I started this firm because I wanted to create wealth for people. I could invest in the way I felt was best—long-term. Investing in the IPO of an innovative local technology company solidified my conviction; I believed that company would change how the world worked and did business. It did.

The art in our investing is people. You can’t model the values of a founder, or their commitment to success, in Excel. Those are incalculable. But with research, listening, and boots-on-the-ground visits,  we work to understand those attributes.

In our search for investments, founder-led is nearly a must-have for us. It allows for more efficiency in decision making. A controlling founder can do things with short term ramifications for long-term gain. They’re not worried about being fired by a board.

One of our culture and performance secrets is: hire smart people of great character but little experience in the finance world. They’re a blank canvas to teach how we invest. The educational system is so focused on arrears, cash flow, and positive earnings. It refuses to look at things differently – it can’t, the books haven’t been written.

My single mother pretty much raised me. She couldn’t go to college but made sure all her daughters did. She showed me that I could control one thing: my work ethic. I worked in the raspberry fields, moved up to the cannery, canning raspberries, strawberries, jam.