SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 26, 2020) — Mainsail Partners, a growth equity firm that invests exclusively in bootstrapped software companies, announced today that it has reached its hard cap of $500 million for its fifth fund, Mainsail Partners V, L.P., having raised $531 million in total, including general partner and executive fund commitments. The majority of the capital was raised from existing investors with select new investors rounding out the fund. This brings the total amount of capital raised by the firm to more than $1.2 billion since its inception in 2003. The firm intends to use Fund V to continue investing in fast-growing, enterprise software companies in the range of $4 to $25 million of annual revenue.
“We appreciate the continued support of our returning investors and welcome our new investment partners into this fund,” said Gavin Turner, Managing Partner at Mainsail. “Our strategy with Fund V remains the same as it has been since we started Mainsail – partner with exceptional founders of bootstrapped companies and help drive sustainable growth. Maintaining a consistent strategy over the past 17 years has allowed us to build an organization that is specifically designed to help bootstrapped companies scale and succeed in the next phase of growth.”
The firm takes an operational approach to investing by providing hands-on support to its portfolio companies. At the core of this approach is Mainsail’s Operations Team, comprised of former software executives and operators dedicated to working with management teams to help drive growth and long-term profitability. The team is organized around specific functional areas, or “Centers of Excellence”, where software companies tend to need help, including talent, sales, marketing, customer success, finance and product development.
The firm recently expanded its team with three key new hires. Lynn Atkinson was announced as the firm’s first Chief Operating Officer; Phil Stern joined the firm as a Vice President to lead its Sales Center of Excellence; and Erica Curello joined as Vice President of Business Development.
“Closing Fund V at the hard cap is an exciting milestone for Mainsail,” said Turner. “With this new capital, our firm intends to continue funding the next generation of software companies we believe can be industry leaders. In addition to raising the new fund, we have bolstered our team of over thirty investment and operations professionals whose experience and collaborative approach set Mainsail apart. We believe Mainsail is the ideal partner for founders and management teams who have bootstrapped their way to $5 or $10 million in annual revenue, but who want help scaling their business to $50 million and beyond.”
At the end of 2019, the firm announced its first investment out of Fund V, SourceScrub, an information services software platform for the financial services industry. Last month, Mainsail announced the sale of former portfolio company Ncontracts and the sale of a majority of its stake in its portfolio company PestRoutes. Mainsail has invested in over 50 companies since its founding and currently has 15 active portfolio companies
About Mainsail Partners
Mainsail Partners is a San Francisco-based growth equity firm that invests exclusively in fast-growing, bootstrapped software companies. Since 2003, the firm has invested in more than 50 growing companies. Mainsail prioritizes investments in enterprise software companies with compelling business models and at least $4 million in recurring revenue. The firm’s approach to driving value creation is anchored in a dedicated Operations Team that is purpose-built to help founders scale their businesses and accelerate growth. These women and men include former software company operators who leverage real-world experience, repeatable best practices, and a true partnership ethos to support management teams. For more, visit mainsailpartners.com.