About
We provide capital and strategic partnership to values-driven, market-leading companies and funds with potential for outsized returns for all stakeholders.
We currently have four main practice areas. First, we invest directly in profitable, lower middle market companies with $10 million to $100 million in revenue, and $3 million to $20 million in owner’s earnings. Second, we invest directly in promising, early-stage technology companies across Seed and Series A stages. Third, we invest in publicly traded companies. Finally, we use a fund of funds strategy to invest in venture and private equity fund managers through primaries, secondaries, co-investments, and GP stakes.
We are distinct in our values-driven approach to investing, our ability to hold investments long term, our willingness to customize solutions to owner needs, and the excellence with which we execute through disciplined strategic, operational, and financial partnership.
Markets
We invest in four market segments.
Private Equity
Sovereign’s Capital provides a range of capital solutions to lower middle market companies with revenues between $10 million and $100 million, and owner earnings of $3 million to $20 million.
We make majority investments for ownership transitions and leadership successions. We also make minority investments for growth, acquisitions, and partial shareholder liquidity.
Some of our industry interests include services (industrial, commercial, consumer), education (skilled trades, specialized training), health & wellness (fitness, analytics, home care services), specialty manufacturing (unique products and industrial services), and software (specialty, B2B, mission critical).
Venture Capital
Sovereign’s Capital partners with growing venture stage companies operating in expanding markets in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.
We invest in early Seed stage companies with clear differentiators, to include data moats, complex or deep technologies, sticky customer relationships, or other sources of value. We also invest in late Seed and Series A companies with demonstrated traction and economic moats.
We have a broad range of industry expertise, with a bias for industries where our partners and advisors have relevant experience. These include B2B software, healthcare IT, B2C software, and tech-enabled goods and services. We typically deploy $250,000 to $1 million per investment, and we work closely with portfolio companies to provide targeted strategic and operational partnership.
Public Equity
Sovereign’s Capital invests in public companies led by values-driven teams that have built unique cultures designed to promote human flourishing and financial performance.
We are U.S.-focused and invest across nearly all industries and market capitalizations. We seek to deliver investment performance by coming alongside the highest caliber management teams. We aim to deliver impact by serving the leadership of companies in which we invest by providing examples of best practices that encourage exceptional cultures and market-leading performance.
Fund of Funds and Co-investing
Sovereign’s Capital Access Fund invests in private equity and venture funds, with a focus on funds managing $25 million to $500 million in assets.
We invest in primaries, secondaries, GP stakes, and direct deals across venture and private equity, both in the U.S. and abroad. We prioritize managers focused on strategies that promote human flourishing for customers and employees alike, with primary focus in healthcare, human performance (e.g. wearables), education, small business, and technology. Our commitment is to both market leading returns and strong values.
Criteria
We evaluate all investment opportunities with the following criteria in mind

Team First
We partner with people first. We work hard to understand the vision that each business leader has for creating extraordinary value for all stakeholders well into the future.

Defensible Advantages
We partner with companies that have economic moats. They have an edge based on operational excellence, technological barriers, long-term customer relationships, dominant market share, or other sustainable competitive advantages.

Growth Focus
We partner with leaders seeking expanded impact. We are growth-minded and invest in companies with highly scalable business models.

Thriving Culture
We partner with leaders who view culture as a competitive advantage. Our leaders take pride in and have evidence of cultures that delight all stakeholders – employees, families, customers, vendors, and others.

Proven Performance
We partner with businesses that have sustained results. These companies have proven track records of financial success, with the strategic and operational focus to maintain results for the long term.
portfolio companies
Venture Capital
- All
- Current
- Exited
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CLOUDFACTORY
Cloudfactory is a scalable human-in-the-loop workforce to accelerate your artificial intelligence initiatives and optimize business operations.
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GRAB
Grab is Southeast Asia’s leading superapp. It provides everyday services like Deliveries, Mobility, Financial Services, and More.
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XENDIT
Xendit is the leading payment gateway for Indonesia, the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
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IMMERSED VR
Immersed VR connects distributed teams through a shared VR workplace and collaboration tools to maximize productivity. -
SPRINGBUK
Springbuk is the leading employer-facing health analytics software that helps forecast cost and improve population health with confidence.
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MAXWELL
Maxwell is a digital mortgage platform and value-added services designed exclusively for small to midsize mortgage lenders.
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Charityvest
Give to any charity with your Charityvest Fund. It’s simple, secure, and free: 100% of your donation goes to the charities you care about. -
BANDWIDTH
Bandwidth is a VOIP-as-a-service platform that hosts voice calls for many large tech companies. Bandwidth spun off Republic Wireless and underwent an IPO in November 2017.
