About
We invest in growth-stage companies operating in expanding markets, with $500,000 to $10,000,000 in revenue. In addition to a clear path to profitability and exit, we are most interested in investing in excellent, values-driven management teams motivated by visions that go beyond outsized financial returns.
While our primary focus is in the U.S., Sovereign’s Capital also invests in Southeast Asia, where 2 billion consumers will join the middle class over the next decade. We were the first U.S. fund with investment professionals on the ground in Indonesia investing in consumer-focused startups, which gives us significant advantages in procuring deal flow and conducting diligence in this rapidly expanding market. We provide unique access for Southeast Asian companies targeting U.S. channels to market, and can provide market insights and relationships for our portfolio companies across the U.S. and in Indonesia.1
1“Capturing the World’s Emerging Middle Class,” and “Winning the $30 trillion decathlon: Going for gold in emerging markets.” McKinsey Quarterly
We invest primarily in industries where our partners and team have relevant experience and expertise: B2C technology, tech-enabled consumer goods and services, B2B technology, healthcare IT, and medical devices.
- Invest $250,000 – $2,000,000 in teams of excellent operators capable and motivated to win in industries of high growth potential
- Actively partner with companies as they scale, using our industry experience to provide management guidance and assist in strategic planning
- Leverage our regional experience, operator backgrounds, and advisor network to assist with executive team staffing, growth opportunities, and negotiations
- Support portfolio companies by taking board and observer seats, and through regular reviews of performance metrics
- Identify potential strategic and financial buyers before making an investment and throughout our holding period to maintain a focus on exit strategy
active portfolio companies
-
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.
-
Anutra Medical
Anutra Medical is a medical company focused on dentistry with a device enabling quicker onset of numbness and simplified use of pharmaceuticals.
-
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.
-
BRIDESTORY
Bridestory is fast becoming the most trusted and inspiring online wedding vendor directory in SE Asia. Their marketplace helps users find, select and compare wedding vendors in their area.
-
CANOPY
Canopy is solving the problem of inefficient home services delivery and consumption. Combining a high-tech, centralized approach with old-fashioned service, Canopy is the easiest way to maintain your home.
-
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.
-
CLOUDFACTORY
CloudFactory is a BpaaS (business process as a service) company with a revolutionary technology platform and distributed workforce that enables a more flexible, scalable and cost-effective alternative to traditional bpo.
-
CONCERT GENETICS
Concert Genetics is a healthcare technology company dedicated to making genetic testing more transparent and efficient for stakeholders across the healthcare system.
-
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.
-
FIRST
First is a predictive intelligence engine for targeting movers 6-12 months before they list their home. Initially focused on real estate, First’s product empowers realtors to better understand and profitably grow their pipeline of listings.
-
FIVESTARS
Fivestars is an online customer service loyalty network for small and medium businesses in north america. it integrates with merchant pos systems to enable customers to earn and spend points at local businesses.
-
GoCheck
GoCheck helps detect amblyopia risk factors in patients too young for a visual acuity test.
-
GRAB
Grab is the top ride-hailing app in SE Asia. The app connects taxis, independent drivers, motorcycles, and couriers with users across the region.
-
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.
-
Hypernet
Hypernet is a protocol for high performance computing across a distributed network of devices.
-
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.
-
IMMERSED VR
Immersed VR connects distributed teams through a shared VR workplace and collaboration tools to maximize productivity. -
KAMMOCK
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.
-
LIQUIDIA TECHNOLOGIES
Liquidia is a biopharmaceutical company transforming the development of new therapies by precisely engineering drug particles.
-
LOKET
Loket is the leading event management, ticketing and data analytics company in Indonesia. In 2017, the company was acquired by GoJek.
-
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.
-
MAXWELL
Maxwell enables real estate loan officers through a comprehensive tech platform that boosts productivity, and makes it much easier to close deals.
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
SHOTTRACKER
ShotTracker aims to improve the performance of competitive basketball players of all ages through our individual and team products.
-
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.
-
SPRINGBUK
Springbuk is the leading employer-facing health analytics software that helps forecast cost and improve population health with confidence.
-
-
TADA
TADA360 is a one-stop-shop for a practical, but impressive gifting experience. they are also focused on innovative fintech solutions.
-
THREADLOOM
Threadloom makes it easy to search and index forums, and uses A.I. to automate expert newsletters for readers.
-
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.
