companies and facilitated over 420 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a foundational commitment to collaborating with management teams.
PSG helps the entrepreneurs and management teams they invest in grow and scale the visions they have for their companies across a wide range of areas, from go-to-market optimization, talent/recruiting, product strategy, financial planning and analysis, liquidity management, M&A and more. Above all, PSG aims to be a partner that portfolio company founders, CEOs and management teams can trust and rely on.
PSG currently has over 195 employees across offices in offices in Boston, Kansas City, London, Paris, Madrid and Tel-Aviv. From September 2021 to September 2022, PSG made 32 platform investments and 83 add-on acquisitions.
“PSG’s concentrated focus on working with software and technology-enabled service companies allows us to be a dedicated partner to our portfolio companies in helping them scale through organic and inorganic strategies. We apply our team’s collective experience and knowledge base to support entrepreneurs and management teams as they navigate growth opportunities and overcome new challenges. We don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach to working with our partners, and we aim to work closely with CEOs and founders to build bespoke value creation plans that match the needs of their businesses.”—Peter Wilde, Co-founder and Chairman
JMI Equity is a growth equity firm focused on investing in leading software companies. Founded in 1992, JMI has invested in over 175 businesses in its target markets, successfully completed over 110 exits, and raised more than $7.5 billion of committed capital. JMI partners with exceptional management teams to help build their companies into industry leaders.
“JMI Equity is committed to accelerating growth and helping software companies build lasting value. We are honored to be recognized by GrowthCap as a Top Growth Equity Firm.”—Peter Arrowsmith, Managing General Partner
Founded in 1983, Battery is a global, technology-focused investment firm with offices in the U.S., Europe and Israel. The firm practices a collaborative, research-focused style of investing and regularly makes early, growth-equity and buyout investments in the same technology sector.
Battery is now investing its 14th family of funds, capitalized at more than $3.8 billion, and has raised more than $13 billion since inception. The firm’s core areas of focus are business software, enterprise-IT infrastructure, consumer technology and industrial technology. As of November 2022, Battery has invested in 475 companies globally, excluding seed-stage deals; its portfolio has staged 73 initial-public stock offerings and seen 197 M&A events.
The investment staff works together as a single, global unit to evaluate and support potential investments. Every portfolio company—before, during and after an investment—works with a dedicated team of experts to help it grow. In addition to receiving support from board members and the Battery investment team, portfolio companies are supported by a robust portfolio-services organization offering help in areas including executive search, business development, go-to-market, marketing, and other services targeted specifically at growth-stage companies. Battery is also committed to building a strong and cohesive internal culture, and to promoting diversity and inclusion across its network.
“At Battery, we strive to serve as a true partner to technology companies with significant growth potential. We work closely with growing software companies that have achieved product-market fit and now seek to capitalize on the additional runway before them, including by building more robust internal technology infrastructure; pursuing M&A; and recruiting and hiring world-class talent. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with outstanding entrepreneurs and leaders to share our expertise and decades of experience in the global technology markets to advance these companies’ goals.”—Chelsea Stoner, General Partner
Kayne Partners is the growth capital private equity platform of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., a Los Angeles-based alternative asset manager with $33 billion in assets under management. The Kayne Partners team has dedicated equity and debt platforms for investing in lower middle market, privately held, high growth, enterprise software and tech-enabled service businesses across North America. Leveraging its large firm resources, the team has developed a durable and repeatable investment strategy for applying its stage expertise in sourcing and underwriting companies at an early inflection point. Kayne Partners helps accelerate growth by utilizing the team’s experience, its operating partners, and an extensive vendor partner network, as well as scaling through organic growth and M&A. The combination of these factors creates must-have assets that become highly pursued by strategic buyers & financial sponsors.
Across its equity and debt funds, Kayne Partners’ primarily makes $10 to $50 million investments across six core industries—supply chain & logistics, media and telecommunications, financial technology, healthcare IT, security and compliance, and business process automation and outsourcing.