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THRIVE FARMERS
Thrive is a coffee distribution company that connects the farmer directly with the final consumer through a new model of supply chain management and customer engagement.
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Apollo
Apollo is a debit card that rewards consumers with stock. Every swipe earns guaranteed fractional shares plus a chance to win big with a full share of their favorite stocks.
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Atlas
Atlas is building the operating system for restaurants, focusing on Southeast Asia — the easiest way to start, run and grow any restaurant online and offline.
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ArenaCX
ArenaCX is a global marketplace connecting brands with outsourcing providers worldwide and revolutionizing the BPO industry.
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Acre
Acre is a real estate technology company fundamentally changing the way people purchase and care for homes, allowing them to purchase only as much as makes sense for them.
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BRIDESTORY
Bridestory is a leading online wedding vendor directory in SE Asia. In 2019, the company was acquired by Tokopedia.
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LOKET
Loket is the leading event management, ticketing and data analytics company in Indonesia. In 2017, the company was acquired by GoJek.
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FIRST
First uses artificial and predictive intelligence on when and why people move to predict sales and marketing. In 2019, it was acquired by RE/MAX.
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FIVESTARS
Fivestars provides a platform that offers loyalty, marketing, payments, and other services to small merchants and businesses. In 2021, it was acquired by SumUp.
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Flightcontrol
Flightcontrol makes it easy for developers to deploy scalable, secure applications without any DevOps. Flightcontrol provides a layer on top of AWS that makes it very easy to use and lets them take advantage of the raw power of AWS.
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410 MEDICAL
410 Medical developed a simple, intuitive solution that allows a single healthcare provider to rapidly deliver fluid to critically ill patients, improving care and saving lives.
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Ardius
Ardius helps companies easily claim federal and state R&D tax credits. In 2021, it was acquired by Gusto.
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Anutra Medical
Anutra Medical is a medical company focused on dentistry with a device enabling quicker onset of numbness and simplified use of pharmaceuticals.
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CLADWELL
Cladwell enables users to create and maintain capsule wardrobes to reduce clutter and embody their personal style, helping them create and share outfits with ethically sourced, quality clothes.
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CONCERT GENETICS
Concert Genetics is a healthcare technology company dedicated to making genetic testing more transparent and efficient for stakeholders across the healthcare system.
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COVIE
Insurance Data Made Simple. Covie is the easiest way to integrate insurance data from your users without having them leave your own web app.
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EMPLOYUS
EmployUs is a crowdsourced employment referral platform in which users refer prime candidates for job postings around the country, and companies pay out fees for successful hires. In 2021, it was acquired by Hireology.
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FRINGE
Fringe is the world’s first platform for personalized Fringe benefits, saving companies time and money by providing hundreds of life-impacting benefits without the hassle.
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GoCheck
GoCheck Kids helps primary care networks implement cost-effective and bidirectionally integrated pediatric vision screening.
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goKampus
goKampus is an all-in-one app for university students’ campus needs from applications, scholarships, loans, and required campus materials. For universities and corporate partners, goKampus provides instant admission, marketing, tuition payments, and internship programs.
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HACKTIV8
Hacktiv8 provides immersive, rapid education for developers with always updated curriculum to build skill in the latest software and professionalism for the technology industry.
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HUNTCLUB
Hunt Club is a new category of search firm that leverages the power of relationships and referrals to find you the best talent. Our technology transforms thousands of subject matter experts into the world’s most powerful talent network.
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Hypernet
Hypernet is a protocol for high performance computing across a distributed network of devices.
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Hydra
Hydra provides cross-cloud capabilities with a single API to deploy and host your apps across all public cloud providers, private clouds, or both. Whether security, resilience, or scale focused, they can help.
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IFASHION
iFashion is an online fashion and lifestyle retailer company. The company offers a platform which helps online fashion retailers with various business and market knowledge services including marketing, logistics, warehousing, sales fulfillment and financial services.
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KAMMOK
Kammok is an innovative outdoor brand for the socially conscious adventurer. Their high-quality hammocks and other products are available in REI and on their website.
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Kno Global
Kno Global’s vision is to humanise the supply chain, converting real-time transparent data from factory workers into actionable insights for factories and brands.
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LIQUIDIA TECHNOLOGIES
Liquidia is a biopharmaceutical company transforming the development of new therapies by precisely engineering drug particles.
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MAN CRATES
Man Crates is a gift company focused on gifts for men with inventive gifts for birthdays, first time dads, sports fans, grill masters, and more.
