We are a new breed of entrepreneurs called mentor capitalists. We operate by providing advice and counsel within a client or portfolio company – often mentoring a senior executive or Board so they can solve difficult problems. Our most important measure of success is that our advice is no longer needed at some point, since the client or portfolio company has learned what we do and how we do it. We are a lean operation, and do not send a client a group of inexperienced junior staff – our most senior people are customer-facing.
We typically work in the following ways. See our Sample Projects page for more detailed examples:
- General Business Advisor – We provide business advice on a wide range of topics to an executive or executive team. In this role, we tend to be on-call 24/7.
- Executive Mentor – We advise a specific executive (or team) in an invisible manner, so that that person is credited with all advancements made.
- Topic Mentor – We help build topic-related capabilities within an organization (for example, Strategic Skills).
- Project Advisor – We support or lead projects within companies, more in a consulting context.
- Transactional Support – This typically includes merger/acquisition support or leadership, including due diligence and deal structure, negotiation and subsequent integration.
- External Board Member
- External Advisory Board Member
- Angel Investor – We sometimes invest directly in our portfolio companies.
- Acquisition – We sometimes get so excited about a company that we invest directly at a control level.
We are not an investment bank or agent, and do not seek funds for growth, although we partner with Funds, Investment Banks and Private Equity Firms. We do provide business support to the investment process.