“We are honored to be selected again by GrowthCap as one of the Top 25 Growth Equity Firms. We are thankful to continue partnering with innovative and deeply committed founders and management teams who have built world class companies with clear competitive advantages in their respective industries. We look forward to continuing to partner with teams where our unique combination of experience and resources can have a fundamental impact on the speed at which they can grow. We’re energized by current market opportunities and confident that alongside exceptional entrepreneurs, we’ll continue our successful track record of building the market leaders of the future.” Nathan Locke, Co-Head of Growth Capital
Norwest is a leading venture and growth equity investment firm managing more than $12.5 billion in capital. Since its inception, the firm has invested in more than 650 companies and currently partners with over 230 active companies in its venture and growth equity portfolio. Norwest invests in early to late stage companies across a wide range of sectors with a focus on consumer, enterprise, and healthcare. Norwest’s growth equity team has a long track record of working with the most innovative companies in the following key sectors: technology (cloud & IT infrastructure, Internet & consumer, SaaS), business services, financial services, consumer, and healthcare.
“Our growth equity team has a long track record of working with market-leading companies in technology, business services, financial services, consumer and healthcare industries. Our long-term and flexible approach to partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams allows us to uncover value creation opportunities and help companies achieve their full potential. This recognition is a testament to the work and dedication of our team and the partnerships we’ve built with our portfolio companies.”—Sonya Brown, General Partner
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, healthcare IT, financial technology, infrastructure and security software, and select horizontal SaaS. With a focus on bootstrapped companies, Mainsail leverages experience and resources it believes are relevant to helping 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 70 bootstrapped companies.
“We are honored to be recognized by GrowthCap as one of the Top 25 Growth Equity Firms. We admire bootstrapped founders and respect the companies and cultures they have created. Our team is purpose-built to help these software company founders scale their businesses and achieve their vision. It is a privilege to partner with entrepreneurs and management teams with the goal of building industry leading software companies.”—Gavin Turner, Managing Partner
Five Elms Capital is a leading software investor that invests in and acquires software businesses that users love. Founded in 2007, Five Elms has invested in over 50 software platforms globally and currently has over $1.5 billion in assets under management. With over 60 professionals, Five Elms’ investment, operations, talent, and financial performance teams leverage their collective industry expertise and operational capabilities to help its companies accelerate growth and create long-term value. Five Elms typically invests $5-75 million in companies generating $2-20 million in annual recurring revenue.
“We’ve spent the last 16 years collaborating with founders and management teams to help accelerate growth and drive successful outcomes. By combining flexible capital with value-creation strategies and a unique culture centered around partnership, we aim to achieve strong results at each of our portfolio companies. We are honored to accept this award, and appreciate all of the efforts and support from the Five Elms team, our portfolio companies, and our investors.”—Fred Coulson, Founder and Managing Partner
Founded in 2019, Left Lane Capital is a New York-based global venture capital and growth equity firm investing in internet and technology companies with a consumer orientation. Left Lane’s mission is to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs who create category-defining companies across growth sectors of the economy, including software, healthcare, e-commerce, consumer, fintech, edtech, and other industries. Today, Left Lane has over $2.5 billion in assets under management and has invested in more than 60 companies worldwide. Select investments include GoStudent, M1 Finance, Wayflyer, Bilt, Masterworks, Blank Street, Talkiatry, Tovala, and more.
What sets Left Lane apart is the firm’s foundation, which is built on deep data rigor, specialization in internet-first businesses, pattern recognition, and a genuine philosophy around partnering with founders. To drive value during every step of the investment process, from sourcing to exiting, Left Lane and its companies benefit from the in-house platform which has 200+ operators who work alongside the Left Lane portfolio in marketing, talent, product, engineering, and other strategic focus areas. With offices in New York and London, Left Lane leverages the teams’ diverse networks and experiences to provide lasting value that supports long-term relationships.
“Since its founding in 2019, Left Lane has applied an unwavering commitment to finding and growing category-defining consumer and internet tech businesses. We’re fortunate to work alongside world-class founders as they build products disrupting their respective industries. Our team looks forward to continuing this mission, and we’re honored to be recognized by GrowthCap for our unique approach.”—Harley Miller, Managing Partner & CEO
For more than 25 years, Updata has supported the top entrepreneurs in B2B software. They look for those rare leaders with both a growth mindset and an appreciation for capital efficiency. Updata backs recurring revenue businesses with a repeatable go-to-market engine and strong unit economics. Their companies are lightly capitalized, and are located outside the Bay Area. As a firm, Updata has been fortunate to partner with more than 75 entrepreneurs who share its perspective on what it takes to create exceptional outcomes for customers, employees, and shareholders. Updata closed its most recent fund in 2022 at $608 million, and to date has raised more than $1.5 billion.