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Nimbly Technologies
Nimbly is a mobile solution that transforms manual operational processes into real-time actionable information. By digitizing manual checklists and converting data into insights, Nimbly enables organizations to manage their operations anytime, anywhere.
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Paraclete
Paraclete is the world’s first SoulCare* platform connecting employees to on-demand, confidential conversations to pursue a thriving life at work, home, and everywhere in between.
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Pigeon Loans
Pigeon Loans is a global lending platform that facilitates the creation and management of loans between friends, family, loved ones, and people who trust one another. Pigeon Loans seeks to empower individuals to borrow and lend money with the people they trust.
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PRINTEROUS
Printerous is an online platform producing the finest quality printed goods. They offer a suite of products for personal, business, and artistic printing needs.
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REBELWORKS
Rebelworks is a software development lab that offers premium outsourced programming work for companies. As a major hub of technical talent in Jakarta, Rebelworks also incubates its own projects.
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RELAY
Relay helps you stay connected with features like GPS tracking, geofencing, SOS emergency alerts and handheld push-to-talk communication
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REVBOSS
RevBoss is a SaaS (software as a service) product that quickly identifies a large base of qualified sales leads, and helps companies manage relationships with these prospective customers.
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Safer Management
Safer Management is a software company that accurately tracks student attendance data with the power of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
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SHOTTRACKER
ShotTracker aims to improve the performance of competitive basketball players of all ages through our individual and team products.
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SOAPBOX
SoapBox is a consumer products company that makes natural soaps and shampoos. For every product sold, a bar of soap or a month of clean water is given to a person in need.
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Sprout
Sprout is a stakeholder management software and solution that helps companies digitally manage Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOP), fundraising and stakeholders.
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SUMMIT HEALTHCARE
Summit Healthcare is a training and simulation company focused on continuing medical education, life support simulation, and effective human resource consulting for healthcare professionals in SE Asia.
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TADA
TADA provides an end-to-end customer retention platform for businesses to accelerate growth, improve sustainability, and maximize customer lifetime value.
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THREADLOOM
Threadloom’s mission is to restore authenticity to the Internet, beginning with shopping. It’s the maker of Primary, a browser extension that takes unfiltered, raw product reviews buried deep in forums all over the web and brings them to shoppers in an easy-to-use interface.
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Titipku
Titipku is a grocery delivery platform for Southeast Asia’s local markets with a groceries marketplace, delivery, and pickup services.
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Yummy Corp
Yummy Corp is an innovative corporate food and cloud kitchen management company, in partnership with the most exciting food brands in Southeast Asia.
Private Equity
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BASESIX
Basesix is a technology integrator offering networking products to make buildings, campuses, and environments safer, smarter, and simpler.
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SOUTHEAST LINEMAN TRAINING CENTER
STLC is the premier training school for apprentice lineworker training; consistently producing an elite group of highly trained and certified graduates.
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RESTOREPRO
RestorePro is a commercial and residential fire, water, and mold restoration services business operating primarily in the central and eastern regions of North Carolina.
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Camp Gladiator
Camp Gladiator is one of the fastest growing outdoor and virtual group fitness programs in the US, with programs across 14 regions in 300+ cities.
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Valor Environmental
Valor Environmental provides Best Management Practice (“BMP”) field services, including installation of erosion control products, street sweeping, site maintenance, and other ancillary services.
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Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus
Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus was founded in 2001 and is the largest seller of used fire trucks in the country, moving over 500 trucks annually. The Company serves a crucial part of our nation’s infrastructure and allows fire departments to stay fully prepared to serve and rescue people.
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Cornerstone Support, Inc.
Cornerstone Support manages the complexity of navigating, applying for, and monitoring various licenses for collections industry companies.
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Gaskins + LeCraw
Gaskins + LeCraw combines the expertise of Gaskins Surveying and the talent of LeCraw Engineering into a dominant civil/survey firm in the greater Atlanta market.
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RECORD CONNECT
Record Connect efficiently delivers client records management services in an ever-changing healthcare environment.
Team
Our investment team is made up of operators with industry and regional expertise.
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Luke Roush
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Luke Roush
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Luke Roush co-founded Sovereign’s Capital in 2012, and is a Managing Partner for the firm. While living in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta from 2013-2016, he opened the fund’s operations in Asia. Prior to Sovereign’s Capital, Luke had twelve years of experience in global commercialization and business development at venture-backed and Fortune 500 companies. He was Vice President for Sales, Marketing, and Business Development at TransEnterix (NYSE:TRXC), a medical device company that developed and commercialized a minimally invasive surgical system in the US, Europe, and Asia. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Liquidia Technologies (NSDQ:LQDA), a nanotechnology company focused on biopharmaceutical applications. Earlier in his career, Luke held sales and marketing roles of increasing responsibility at Boston Scientific and Newell Brands. He also co-founded 410 Medical, a medical device company focused on pediatric emergency care. Luke currently serves on the board of directors for Bandwidth (NSDQ:BAND). He graduated summa cum laude from Duke University, and later earned his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business. Luke resides in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Brooke, and their three children.
