Peterson Partners

What Peterson Partners does

Peterson Partners is an independent, privately-held alternative investment manager founded by Joel Peterson in 2004 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. The firm operates three distinct investment strategies through dedicated sub-brands: Peterson Private Equity (lower middle market growth and buyout investments of $10-25 million in companies with $5-100M revenue and $2-20M EBITDA across software, business services, healthcare, consumer, transportation, and industrial sectors), Peterson Ventures (pre-seed and seed investments of $250K-$2.5M with follow-on capital in FinTech, SaaS, Digital Commerce, and Consumer Tech), and Peterson Search Partners (entrepreneurship-through-acquisition investments of $500K-$5M in business services, software/internet, and healthcare). The firm manages over $2.0 billion in assets under management across these strategies and has invested in more than 300 companies over its 20+ year history, including notable names such as Allbirds, Bonobos, Lucid Software, solidcore, Packsize, Vivint, Ethos, Jump, and Clutch.

The firm's revenue model follows standard private equity economics: management fees on committed and invested capital across multiple fund vintages (most recently Fund X at $265 million closed in May 2024, Peterson Ventures Fund IV at $140 million closed in 2023, and Search Partners Fund II at $100 million), plus carried interest on realized profits from exits. Distribution and deal sourcing are entirely relationship-driven through the firm's network of CEOs and operators — there are no intermediaries, placement agents, or third-party distribution channels. The firm employs approximately 11-50 staff, predominantly Partners, Vice Presidents, Senior Associates, and Analysts with backgrounds at Goldman Sachs, KKR, Bain, Deloitte, PwC, Credit Suisse, AppFolio, and Harvard/Stanford MBAs, supplemented by an in-house Talent Partner, Strategic HR Advisor, and Operating Partner (Sara Milligan, formerly of AppFolio and KKR) to support portfolio companies post-investment.

The firm's competitive positioning rests on a "people-first" investment thesis articulated by founder Joel Peterson, who teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford Graduate School of Business and serves as Chairman of JetBlue. Marketing channels are non-traditional: a podcast ("Running Stuff" featuring portfolio founders), an annual Investor & CEO conference in Park City, thought leadership publications, and the founder's Stanford platform. The firm does not operate proprietary technology platforms; its differentiation is operational coaching, network access, and long-term partnership orientation rather than financial engineering or technology-enabled investing. Recent activity through early 2026 indicates continued capital deployment, including Series B participations in AI-adjacent companies (Jump, Clutch) and a successful exit at Govineer Solutions to TA Associates.

Name

Peterson Partners

Legal name

Peterson Partners

Website

https://petersonpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Peterson Partners is an independent Salt Lake City-based alternative investment manager founded in 2004, deploying $10-25M in lower middle market PE, $250K-$2.5M in seed-stage venture, and $500K-$5M in search fund investments across more than 300 companies and $2.0 billion+ in AUM.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity & Alternative Asset Management

NAICS

Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Equity Buyout Fund-of-Funds (FSANAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Secondary Venture Funds (VC Secondaries) (FSANAAAK), Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAAAJ)

Keywords

• Private equity investments
• Venture capital funding
• Search fund investments
• Growth equity capital
• Alternative asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Private Equity Returns: Peterson Partners generates returns through equity investments in portfolio companies, typically taking minority or majority stakes in lower middle market businesses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Peterson Partners is an independent investment management firm that deploys capital across three alternative asset strategies: Private Equity (growth and buyout investments of $10–25M in lower middle market companies with $5–100M revenue and $2–20M EBITDA), Venture Capital (pre-seed and seed investments of $250K–$2.5M in FinTech, SaaS, Digital Commerce, and Consumer Tech startups), and Search Funds (entrepreneurship-through-acquisition investments of $500K–$5M). The firm manages over $2.0 billion in assets across these strategies and has backed more than 300 companies over a 20+ year history.

Product overview

Peterson Partners is an independent investment firm offering three distinct investment strategies: Private Equity (growth and buyout investments in the lower middle market), Venture Capital (early-stage investments in startups), and Search Funds (entrepreneurship-through-acquisition). The firm manages over $2 billion across these strategies and has invested in more than 300 companies. Fund X is the most recent Private Equity fund at $265 million.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Private Equity

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record.

• Mike FabrizioOthers · 31 March 2026Joining Black Mountain Software (Peterson portfolio company) management team as Co-CEO from Accel-KKR investment team.
• Nate QuinnOthers · 31 March 2026Joining Black Mountain Software (Peterson portfolio company) as Co-CEO from Menlo Ventures investment team.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sorenson Capital: Salt Lake City-based growth equity and venture firm focused on B2B SaaS, fintech, and enterprise software. Highly comparable to Peterson Ventures in stage focus, geography, and co-investment relationships.
• Mercato Partners: Salt Lake City private equity firm investing growth equity in lower middle market companies across consumer, software, and healthcare. Directly comparable in geographic base, check size, and stage focus to Peterson Private Equity.
• Solamere Capital: Salt Lake City-based private equity and venture capital firm with similar lower middle market focus and Utah/Mountain West orientation. Closely comparable in AUM scale, multi-strategy structure, and entrepreneur-focused investment philosophy.
• Frontier Capital: Charlotte-based growth equity firm investing in lower middle market software and tech-enabled services companies. Comparable in stage, check size, and sector focus to Peterson Private Equity.
• Brentwood Associates: Los Angeles-based private equity firm focused on growth-oriented lower middle market companies with $5-25M EBITDA. Directly comparable to Peterson Private Equity on check size and growth equity orientation.
• EPIC Ventures: Salt Lake City-based venture capital firm investing across software, digital media, and enterprise technology. Comparable to Peterson Ventures in geography and early-stage focus.
• Pelion Venture Partners: Utah-based early- and growth-stage venture capital firm. Directly comparable to Peterson Ventures on stage focus and sector overlap; has participated alongside Peterson in rounds like Jump's Series B.
• Signal Peak Ventures: Salt Lake City venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies. Comparable to Peterson Ventures' early-stage strategy with overlapping LP base and Mountain West deal flow.

Broad incumbents

• KKR: Global alternative asset manager with $500B+ AUM. Broad incumbent with overlapping PE strategy at much larger scale; relevant because Peterson operating partner Sara Milligan is a KKR alumna.
• Insight Partners: Global software-focused venture and growth equity firm. Broad incumbent that has co-invested with Peterson Partners in Jump's $80M Series B, validating Peterson's positioning as a respected junior partner in growth deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeopen.spotify.com/show/5waHr4wRGADo5DwZEp7OBW?si=a6c805c4e041458f
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peterson-partners
• Xx.com/PetersonPrtnrs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments26 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Peterson Partners