MAKE AN IMPACT

Sean Cantwell

Managing Partner

“I admire  the tenacity and guts of the founders we work with. They possess a level of relentlessness that inspires me to push harder for them. I consider it my personal mission to help them reach their goals. I absolutely love investing, but my favorite part of this job, by far, is the people I get to work with. I strive to have a personal relationship with every founder and every management team I meet.”

Larry Cheng

Managing Partner

"I want to be and believe I am the go-to partner for my founders and CEOs. When things are challenging, I’d like to be the first call because they know I will do anything and everything possible to help support them. When things are going well, I’d like to be there celebrating all of the little and big wins during the journey. I hope to be the most trusted and most impactful partner they can imagine."

Roger Hurwitz

Managing Partner

“I see value in the investment opportunities others may not immediately see. I believe recognizing what’s beneath the surface is extremely powerful. I’ve helped several companies expand into market leaders in their segment by identifying what could be. At the end of the day, I have this passion for helping founders transform their businesses. My love for this job continues to grow. There’s really no other way to do this every day other than with your whole heart all in it.”

Tomy Han

Partner

“The businesses that I get the most excited about are those that have strong relationships with their customers, with a commitment to helping each other grow and improve. What I love most about working with entrepreneurs is the opportunity to form a true partnership – both inside and outside the boardroom.”

Jim Ferry

Principal

“I view investing as a true partnership and not a business transaction. Because of that, I spend the majority of my time on the road meeting entrepreneurs in-person and discussing how Volition can be a value-add partner. All startups have their unique challenges that I strive to understand and come up with tailored solutions to ensure Founders can realize their ambitions.”

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Dave Gordon

Principal

“The businesses that I find most interesting are those unconcerned with the spotlight or accolades and are just singularly focused on dominating their respective categories. My favorite part about this job is having the opportunity to be in the trenches alongside entrepreneurs and play a small part in helping them realize their aspirations.”

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Claude de Jocas

Vice President

"I love meeting with founders that have a deeply personal reason for starting their company. These are the leadership teams that have identified a truly broken customer journey and set out to make things better. These are businesses that are equal parts economics and empathy – how could you not want to help advance that goal?"

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Melanie Jordan

Vice President

Melanie joined Volition in 2022 and works on the Volition Capital Software team.

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Emily Pawlak

Sr. Associate

"What excites me about joining Volition is not only the opportunity to provide passionate founders that extra boost towards their fullest potential, but also the simple fact that I get to identify and work with smart people and great ideas all day, every day."

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Michael Brannan

Associate

"I wanted to work in growth equity because it allowed me the opportunity to work with different founders and companies, helping them to achieve their goals and make a difference in their respective fields."

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Estelle Spanneut

Associate

”Don’t fear failure. Be afraid of not having the chance. You have the chance.”
– Sally, from Cars 3

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Aparajita Chauhan

Analyst

"I am drawn to growth equity because the chance to contribute to the success of businesses that are driven by a genuine passion for their mission is both inspiring and motivating. I believe that the combination of trailblazing founders and dedicated deal teams creates an energetic environment that fosters innovation, resilience, and a shared commitment to achieving exceptional results."

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Hannah Deljkic

Analyst

"I believe in investing time and capital into ideas that not only challenge the status quo but also improve how we interact with the world around us. When used appropriately, technology gives us a set of tools to solve the world’s toughest problems - access to quality healthcare, the growing climate crisis and the threat of cyber insecurity to name a few. I am inspired by audacious founders and am excited to work alongside them to build a better and safer world. "

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Katharine French

Analyst

"What drew me to working at Volition, and specifically within the growth equity space, was having the opportunity at such an early stage in my career to work directly with passionate and innovative entrepreneurs to grow their ground-breaking products and ideas."

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Sinjon Goldberg

Analyst

"The Volition team has a real appreciation for the hard work and grit that goes into starting a business and I am excited to partner with entrepreneurs to help accelerate growth."

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Aaron Hou

Analyst

“Joining Volition allows me to work in an environment and with individuals that value passion and grit – something I think the world has less and less of.”

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Wells Johnstone

Analyst

"I am excited to join Volition because doing work centered around learning and improving is extremely fulfilling to me. Being able to set other people and companies up with long-term success by helping them grow and gain adaptability while experiencing the same thing for myself is an opportunity I can’t get anywhere else.”

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Kevin O’Donnell

Analyst

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours”
- Henry David Thoreau

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Matteo Palacardo

Analyst

"Analyzing and empowering growing businesses led by inspiring, go-getting founders is primarily what drives my interest in growth equity. Joining Volition allowed me to enter an environment in which the investment team matches the ambition behind the founding teams in our portfolio.”

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Luke Phillips

Analyst

"I am captivated by the passion and drive exhibited both by the Volition team as well as the countless founders we interact with. I pride myself in fostering personal, authentic relationships and consider myself a positive collaborator who wants to see all parties thrive – investors, founders, and peers alike."

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Ella Steinhilber

Analyst

“ What drew me to Volition was the opportunity to interact with founders who have a passion for innovation and the drive to reach the potential of their vision. ”

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Henry Stites

Analyst

“ I’m energized by the opportunity to learn from and partner with the passionate entrepreneurs that shape our future. ”

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Carolyn Woll

Analyst

"I was drawn to work in the growth equity field because of the opportunity to interact with passionate founders every day and play a role in growing their companies to the next level. At Volition specifically, I am excited by our focus on creating partnerships with aspirational and authentic founders.”

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Steve Shaffer

Operating Partner

"Throughout my career I have had the privilege of working with gifted and visionary technology entrepreneurs. Building great companies is extremely difficult, but it is work worth doing -- and it takes the right team to be successful. Volition was a great partner for us at Insite Software -- so the chance as an operator to join Volition to support and resource our portfolio founders and executive teams is very exciting and purposeful for me."

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Rob Ketterson

Senior Advisor

Beth Birnbaum

Senior Advisor

"My best work experiences have been in environments where a small group works together to surmount significant challenges. There's something magical about a passionate, scrappy group that organically learns to draw on the strengths of individual members, engage in healthy debate, and then move forward decisively in lockstep. Even with limited resources, teams like that can move quickly and accomplish a great deal."

Michael Giannetto

Senior Advisor

May your heart always be joyful

May your song always be sung

And may you stay Forever young
– Bob Dylan

Mike Wilkens

Chief Financial Officer

"At its core, my role is to provide the reporting and controls every company needs from its finance and accounting team. But, what makes my job interesting and every day a little different is the fast-paced industry we operate within."

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Chris Fahey

SVP, Talent & Human Resources

"Behind every business is an idea, but the success of that idea is the direct result of the humans operating and iterating behind it every day. Working in Talent at Volition, I get to help some of the best operators and leaders take their business to the next level through the addition of world-class talent."

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Pete Keenan

Sr. Finance Manager

"I enjoy the precision of auditing and finance – but there’s something about working toward the common goal of industry impactful investments and exits that makes private equity and venture capital more interesting."

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Kelly Barnum

Talent Manager

“It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”
–Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

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Meghan Smith

Sr. Finance Associate

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Alan Soclof

Marketing & Content Associate

"Being able to work every day with some of the smartest investors and founders in the world is an incredible experience. I could not ask for a better opportunity at this stage in my career."

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Aimee Tashjian

Sr. Executive Assistant

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
-Winnie the Pooh

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Ashley Harding

Executive Assistant

“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know”
– Unknown

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Kristen Murphy

Executive Assistant

“Some results are positive and some are negative, but all of them are data points”
– James Clear

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