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John Coleman
Managing Partner
John Coleman
Managing Partner
John Coleman is Managing Partner of Sovereign’s Capital.
Previously, John held a variety of leadership positions at Invesco, Ltd., including Head of Invesco Private Capital Partners, COO of Private Markets, CAO of Global Institutional Client, and global Head of Strategy and Business Planning.
Other past professional experience includes positions in energy arbitrage, consulting, asset management, and housing and community development with McKinsey & Company, Bridgewater Associates, and the Housing Partnership Network. He has a passion for education and has served on a number of boards related to both K-12 and higher education.
John is a frequent writer and public speaker, with a recurring series of articles at Forbes and HBR, and he has previously published two books. His third book, The HBR Guide to Crafting Your Purpose, will be published in January of 2022.
John is a summa cum laude graduate of Berry College, a graduate with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School where he was a Dean’s Award winner and Class Day Speaker, and a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School where he was both a Zuckerman and a George Fellow. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Jackie, and their four children.
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Henry Kaestner
Co-Founder and Partner
Henry Kaestner
Co-Founder and Partner
Henry Kaestner is a co-founder and partner of Sovereigns Capital, an investment fund that invests in the United States and Asia. Previously, Henry was the Co-Founder and previous CEO, and then Chairman of Bandwidth.com (NASDAQ:BAND), along with Republic Wireless he grew with his best friend and business partner, David Morken. The values of Bandwidth have always been: Faith, Family, Work and Fitness (in that order). Bandwidth was the 4th fastest growing privately held company in the country from 2003 through 2007, a position it achieved without acquisition or institutional funding. Prior to co-founding Bandwidth, Mr. Kaestner founded Chapel Hill Brokers (a predecessor to ICAP Energy), an institutional energy derivatives broker that became the top ranked electricity broker in the country. Mr. Kaestner has also been involved in a number of ministry and philanthropic activities. He co-founded Faith Driven Entrepreneur, Faith Driven Investor, and DurhamCares. Additionally, Henry serves as an elder in the Presbyterian Church of America, serves on various ministry and business boards along with the board of Valley Christian Schools in San Jose. Henry lives in Los Gatos, CA with his wife Kimberley and their three sons.
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Jake Thomsen
Managing Partner, Venture Capital
Jake Thomsen
Managing Partner, Venture Capital
Jake has 16 years of experience in operations and advisory roles spanning from start-ups to public companies. As AVP of Bank of Hawaii, Jake oversaw sales, operations, customer engagement, and marketing for a regional team, with a focus on providing advice and growth capital to local entrepreneurs. He spent four years as an independent consultant, delivering strategy and operations advisory services to start-ups and small companies in the U.S. and Africa. Clients included a distributed solar energy company in Tanzania, a technology commercialization firm in North Carolina, and an innovative credit union with offices across the U.S. As Lead Associate in the Strategic Innovation Group of consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Jake launched and managed a SaaS cybersecurity risk product for large IT organizations, and led business development for energy offerings in Jakarta, Indonesia. He also helped to stand up the Internet of Things (IoT) division, which develops and delivers IoT products and services to Fortune 100 clients. Jake serves as a Partner at Sovereigns Capital. He lives in Durham, NC, with his wife Lauren and twin children Blaise and Vivian. He serves on the boards of Little Lights Urban Ministries and Trinity Fellows Academy. Jake graduated magna cum laude in Economics from Pomona College, and later earned an MBA from The Fuqua School of Business and an MPP in international development from the Sanford School of Public Policy.
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Michael Tremain
Managing Partner, Lower Middle Market
Michael Tremain
Managing Partner, Lower Middle Market
Michael Tremain is a Partner at Sovereign’s Capital where he concentrates on investment sourcing and portfolio management with a focus on lower middle market opportunities. His career includes stints with TrinRock Capital, Andersen Consulting, the Walt Disney Company, Hard Rock Cafe International and he has led a number of privately held companies in the technology, wholesale distribution, oil & gas, healthcare, residential construction and commercial services sectors.
