Investors & Operators

On this episode of Investors & Operators, 51 Labs assembles a panel of previous and current Independent Sponsors to talk about their experience, give advice to those making the fundless to funded transition, and forecast industry trends.HOSTJordan Selleck | CEO & Co-Founder, 51 LabsPANELISTSRob Bauer | Managing Partner, Bassett Creek CapitalJon Finger | Partner, McGuireWoodsPeter Roushdy | Managing Director, Gladstone CompaniesSheryl Mejía | Managing Partner, Steward Asset ManagementBarry Uphoff | Founder & Managing Partner, Martis Capital

In this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Sheryl Mejia, Managing Partner of Steward Asset Management. Together, they discuss:the benefits of anchor investingadvice to emerging managers...and so much more.SHERYL MEJÍA leads sourcing, diligence, execution, and monitoring of anchor investments targeting newly forming private equity and opportunistic strategies. She maintains a focus on strategies of growing interest to Institutional Limited Partners, ultimately seeking to steward the next generation of alternative asset management leaders.Most recently, she was the Director of Emerging Managers at the New York State Common Retirement Fund, overseeing over $7 billion in commitments to more than 120 smaller and emerging firms. She is passionate about supporting the incubation of owner-manager entrepreneurs, those with a strong record of allocating to small buyout, growth equity, and other private fund strategies.Previously, she was the Managing Partner of Decagon Advisors, focused on the due diligence of smaller private funds as well as supporting the launch advisory practice for newly forming firms. Decagon was formed as a direct result of the evolving needs in her previous role as Macroeconomic and Due Diligence Analyst at KCS Funds, a Fund of Funds. Prior to that, she served in asset management and client-facing roles as a Director at Deutsche Bank (formerly Bankers Trust Asset Management) after beginning her career at KPMG in the Financial Services practice.She holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Honors, from Queen’s University in Canada and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is a CFA charterholder and a Canadian Chartered Accountant. In addition, she serves as Director of the Levy vonWald Foundation, which primarily focuses on literacy initiatives in New York State.

In this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Melanie Brensinger, Founder & Managing Partner of Anagenesis Capital Partners. Together, they discuss:breaking the mold of a small town upbringingthe importance of being your own advocate as a woman in financehow a commitment to fitness conditions you to dream big...and so much more.MELANIE BRENSINGER is a Founder and Managing Partner of Anagenesis Capital Partners. She is a member of the Investment Committee and is responsible for general management of the firm as well as originating, executing, and managing investments. Ms. Brensinger serves on the Boards of various Anagenesis’ portfolio companies. In addition, she is also a Board member of the SBIA Board of Governors, Advisory Board member for the Kayo Credit Series and on the Board of The PIT Foundation.Ms. Brensinger has over 23 years in the leveraged buyout market originating, underwriting, and managing senior debt, junior capital, and equity investments. Prior to founding Anagenesis, Ms. Brensinger was a Managing Director and senior originator at GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services (HFS) where she was responsible for originating and underwriting financings for private equity led healthcare buyouts. During her nine years at GE, Ms. Brensinger originated and closed over 48 new healthcare deals and many other participant transactions aggregating over $2 billion in deal volume. Prior to joining GE Capital, Ms. Brensinger was a Director in the Private Equity Sponsor Coverage Team at Scotia Capital, where she originated and underwrote numerous domestic and international leveraged buyouts in various industries.In 2006, Ms. Brensinger established The PIT Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit foundation, to provide education to children in Kenya. In 2009, Ms. Brensinger was nominated by her peers and selected to receive the Gerald L. Phillippe Award in recognition of her extraordinary record of volunteer service. She was one of only nine recipients selected in 2009 for this recognition from over 300,000 GE employees around the world. In 2012, Ms. Brensinger was nominated and selected for the GE Women in Commercial Program.Ms. Brensinger received her BS from York College with a dual degree in Economics and Finance with a minor in Accounting.

On this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Tarrus Richardson, Founder & CEO of IMB Partners. Together, they discuss:the importance of the "side door" mentalityan early initiation into the entrepreneurial way of lifeIMB's line of thinking around GovCon and MBE certified businesses...and so much more.TARRUS RICHARDSON is the Founder and CEO of IMB which was started in 2010. He has 25 years of private equity experience, has invested over $500 million of capital and completed over 20 platform buyouts and add-on acquisitions.Prior to IMB, Tarrus co-founded ICV Partners, a $440 million minority-owned private equity firm from 1998-2010 and worked at JLL Partners, a private equity firm with over $2 billion of AUM, and Citibank (formerly Salomon Brothers).Tarrus is the founder of the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP), a top leadership development and networking organization based in New York and Los Angeles and a founding board chair of All Star Code, a leading non-profit focused on helping boys of color code.Mr. Richardson received a BS in Accounting from Purdue University (where he has served as the Purdue Black Alumni President and as Student Body President) and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Robert Toigo Fellow.