-
XENDIT
Xendit is a payment platform that solves several key problems in Indonesian personal banking. Their platform has application in a peer-to-peer context, and as a backend for e-commerce businesses.
-
Yummy Corp
Yummy Corp provides delicious, fresh, and creative food solutions for everyday corporate and group needs. It gives a new spin on food facility management and our signature MICE catering, delivering you a noteworthy experience while helping corporates manage costs.
Team
Our investment team is made up of operators with industry and regional expertise.
-
Henry Kaestner
Managing Partner
Henry Kaestner
Managing Partner
Henry Kaestner is a co-founder and managing principal of Sovereigns Capital, an investment fund that invests in faith driven entrepreneurs in the United States and Southeast 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 in 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.
-
Luke Roush
Managing Partner
Luke Roush
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 Southeast 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 San Jose, California with his wife, Brooke, and their three children.
-
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 early age, David had established few business operations. His early works were Bengkel Cakra and Global Mandarin Centerindo that was sold in 2005. He then pursued his bachelor degree at Stevens Institute of Technology at Hoboken, New Jersey majoring in Business & Technology. It’s there that he met his wife and together started Heartbead New York, a fashion jewelry retailer that was sold in 2007.
Currently David is the Managing Partner of Sekata Indonesia Perkasa (SIP), a business leadership coaching company focusing on organizations that want to put focus on customers 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 contributes wherever the leader lives.
David is also the Managing Principal of Sovereign’s Capital, a US based private equity that invest globally in three main sectors of the economy: technology, health care, and consumer products & services. The company has invested in couple dozen companies with portfolios like Loket (now part of Gojek), Bridestory (now part of Tokopedia), Berry Kitchen (now part of Yummy), Printerous, Nimbly, Tada Network, Rebel Works, Hactiv8, Kode.id, Summit Medical, Xendit, Cloud Factory, Bandwith (Nasdaq), Mancrates, Thrive, and Grab.
David actively serves at Jakarta Praise Community Church as a leader and teacher. He has been happily tied with his wife, Julia Tan since 2000 and has been blessed with three children: Rachel, Daniel and Joseph.
-
Kevin Sutantyo
Partner
Kevin Sutantyo
Partner
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.
-
Jake Thomsen
Partner
Jake Thomsen
Partner
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 Washington, D.C., 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.
-
Michael Tremain
Partner
Michael Tremain
Partner
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.
-
William Norvell
Principal
William Norvell
Principal
Throughout the course of his career, William has spent over nine years in Private Equity and Investment Banking, along with over five years pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors. He has investment experience in services businesses, education, technology, real estate, power, sports and healthcare. He co-founded an adventure race company and two technology companies. He loves finding unique investment opportunities, working with people and helping them become the best version of themselves. For Sovereign’s Capital, William focuses primarily on investing in traditional main street businesses with $1.5 million – $6.0 million in earnings, which also includes all of Sovereign’s search fund investments. He founded the Faith and Work ministry at Reality SF and loves engaging in any conversation about how to make work more meaningful in the world. He received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS in Finance, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Alabama, where he was named a USA Today Academic All-American. William is married to a wonderful woman named Deb that continually challenges and refines him. They welcomed their first son Liam in 2018 and have a daughter on the way in 2020. William spends much of his time pulling for the Alabama Crimson Tide, coaching 7th grade basketball and trying to figure out where he lost his golf swing.
-
Adora Jones
Senior Associate
Adora Jones
Senior Associate
Adora Elisapeta Jones is currently a Senior Associate with the firm, supporting both Indonesia and US operations. She has worked in Indonesia for over seven 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.
-
Hal Cooley
Associate
Hal Cooley
Associate
Hal is an 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. In 2010, he co-founded an annual high school golf retreat sponsored by PGA professional Webb Simpson focused on sharing life values in a competitive forum. Hal received his B.S. in Business Management with a concentration in Finance from North Carolina State University.