Michael earned his BS in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MS in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics. He and his wife, Kristin, and four children live in Lookout Mountain, Georgia and attend Rock Creek Fellowship. Michael is a member of C-12 Group and the CEO Forum and also serves on the board of directors of the New Canaan Society.
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Kevin Sutantyo
Partner, Venture Capital Asia
Kevin Sutantyo
Partner, Venture Capital Asia
Mr. Sutantyo is a natural problem solver, well balanced in analytical skills as well as relationship and consensus building. Raised in Jakarta till his late teen years, he then lived in the US for 15 years, developing an understanding of life in both countries. Kevin received a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego in 2002 and immediately worked in a related field with the Northrop Grumman Corporation. He then ran a small biotech manufacturing and distribution enterprise in Phoenix, AZ and Milwaukee, WI for 5 years till he returned to Indonesia in 2010. Kevin has been active in Angel investments in both Indonesia and Silicon Valley since 2009, giving him experience in early stage companies and the different nuances of investing in the different regions. He is engaged in multiple mentoring programs, school development projects and other non-profit related activities. Kevin is actively involved in various ministries in International English Service church in Jakarta, most recently finishing a term as a deacon. Kevin and his wife, Nathalia, live in Jakarta with their children, Caleb and Thalia.
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Phil Jung
Partner, Venture Capital
Phil Jung
Partner, Venture Capital
Phil Jung is a Partner on the venture team at Sovereign’s Capital.
Phil was previously the Chief Financial Officer and Chief People Officer at Mindoula Health, a next generation population health company that deploys tech-enabled teams to deliver 24/7 care to populations facing behavioral health and medical challenges. Phil led the company through multiple rounds of equity and debt financings and helped scale the organization from 65 to 325+ employees across 40 states.
Prior to joining Mindoula Health, Phil led investments at the Maryland Venture Fund, a multi-stage venture capital firm in Maryland. He also worked for Foundation Capital, an early- and growth-stage tech fund based in California, and TDF Ventures, an enterprise markets focused early-stage fund based in Washington, DC.
Phil started his career at KPMG’s Risk Consulting practice in the Silicon Valley where he specialized in software asset management for Fortune 500 clients. Phil also co-founded the Jeremy Lin Foundation, a Palo Alto based non-profit whose mission is to love and serve overlooked AAPI and cross-racial youth by supporting comprehensive programs through narrative change and community empowerment.
Phil graduated with honors from UC Berkeley where he received a BA in Economics and earned his MBA with honors from Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and son.
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David Tjokrorahardjo
Partner
David Tjokrorahardjo
Partner
David Tjokrorahardjo is a business leadership coach, a communicator of ideas, a multi-national entrepreneur, and an investor. Born and raised in Medan, North Sumatra, David is the third child of Soetekdjo Tjokrorahardjo and Lanny Riady. At an early age, David established a few business operations. His early works included Bengkel Cakra and Global Mandarin Centerindo, which were sold in 2005. He then pursued his Bachelor degree at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey majoring in Business & Technology. During that time, he met his wife, and together they started Heartbead New York, a fashion jewelry retailer. The business sold in 2007.
In addition to being a Partner at Sovereign’s, David is the Managing Partner of Sekata Indonesia Perkasa (SIP), a business leadership coaching company focusing on organizations that want to put focus on customer satisfaction, employees growth and scaleable & sustainable leadership. David has a vision of “Sekata Indonesia Perkasa”. He believes that to become a world-class leader, the leader must discover and develop its strengths to become excellent, live an integrated lifestyle and contribute wherever the leader lives.
David actively serves at Jakarta Praise Community Church as a leader and teacher. He has been happily married to his wife, Julia Tan, since 2000 and has been blessed with three children: Rachel, Daniel and Joseph.
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Jessica Castillo
Operating Partner
Jessica Castillo
Operating Partner
Jessica Castillo is an Operating Partner at Sovereign’s Capital focusing on the lower middle market practice. She brings over 15 years of operational and growth consulting experience across a variety of sectors. Prior to Sovereign’s, Jessica worked in the operating arm at Vista Equity Partners, working closely with the executive teams of rapidly growing SaaS and data businesses on critical value creation initiatives. Before joining Vista, she spent 10 years at McKinsey focused on sustainable operations transformations of industrial and transportation businesses with a dual emphasis on the performance and health of organizations. Jessica is passionate about building businesses that serve both their customers and employees well because of thoughtful leadership and business design.