“We’re dedicated to partnering with capital-efficient software businesses. We draw on our extensive experience as entrepreneurs, managers, and investors to provide operating expertise to our portfolio companies.”—Jon Seeber, General Partner
“Updata has a hands-on, empathetic, and tailored approach to working with our portfolio companies. Our goal is not only to be great problem solvers, but also to bring creative new ideas to the table.”—Carter Griffin, General Partner
Founded in 2007, Long Ridge Equity Partners is a specialist growth equity firm focused on the financial and business technology sectors. Leveraging deep sector knowledge and an extensive network of industry resources, Long Ridge serves as a value-added partner to high-growth businesses. Since its founding, Long Ridge’s principals have sponsored some of the most successful growth companies in the financial and business technology sectors, providing leading management teams with partnership, strategic resources, and capital to drive profitable expansion. The firm manages over $1 billion of committed capital.
In partnering with bootstrapped, founder-led businesses, Long Ridge has a demonstrated focus on value creation through growth, margin enhancement, and professionalization of its portfolio companies. Long Ridge seeks to add value by providing active, board-level, strategic support centered on growth acceleration (sales and marketing, pricing initiatives), inorganic growth levers (M&A), and enhancement of executive teams and boards.
“Long Ridge is honored to have been selected by GrowthCap as a Top Growth Equity Firm. This recognition is a testament to the exceptional founders and management teams who choose to partner with us in executing their vision. Long Ridge understands the unique challenges and opportunities that emerging leaders face in scaling their businesses, and takes an active, board-level approach to facilitate growth, profitability, and professionalization. We look forward to the continued privilege of supporting world-class companies as they grow and scale.”—Jim Brown, Founder and Managing Partner, and Kevin Bhatt, Managing Partner
Level Equity is a private investment firm focused on providing capital to rapidly growing software and technology-driven businesses. Level provides long term capital across all transaction types in support of continued growth. The firm has raised $3.0 billion in committed capital, has backed over 100 companies since inception, and has offices in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Greenwich, CT.
Level invests across the capital structure in rapidly growing, privately held, capital efficient, technology businesses that it identifies proactively. Level mostly sources its own deals by engaging with thousands of companies to create proprietary investment opportunities.
Level’s Operating Partner team, collectively known as NextLevel Operations, provides value-add strategies that allow it to develop world class management teams, financial sophistication, M&A capabilities, and exit readiness for its portfolio companies.
“We are honored that Level Equity has been named one of the Top 25 Growth Equity Firms for 2022. We are passionate about our work and recognize how privileged we are to partner with so many outstanding founders to accelerate the growth of pioneering software businesses. We will continue to back dynamic founders and managers of innovative and rapid growth software businesses, aiming to be the partner of choice for those who have earned it through exceptional performance across changing market conditions!”—Ben Levin, Co-Founder and CEO
Founded in 2019, Brighton Park Capital (“BPC”) is a growth equity firm that invests globally in entrepreneur-inspired companies in software, healthcare and technology-enabled services. The firm invests in companies that provide highly innovative and disruptive technology. BPC partners closely with experienced entrepreneurs, founders, and management teams to build market leading products and to execute the needed strategies to create important global companies. The firm’s operating centric approach helps these fast growth companies in organizational development, product, go-to-market, business development, and corporate development.
In 2022, Brighton Park completed its second fund, which was oversubscribed, and now manages more than $3.5 billion. The firm is an investor in many industry leading companies, including Paradox, OPSWAT, Indegene, Xsolis, RocketReach, Coralogix and HTEC.
“Brighton Park was founded on the philosophy that close partnership with founders and management helps highly innovative companies drive long-term value, and we believe this unique operational approach is a key component to our firm’s success. We are honored that GrowthCap has recognized our commitment to this strategy by naming Brighton Park a Top Growth Equity Firm in 2022, and look forward to continuing to help our portfolio companies reach their next level of growth in the years to come.”—Mark Dzialga, Managing Partner
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Disclaimer: The data provided in this publication is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, endorsement, nor recommendation. GrowthCap believes the information in this publication to be accurate but does not verify its accuracy independently and does not warrant or guarantee that it is accurate or complete. GrowthCap has no obligation to provide any updates or changes to the information. No investment decisions should be made using this information.
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