Growth Investor with GrowthCap‘s RJ Lumba

In this episode, we speak with Kevin Frick, Co-Founder and Partner of Serent Capital, a leading lower-middle market private equity firm focused on investing in high growth service and technology businesses. Serent’s portfolio includes more than 60 founder-led, industry-changing companies that it partners with who are scaling up by using Serent’s toolkit of growth resources. Kevin has a long track record of working with CEOs and their management teams to help their companies achieve their full potential, and has engaged on topics of strategy, organization, sales & account management, marketing and lead generation, product road-mapping, pricing, operations, and mergers & acquisitions. Prior to co-founding Serent, Kevin was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he led McKinsey's West Coast Private Equity practice. He has worked with over 100 companies in a counseling capacity with an exceptional track record of helping management teams achieve bottom-line improvements. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

In this episode, we speak with Rajeev Shah, the Co-Founder and CEO of Celona, the enterprise 5G company that enables a new generation of AI-powered business critical apps in the enterprise and helps organizations accelerate their digital transformation journey. Before founding Celona, Rajeev was the VP of product management and marketing for Federated Wireless, where he launched the industry’s first and leading Spectrum Access System. Prior to Federated, Rajeev held multiple product management leadership positions at Aruba Networks, including creating its Cloud Wi-Fi business. Taking advantage of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum, Celona’s solution architecture is designed to simplify and automate deployment of cellular wireless technology by enterprise IT organizations and managed service providers. The company was born with the idea that a combination of 5G radio technology, edge computing and machine learning software will fundamentally change how organizations work and do business. Celona is backed by Digital Bridge Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Norwest, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and other notable investors. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

In this episode, we speak with Vivek Sunder, CEO of Cuemath, an online supplemental learning platform. Cuemath started in India in 2013 with a mission to transform the way children learn math. The company started as an offline tutoring center with a small group of students but is now the world's leading online math education platform. Backed by marquee investors such as Google and Sequoia, Cuemath is present in 80+ countries today and is trusted by over 200,000 students for all their math needs. Prior to working at Cuemath, Sunder worked for more than two decades at P&G and served as COO of Swiggy, an India-based food ordering and delivery platform. Sunder leads Cuemath’s mission to be a global math powerhouse with 21st century techniques and technology. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

In this episode, we speak with Jim Carlisle, Managing Director of THL Partners, a private equity firm investing in middle-market growth companies across financial technology and services, healthcare, and technology and business solutions. Jim is the Head of the Technology & Business Solutions vertical, the Automation Fund and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Leading a team to develop the firm’s technology practice and build leadership in its automation theme, Jim contributes thought leadership to THL’s Identified Sector Opportunity (ISO) platform and fosters a thriving culture through specialization and professional development opportunities. THL has raised more than $35 billion of equity capital, invested in over 170 companies and completed more than 600 add-on acquisitions representing an aggregate enterprise value at acquisition of over $250 billion. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Value creation and partnership with management, scaling a company through talent and organizational structure, success stories amidst pandemic challenges, the unique approach and combination of art and science in value creation

In this episode, we speak with Maxim Melamedov, the CEO of Zesty, which has developed the next generation of cloud management solutions. Maxim came to Zesty from a prior career in homeland security and is a veteran of the Israeli Air Force. Zesty helps cloud engineering teams to slash cloud costs, maintain perfect app performance, minimize the hassle of managing infrastructure, and fully realize the true flexibility of the cloud. The company has raised over $116 million since its founding and is backed by B Capital, Sapphire Ventures, and other notable investors. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

In this episode, we speak with Ned Gilhuly and Scott Stuart, the founding partners of Sageview Capital, which is a private investment firm with over $2 billion in assets under management focused on enduring software and tech-enabled businesses. Ned and Scott founded Sageview in 2006 after their nearly two decade careers at KKR. Ned joined KKR in 1986 in San Francisco and rose to establish and oversee all aspects of KKR’s business in Europe as well as serve on KKR’s Investment Committee. Scott joined KKR in 1986 in New York, and rose to become responsible for the utilities and consumer products industry groups as well as serve on KKR’s Investment Committee. Historically, the Sageview team has been the single largest investor in every fund, making up over 20% of its invested capital. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

In this episode we speak with Saar Safra, CEO and Co-Founder of Beewise. 75% of all the fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts that we consume around the globe are pollinated by bees. We’re talking for 8 billion people. Beewise’s mission is to help beekeepers pollinate and produce honey by saving their bees, utilizing modern technology. The company has redesigned the beehive with today’s technology providing climate & humidity control, pest control, autonomous swarm prevention, automated harvesting and real-time problem alerts. The company has raised over $120 million from leading investors including Insight Partners, Corner Ventures and other notable firms. Saar is a seasoned entrepreneur and has had three successful exits from the five companies he founded prior to Beewise. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

In this episode, we speak with Pawan Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Fashinza, a next generation supply chain and a fashion marketplace for brands and manufacturers. The platform supports everything from design to delivery, with end-to-end production and merchandising support. It provides direct access to vetted suppliers, real-time production tracking, digitized assembly lines, and data driven quality control. Previously, Pawan co-founded Curofy, which today is the largest network of Doctors in India.  Curofy was acquired by a large US corporate, Edifecs, in an all-cash deal in 2017. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to subscribe and drop us a comment.

In this episode, we speak with Matt Schwartz, Co-Founder and CEO of Afresh. Afresh is on a mission to reduce food waste globally by transforming the fresh food supply chain. The company builds AI-powered solutions that meet fresh food’s many challenges to optimize grocery retail forecasting, ordering, and operations. Matt co-founded Afresh in 2016 while pursuing his MBA at Stanford.  He began his career as a consultant with Bain & Company. Afresh has raised approximately $150 million and is backed by Insight Partners, Spark Capital, Walter Robb and other notable investors. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to subscribe.