Jessica earned a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Jessica lives in Austin with her husband and two children, where they attend Grace Covenant Church and serve in the youth ministry. -
Matt Monson
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Matt Monson
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Matt Monson is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Sovereign’s Capital with 16 years of experience in investing and finance. Prior to joining Sovereign’s Capital, Matt was a concentrated public equity investor with a strong passion for investing at ArrowMark Partners, Deccan Value Investors, and Brave Warrior Advisors. Prior to concentrated public equity investing, Matt was a private equity investor at FTV Capital, and an investment banker at UBS Investment Bank. Matt earned a BSB in Finance and Marketing from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Matt lives in Denver with his wife, Megan, and their three girls. He enjoys spending time outdoors with his family and playing an active role in their church community, The Pearl Church.
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Andrew Firman
Principal
Andrew Firman
Principal
Andrew Firman is a Principal at Sovereign’s Capital. He has worked in the finance industry domestically and internationally, including a 4-year stint in Dubai. He has experience in both asset management and investment banking, including time spent at a Canadian single-family office, and as a Vice President with J.P. Morgan. His focuses include alternative investments and impact investing. Mr. Firman is a CFA charterholder and received an undergraduate degree in Economics from Colorado State University. He lives with his wife and daughter in Dallas.
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Andrew Kean
Principal
Andrew Kean
Principal
Andrew Kean is a Principal at Sovereign’s Capital and concentrates on portfolio management and supporting investments in the lower middle market practice. Prior to joining Sovereign’s Capital, Andrew co-founded and managed a firm that invested private capital to help small businesses transition ownership, find new leadership, and continue to grow. Additionally, he held c-suite leadership roles in successful hospitality, consumer focused, and manufacturing companies.
Andrew is passionate about leadership development, portfolio company strategic planning, and board design and healthy governance. He earned his B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia and executive certifications in strategic planning (Center for Simplified Strategic Planning) and family business governance (Kellogg School of Management). Andrew was also selected for Harvard Business School’s inaugural Young American Leaders Program and is an alumnus of Leadership Tennessee.
Andrew lives in Chattanooga, TN with his wife Cindy and their three boys. He serves as an elder at New City Fellowship, and as a Board member for the Chattanooga Rotary Club and the River City Company.
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Adam Nichols
Principal
Adam Nichols
Principal
Adam Nichols is a Principal at Sovereign’s Capital and is focused on investments in the lower middle market. He is involved in all aspects of portfolio investment activity, with primary responsibilities for investment origination and transaction execution. Adam has over 16 years of experience in corporate finance and investment banking advisory. Before joining Sovereign’s, Adam worked in the investment banking division of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. He was most recently in the Mergers & Acquisitions group where he focused exclusively on advisory, origination, and execution of M&A transactions for Commercial Banking and Private Wealth clients in the Southeast, with a focus on and passion for helping family-owned businesses. Prior to his M&A role, Adam spent several years in the Equity Capital Markets group, originating and executing IPOs, follow-ons, convertibles and private placements for private and public corporate clients.
Adam earned his BBA in Finance at the University of Georgia and his MBA at Emory’s Goizueta Business School. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife, Susan, and their three children. They are active members of Peachtree Presbyterian Church, where Adam has been involved for many years in the men’s ministry, Ironmen. In his free time, Adam is also an avid snow skier who enjoys the outdoors.
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John A. Bitsas
Principal
John A. Bitsas
Principal
John Bitsas is a Principal at Sovereign’s Capital and focuses on private equity investments in the lower middle market. He is involved in all aspects of investment activity, with primary responsibilities for sourcing, evaluating, executing, and overseeing investments. John has over 18 years of experience in private equity, private credit, commercial banking, and public accounting.
Before joining Sovereign’s, John spent time working with a family office on lower middle market private equity transactions at Aiglon Capital. Prior to Aiglon, he was an SVP at SunTrust Bank serving corporate clients in the middle market. The majority of John’s career was spent at Triangle Capital Corporation (NYSE:TCAP) where he was a Vice President and member of the deal team responsible for executing private credit and equity investments. John began his career at Ernst and Young in the Audit practice and migrated to the Transaction Advisory Services team serving private equity firms and large public companies.
John earned his BSBA and Masters in Accounting at Appalachian State University and his MBA at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is a licensed CPA in the state of North Carolina. He lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife, Corrie, and their three children. They are active members of Summit Church, where John and Corrie serve together in the financial stewardship ministry. In his free time, John can be found on the baseball field with his sons and having pretend experiences with whatever his daughter dreams up.
