Operating depth behind the investment.
Funds, family offices and corporate venture teams in the Twin Cities all back companies in health, industry and software. A founder values the investor who can bring an operator, not only a cheque.
Where an operator helps an investor
It tends to be one of these:
Diligence by someone who has run one
A person who has run this kind of company and can tell whether the plan is credible.
A holding is short of a lead
The finance lead has gone, the next milestone is close and a search will take a quarter.
The company is regulated and the investor is not
A health or device holding needs a leader who can read a quality system, a regulatory plan and a clinical timeline.
No one independent at the table
Investors and founders make up the board, and nobody is there to say the awkward thing.
Investors can draw on operators from our collective of 800+, each vetted for the C-suite and fitted to the portfolio company and its stage: for diligence, a holding without a leader or an independent board seat.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- Adding operational value to investees without taking on management risk
- Giving founders a vetted operator you can refer with confidence
- Supporting several portfolio companies from one standing relationship
- Professionalising an investee while respecting its existing culture
- Staying in your governance role while the engagement is run for you
Not for
- Installing a controlling manager to run the company for you
- A single one-off introduction with no ongoing oversight
- Investors who want to direct day-to-day operations themselves
- A freelancer directory rather than a managed engagement
What investors get beyond a name
After the match we stay with the portfolio engagement, and the collective stays behind the operator.
Progress the sponsor can see
A regular review with sponsor and operator keeps the plan honest and flags slippage before the board does.
Breadth across holdings
Operators can reach across the collective. A question outside their field goes to a colleague who knows it.
Handovers we manage
If an operator departs before the hold ends, a replacement search begins from the plan and brief we keep, with the handover managed by us.
Matched to the deal
A minority stake, a control deal and a corporate venture investment each need a different kind of operator.
The partnership model
One relationship. Portfolio-wide coverage.
Establish the standing relationship
We understand your investment thesis, your portfolio, and the types of leadership gaps most common across your investments.
You introduce us when needed
When a portfolio company needs operational leadership, you make the introduction. We handle everything else.
The right operator, fast
Discovery, matching, scoping, engagement management, and ongoing oversight, without you managing or coordinating it.
Visibility without burden
Lightweight reporting to you, not operational detail, but confidence that the engagement is performing. Investor-grade oversight without investor-level involvement.
Support by investor type
Different investors carry different portfolio needs. We match the operator to the need and manage the engagement, so it never lands back on you.
The operators we embed in your portfolio companies
Every operator is matched to the portfolio company's stage, sector and challenge.
Trusted across
