Wavecrest Growth Partners (Wavecrest) has held the close of its first fund, with over USD190 million in commitments.
Investors include public pension funds, endowments and foundations, fund-of-funds, insurance companies, and family offices. To date, Wavecrest has led investments in three leading B2B software companies.
Founded by partners Deepak Sindwani and Vaibhav Nalwaya, Wavecrest is a growth equity firm that helps capital-efficient B2B technology entrepreneurs outside of Silicon Valley to accelerate their business plans and optimise performance through a combination of capital and real operating knowledge and experience. Wavecrest provides a differentiated combination of best practices to fuel company growth and access to a deep network of proven B2B technology operating executives, both of which the firm has built through working with over 30 operating companies in the last 15 years.
“We are excited by the opportunity to partner with entrepreneurs who have proven their business models but are earlier in their life cycles. These companies are hard for the larger funds to back. Founders at this stage want real partners with sector-focused knowledge and experience who can help them to maximise the value of their market opportunity and to avoid costly mistakes,” says Deepak. “Our target companies are primed to change their respective industries and grow rapidly with the right infusion of strategic advice, team members, and best practices. Our goal is to enable entrepreneurs to realise their greatest potential as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Wavecrest backs B2B technology companies that have a proven product, market, and business model. The fund invests between USD7 million and USD30 million in each company. The Fund has made investments to date in Building Engines, a commercial real estate property management software company serving the largest property owners and operators in North America; Tier1CRM, a vertical CRM software firm serving the world’s largest financial services firms; and SpinCar, a software and technology-enabled services company revolutionising the way cars are discovered and purchased online.
“We started Wavecrest to provide more than just capital to high-growth entrepreneurs,” says Vaibhav. “In our investing and operating careers, we have seen first-hand the growing pains that founders face as they scale a USD5-10 million business to a USD50+ million business. We built Wavecrest to be a transparent, interactive, and value-added partner. We bring the insights, know-how and networks to go deep with our portfolio companies as they make the key strategic decisions related to their go-to-market approach and other areas. We apply our experience and knowledge in a thoughtful manner, working side-by-side with entrepreneurs who remain bullish on the future prospects of their companies.”
Based in Boston, Wavecrest comprises a core team of professionals with deep investing and operating experience in the B2B technology space. Deepak was formerly a Partner at Bain Capital Ventures and gained operating experience at B2B tech companies earlier in his career, while Vaibhav was formerly with Vista Equity Partners’ Foundation Fund and more recently served as CFO of two high-growth, founder-led and private equity-backed B2B technology companies, both of which generated strong returns for their investors.
Gunderson Dettmer served as legal counsel to the fund, and Troy Investment Advisors acted as placement agent for the fund.