On this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Barry Uphoff, Founder & Managing Partner of Martis Capital. Together, they discuss:The journey from small-town Nebraska to Rhodes ScholarHow dreams of becoming a physician morphed into PELessons learned from raising a first fund...and so much more.BARRY UPHOFF is Founder & Managing Partner of Martis Capital. Prior to Martis Capital, Barry was a Senior Investment Professional at Silver Point Capital. Prior to Silver Point, Barry was a Director with Trivest where he led the firm’s healthcare investing. Prior to Trivest, Barry was a founding Partner of Diamond Management & Technology Consultants.Barry received a BA in Biochemistry from the Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa. Barry read for a Diploma in Law and an MSc in Medicine at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Barry also received an MBA from the University of Chicago.

On this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Debbie Ackerman, Founder of Project Sunflower and Co-Founder of Twin Bridge Capital Partners. Together, they discuss:founding Project Sunflowerthe necessity for thought-diversitywhy supporting women in finance is so important…and much more.DEBBIE ACKERMAN co-founded Twin Bridge Capital partners and has specialized in middle-market investing for most of her career. In addition, she recently founded Project Sunflower.Prior to co-founding Twin Bridge, Ms.Ackerman was Senior Partner of PPM America Capital Partners, where she was most recently responsible for managing the private equity fund-of-funds business. She also worked on various other private equity and investment activities, including underwriting equity co-investments. Earlier in her career, Ms. Ackerman worked at Heller Financial in assorted private equity and lending positions.Ms. Ackerman currently serves on the board of Specialized Education Services and holds advisory board seats for Goldner, Hawn, Johnson & Morrison V, Calera Capital IV, and Swander Pace Capital Partners IV, as well as numerous other observer seats. She earned her MBA at Northwestern University and her BA in Finance from the University of Illinois.

On this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Edward Crawford (Coltala Holdings) and Sunny Vanderbeck (Satori Capital) to discuss Conscious Capitalism. Together, they cover:the application of conscious capitalism in private equitybalancing margin vs. missionmisconceptions about capitalism... and so much more.SUNNY VANDERBECK is an investor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former military leader focused on accelerating the growth of mid-market companies and creating best-in-class, built-to-last businesses.Sunny is co-founder of Satori Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm founded on the principles of conscious capitalism. By providing real-world insights from its experienced team and long-term funding with no fixed time constraints, Satori acts as a true partner for its portfolio companies as it challenges them to pursue extraordinary outcomes for all stakeholder groups.Before founding Satori, Sunny co-founded and served as CEO of Data Return, a leading provider of managed services and utility computing. The company sustained 40% quarter-over-quarter growth for more than three years and reached a $3 billion market capitalization, making Sunny one of the youngest CEOs ever to lead a Nasdaq-listed company. For more than a decade, Sunny led the company through all phases of growth and transformation, received numerous honors including an “Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist designation from Ernst and Young, and nurtured a conscious culture for all of the business’ stakeholders.His experiences with building, selling, buying back, and re-selling Data Return, along with his subsequent involvement with dozens of private businesses at Satori, led Sunny to publish his first book, Selling Without Selling Out: How to Sell Your Business Without Selling Your Soul. The book serves as a roadmap for business leaders who face the unique challenges and quandaries involved in selling a business or taking on a financial partner. Drawing on hard-won wisdom earned through decades of experience, Sunny and other business founders and CEOs provide pragmatic guidance on navigating the complicated ins and outs of the sale process while preserving what matters most.Prior to founding Data Return, Sunny served as a Section Leader of the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and led technical teams at Microsoft. Both roles helped him learn the value of principled leadership in extraordinarily challenging situations. Sunny continues to share his thoughts on leadership, strategy, business operations, and long-term value creation as a sought-after speaker and as an advisor and board member to several private companies. He is also a long-standing member of YPO (formerly Young Presidents’ Organization), where he served as the North American co-chair of the organization’s sustainable business network and co-founded the YPO Entrepreneurship and Innovation Network, which helps more than 3,500 president and CEO members accelerate the growth of their businesses.EDWARD CRAWFORD is Co-founder and President of Coltala Holdings.  Prior to co-founding Coltala, Edward was a Managing Director at Avesta Holdings, where he led business development activities, identified capital and acquisitions, special situation opportunities and managed key investor relationships. Edward helped build Avesta’s business to include over 320 employees, $1billion in assets and $100 million in revenue.Before joining Avesta, he held the role of Vice President at Goldman Sachs where he spent seven years as an advisor to numerous CEOs, institutions and private company owners. Edward joined Goldman Sachs from the private equity firm Advantage Capital Partners (ACP), a national lower, middle-market, private equity firm. Prior to joining ACP, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic where, at age 23, he founded a four-member coffee cooperative and grew it to include more than 200 coffee farmers with access to global markets. Edward is a TEDx speaker on Servant Leadership and has been highlighted in World View Magazine, Dallas Business Journal, D CEO Magazine, and The Washington Post. Edward was a top 50 under 50 Diversity MBA Magazine winner, A Peace Corps Success Story, U.S Peace Corps, a MACVPAC 40 under 40 Business Leader, and selected as Peace Corps top 40 under 40 on the 40th anniversary of Peace Corps Founding. Edward is a trustee on the Business School Council at The Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, a Co-Founder of War Veterans Fund, and is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.As a U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer, Mr. Crawford served with Special Operations Command South in Latin America. From 2012-2013, he was deployed to Afghanistan as the Tribal and Political Adviser for SEAL Teams Two and Four in support of a Special Operations Task Force. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service.Edward holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and he is an MIT Sloan Leadership Fellow. He holds an MA, GMBA from Tulane University in Latin America Studies / Finance, where he was also a Morton Aldrich Fellow, a FLAS Fellow and a Cowen Scholar. Edward holds a BA from Texas Christian University in English Literature.

