Meet the Founders. Learn from their journeys.

Every firm has a journey. Explore insights from the builders we partner with across private markets.

Founder & Managing Partner
Ironleaf Capital

After two decades at well-respected private equity firms, I wanted to build something that reflected my own conviction. Ironleaf was founded on the belief that genuine partnership with management teams produces better outcomes for everyone.
How much of this job is actually “people work”. The deals are the output, but everything upstream is built over years: deal team cohesion, relationships, management team trust, a co-investor network.
Fundraising takes significantly longer than you expect, and it starts before you think it does. The LPs who write your first check are people you have known for years. If you wait until you have a fund to show them, you have already waited too long.
A firm that outlasts any single fund, one that is known for how it treats people as much as for the returns it generates. I want Ironleaf to be a place where exceptional investors build careers and where management teams genuinely want us at the table.

Founder & Managing Partner
Ferghana Investment Partners

I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and knew I wanted to build something with a real sense of authorship. Being part of builds at Sixth Street and MGG gave me a front-row seat to what it takes to create a platform that can scale. Ferghana was the opportunity to take those lessons and execute around a strategy we had conviction in.
The biggest learning has been around the human capital build. Starting a firm requires a team that is not only talented but can operate in an entrepreneurial environment. It takes time to find people willing to take ownership in that kind of setting and ensuring every individual is set up for success in the role.
Every first-time GP learns that the job is much bigger than investing. As the leader, you must build the platform: the team, the operations and infrastructure, the management of a fund itself, and the key relationships. The key is maximizing the return on your time by focusing on what moves the firm forward.
I believe there is a generational opportunity in the core middle market and lower part of the middle market. Founders, entrepreneurs, and family-owned businesses will face critical decisions around liquidity, succession, and growth, and they will need capital partners who understand the nuance of those transitions. We are building Ferghana as a leading platform in that market.