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Kenneth Ewell
Principal
Kenneth Ewell
Principal
Kenny Ewell is a Principal at Sovereign’s Capital. Previously, he served as the Chief Investment Officer of a family office based in Silicon Valley, focused on faith-driven investing. Other past professional experience includes corporate M&A for a large multinational medtech company in the Midwest, emerging markets private equity at Quvat in Indonesia and Singapore, and healthcare investment banking at J.P. Morgan in NYC. He also spent a year in the Philippines through Princeton in Asia, which led to his meeting Sovereign’s and serving on the investment committee for Fund I. Kenny received his AB in Economics from Princeton University, where he also rowed on the varsity crew team. He received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and three children.
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Justin Speer
Principal and Senior Analyst
Justin Speer
Principal and Senior Analyst
Justin Speer is a Principal and Senior Analyst on the Public Equities team at Sovereign’s Capital. He possesses nearly 20 years of equity research and investment experience, including over a decade investing in small- and mid-cap growth equities as a Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst at Invesco / Van Kampen and several years as a Managing Director at investment research firm Zelman & Associates. Before joining Van Kampen Investments in 2008, Justin worked as an equity research analyst with Credit Suisse. For over a decade, he has also served as a deacon in the church of Christ in Katy, Texas with responsibility for fostering World English Institute (WEI), a platform that promotes the worldwide spread of the gospel of Christ while teaching English. He was appointed as a board member of WEI in 2020. Justin has also served as a short-term missionary in Albania, Romania and Katy, Texas.
Justin graduated summa cum laude from Texas Christian University, earning a BBA degree in finance and accounting while competing in cross country and track & field for the university. Justin resides in Katy, Texas with his wife, Mindy, and their two daughters, Jessie Jo and Macie Joy. In his free time, Justin enjoys coaching his daughters’ basketball teams, traveling with his family, and eating far too much Tex-Mex and bar-b-que.
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Adora Lovestrand
Senior Associate
Adora Lovestrand
Senior Associate
Adora Elisapeta Lovestrand is currently a Senior Associate with the firm, supporting both Asia and US operations. She has worked in Indonesia for almost 10 years — as an operator and shareholder in an Indonesian business conglomerate in the aquaculture and hospitality sectors then as a lecturer and program manager of the Executive MBA at Binus University. In the US, she spent time as a Policy Aide for a senior Congressman in Washington DC and holds a Master degree from UCLA. Before joining Sovereign’s Capital, she worked in the UK as a Research Associate at the University of Oxford where she completed postgraduate studies. Adora is originally from Samoa and is now working remotely from Oxford, UK where she lives with her husband, Joseph.
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Hal Cooley
Senior Associate
Hal Cooley
Senior Associate
Hal is a Senior Associate at Sovereign’s Capital responsible for due diligence and portfolio management of U.S. companies. Prior to joining Sovereign’s Capital, he spent 4 years with SunTrust Bank in Atlanta, GA. Hal held various roles during his tenure at SunTrust including executing strategic Sales Enablement efforts, Commercial Banking Strategy, and most recently as a Sr. Analyst covering technology, healthcare, and business services companies in Georgia.
Hal received his B.S. in Business Management with a concentration in Finance from North Carolina State University.
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Lee Barkley
Senior Associate
Lee Barkley
Senior Associate
Lee is a Senior Associate at Sovereign’s Capital, focusing on private equity investments in the lower middle market. Prior to joining Sovereign’s Capital, Lee most recently served as Corporate Counsel for Mergers and Acquisitions with National Veterinary Associates, a PE-backed veterinary healthcare company. In this role, Lee was responsible for all aspects of transactions to acquire and integrate veterinary practices into NVA. Before his time with NVA, Lee spent four years in the Mergers and Acquisitions practice group of Jones Day, one of the world’s leading law firms for M&A and corporate work. During his time at Jones Day, Lee counseled clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies on all manner of strategic transactions, operational concerns, and governance issues. Lee’s client base was market-wide, with notable experience in the materials, consumer products, healthcare and life sciences, and energy sectors. Lee began his career by spending two years as a financial analyst and consultant within Daimler AG (then parent to the Mercedes-Benz Group). In this position, Lee was responsible for a broad range of financial analysis and consulting activities, including production finance, corporate finance, and process consulting. Lee worked closely with company leadership across multiple sites in numerous countries.Lee graduated from Mississippi State University in 2012 with a B.B.A. in International Business with a concentration in Finance, as well as a B.A. in Spanish. Lee graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2017 with a J.D. He is a licensed attorney in the state of Georgia. Lee is an actively-involved alumnus of MSU, serving on the Executive Advisory Board of the MSU Department of Finance & Economics and frequently speaking to undergraduate classes about the fields of law, finance, and investing. Lee is an active member of the Federalist Society Huntsville Lawyers Chapter.Lee lives in Huntsville, AL with his wife, Leigh Ellen, and their two children. Lee and his family are active members of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. Lee gets excited about meaningfully connecting with new people, exploring creation through hiking, climbing, and mountaineering, and playing golf whenever possible. -
Michelle Hoffman
Chief Financial Officer
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Andrew Behrman
Associate
Andrew Behrman
Associate
Andrew is an Associate at Sovereign’s Capital responsible for sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management of private fund investments and co-investments. Prior to joining Sovereign’s Capital, he spent two years with Invesco Ltd. as a Corporate Strategist, supporting the firm’s alternatives and institutional business units with fundraising, M&A, and product development efforts. Andrew began his career at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey as an Investment Banking Analyst on the leveraged finance underwriting team, working on several middle-market transactions across a range of industries including financial institutions, technology, business services, and energy.