On this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Steve Cook, Executive Managing Director of LFM Capital based in Nashville. Together, they chat about:how a life-altering tornado is the best thing that ever happened to himeffective leadership plus emotional availabilitythe lessons (and the baggage) of growing up in an entrepreneurial family…and so much more.STEVE COOK co-founded LFM Capital and brings to the Firm over 29 years of operating experience, having served in a variety of senior executive and functional roles in manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, technology and sales.Prior to founding LFM, Steve was a Principal with TVV Capital (2010-2014), where he directed the portfolio value creation efforts of six portfolio investments, with a focus on operating improvements, management recruiting, leadership development training and performance. Steve also helped to identify investments and served in a leading role on deal negotiations. He also served on the boards of four TVV portfolio companies: INDCO, Critical Solutions International, Big 3 Precision Products, and Bigham Brothers.Prior TVV, Steve was Chief Operating Officer of MFG.com (2009-2010), the world’s largest global online marketplace for the manufacturing industry, where he directed all functions, excluding finance and HR, for a global six-office (U.S., Asia, Europe), 250-employee, fast-growing company.Prior to MFG, Steve spent 11 years as a Southeastern regional Senior Director with The Dell Corporation (1998-2009) serving in a range of executive roles that included GM Dell Nashville Consumer Business and Nashville Site Lead, Director of Manufacturing for Dell’s Nashville Campus, and Director of Dell’s Supply Chain Engineering and Demand/Supply Balancing.Prior to Dell, Steve served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy (1989-1996), where he flew combat missions in support of Desert Shield and was selected to participate in test squadron flying test missions in all Navy/Marine Corps aircraft.Steve received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy, his MS in Electrical Engineering from MIT’s School of Engineering and his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management where he graduated first in his class. He has served for over 21 years as a member of MIT’s Leaders for Global Operations Operating Committee where he speaks to classes annually on executive leadership and career management.Steve and his wife, Shannon, recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary and have three wonderful children, Alexis, Christian and Jackson. Steve and his family love to surf and water ski behind their boat, snow ski, SCUBA and kite surf. Steve also enjoys rowing and Crossfit.

The trailblazing panel of women from It’s Time: Women in Private Equity reassemble to answer questions, share stories, and dive even deeper. HOSTSJordan Selleck | CEO & Co-Founder, 51 LabsJing Li-Selleck | Co-Founder, Head of Creative, 51 LabsCaroline Young | Director of ESG, HKWPANELISTSMelanie Brensinger | Managing Partner, Anagenesis Capital PartnersAlexandra Lebenthal | Senior Advisor, Houlihan LokeyMichelle Noon | Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Clearhaven PartnersGretchen Perkins | Partners, Avance Investment ManagementIvelisse Rodriguez Simon | Managing Partner, Avante Capital PartnersAmy Weisman | Managing Director, Sterling Investment Partners

On this episode of Investors & Operators, Jordan sits down with Tyler Fair, CEO & Co-Founder of SourceScrub, a software platform for the M&A community. Together, they discuss:how to be a founder if you’re not Mark Zuckerbergchallenges of starting a tech platformimportant considerations for a smooth entrepreneurial journey…and so much more.