Andrew received his B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He currently resides in Wilmore, Kentucky with his wife, Alyssa.
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Hank Bowen
Associate
Hank Bowen
Associate
Hank is an Associate at Sovereign’s Capital responsible for spearheading fundraising and investor relations efforts. Prior to joining Sovereign’s Capital, he spent several years in various business development roles spanning the financial services landscape. He began his career at Innovator ETFs, where he played an integral role in the firm growing assets under management from 30mm to over 4bn. Hank graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College with a B.A. in Communications.Hank and his wonderful wife, Emily reside in Nashville, TN with their son, Hayes. -
Nigel Walker
Associate
Nigel Walker
Associate
Nigel is an Associate at Sovereign’s Capital responsible for due diligence and portfolio management of lower middle market U.S. companies. Prior to joining Sovereign’s Capital, he spent 1 year with Fifth Third Securities in Atlanta, GA. Nigel served as an Analyst for the Corporate Finance Group covering tech-enabled business services, industrials, healthcare and consumer & retail companies in Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Texas, and Florida. Before Fifth Third, he joined Teach For America as a high school math teacher in Atlanta for 2 years. In 2017, he embarked on the Keegan Traveling Fellowship, a solo trip in which he spent 1 year studying the impact of fatherhood in 22 countries across all 7 continents.
Nigel received his B.S. in Engineering Science with a focus in Engineering Management and Finance from Vanderbilt University. He currently lives in Atlanta with his mother, grandmother, and sister, where he attends Antioch Baptist Church North and serves as a Junior Deacon.
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Calvin Halim
Associate
Calvin Halim
Associate
Calvin is currently an Associate at Sovereign’s Capital, supporting the team with market research, deal sourcing, and managing venture investments in both Asia and US. Prior to joining the firm, he has worked mostly in business development capacity for over 7 years in logistic, industrial lubricant, and technology in both Indonesia and Australia. He finished his Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
He is passionate about how technology can advance people’s lives for the better. Thus, he is also involved in development projects such as Changemaker.id (Accelerator and mentorship program to build transformative ventures, aiming to raise 1.000 Changemakers in Indonesia in the next 20 years).
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Elise Piehl
Project Manager
Elise Piehl
Project Manager
Elise is a Project Manager for Sovereign’s Capital. In 2021, she earned a BS in Psychology, while studying Entrepreneurship and Spanish at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. For years, she worked for Nashville Young Life Capernaum, a ministry for teenagers with disabilities, and founded a branch of Capernaum ministry at a local high school. Elise enjoys connecting with others and building diverse relationships.
Elise and her husband Charlie live in Durham, North Carolina and enjoy cooking and CrossFit.
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Paula LeMarr
Operations Analyst
Paula LeMarr
Operations Analyst
Paula LeMarr serves as the Operations Analysts. Paula has 6 years of Human Resources experience, specializing in organization culture and employee experience.
Paula holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management from Dallas Baptist University and is currently working towards her MBA. She lives in Texas with her husband David and 1 son.
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Jim Fogleman
Advisor
Advisors
Our advisors contribute their functional, industry, and regional expertise in the discovery, diligence, and ongoing management of portfolio companies.
Careers
Are you or someone you know a fit for Sovereign’s Capital or one of our partner companies?
Feel free to explore the links below for positions we or those companies are looking to fill.
Positions at Sovereign’s Capital

Contact

North American Offices:
Silicon Valley, CA
Raleigh, NC
Nashville, TN
Chattanooga, TN
Atlanta, GA

Administrative Office:
Attn: Jim Fogleman
310 S. West Street, Suite 100
Raleigh, NC 27603

Asia Office:
Level 11, One Pacific Place SCBD Area
Jalan Jend. Sudirman kav. 52-53
Jakarta 12190