-
Rusty Rueff
Venture Coach
Rusty Rueff
Venture Coach
Rusty invests in, advises and governs startups. He was appointed by President Obama to The President’s Advisory Committee for the Arts for The Kennedy Center and was Coordinating National Co-Chair for Technology for Obama. He is a corporate Director of alioth talent (co-founder), The Union Social Clubs and runcoach. He was on the founding boards of Glassdoor (acquired 2018) and HireVue (acquired 2019). Rusty was CEO of SNOCAP, Inc. through the sale of the company in 2008. Prior, he was an EVP at Electronic Arts (EA) responsible for global HR, Talent Management, Corporate Services/Facilities, Corporate Communications/Government Affairs, reporting to EA’s Chairman and CEO. Prior to EA, Rusty worked 10 years for the PepsiCo companies, concluding as a Vice President, International HR. Before that, he worked at Pratt & Whitney/United Technologies. In addition, he spent six years in commercial radio as an on-air personality. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from Hanover College, an M.S. in Counseling, and a B.A. in Radio & TV from Purdue University. In 2003, he was named a Distinguished Purdue Alumni. He and his wife are the named benefactors of Purdue’s Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art and Performance. He serves on the Purdue President’s Champions Council and the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Advisory Committee. He also serves on the University of Rhode Island Foundation Board. He is a Trustee (and former President) of the Board of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), former Chair of The Grammy Foundation in LA, and now a founding Board Member of The GRAMMY Music Education Coalition. In 2013, he co-founded Tech4America (T4A.org) and sits on their Executive Committee. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) and The Recording Academy (NARAS). He co-authored Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business (Prentice-Hall, 2006). Rusty regularly writes for his blog Purposed worKING and is a co-host of The Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast. Rusty, his wife Patti, and Theo (French Bulldog), reside in Burlingame, CA. and Charlestown, RI.
-
Tim Oakley
Venture Coach
Tim Oakley
Venture Coach
Tim has over 25 years as an executive in both public and private companies in the high technology areas of saas/enterprise software, internet, digital media & mobile communications. He has conducted nearly $1 billion in financial transactions Including three transactions in Raleigh/Durham which were Appia Inc (2015), iContact (2012) and Opensite (2000).
Tim has provided operational and financial leadership to fast growth start-ups with little revenue and employees to companies with billions in revenue, global operations and over 15,000 employees. He has grown two companies from the start-up phase to over $50M during the market downturns in the early 2000 and 2008, both of which sold for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Before iContact, he was the CFO of CipherTrust (Now McAfee), a leader in messaging security. & held various financial executive positions with OpenSite Technologies (Oracle), Broadband Technologies, MCI (Now Verizon), and Coopers & Lybrand (Now PWC) where he earned his CPA.
Tim serves as a board member at Cherwell Software, consults with start-ups and provides executive coaching at Exponential Impact Accelerator, the Carolina Clinic Executive Wellness Center at UNC Hospital and in private practice. He is a Certified Coach through Duke University’s Center for Integrative Medicine.
Tim earned an MBA from Emory University, has an undergraduate degree in accounting from East Carolina University (Magna Cum Laude) and is a CPA. In addition to his coaching certification from Duke, he has a Master of Arts in Counseling (Magna Cum Laude) and has provided over 1,000 hours of clinical therapy services to a diverse set of clients.Tim spent much of his career in Atlanta & Wash.DC but is a native of Durham, NC where he now lives with his wife and two sons.
-
Russell Bjorkman
Venture Partner
Russell Bjorkman
Venture Partner
Russell Bjorkman joined Sovereign’s Capital as a Venture Partner in 2015, after serving as an advisor to Sovereign’s first fund for several years. Russell’s work experience spans across Europe, Asia, Africa and the US. As an investor and advisor, Russell has invested in businesses across Africa, Asia, South America and the US. As an attorney, Russell worked for Skadden Arps and Freshfields in London and Hong Kong for ten years, guiding significant IPOs and high-yield offerings, including that of Telkom South Africa, KazmunaiGas in Kazakhstan, FIFA in Europe, and Chinese real estate companies. His transactional experience spans 14 different countries. In Hong Kong, Russell led Skadden Arp’s pro bono work on behalf of the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, which represented individuals facing persecution in their applications for asylum which were submitted to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Russell has a JD/MBA from the Wharton School / University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a Bachelor’s in Accounting and Psychology from the University of Southern California, where he played football and was a Rhodes Scholar semi-finalist. Russell and his wife were married in 2013 and live in Los Angeles, California.
-
Scott Barstow
Venture Partner
Scott Barstow
Venture Partner
Scott is co-founder of Spellbound Partners, a technology diligence and advisory services firm focused on transactions in the lower middle and search fund markets.
Scott has nearly 20 years of experience building software and leading teams in high-growth companies. He was one of the early engineers at Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND), a telecommunication technology startup, and served as CTO from 2005-2008, when the company tripled in revenue each year and transitioned from a data services to one of the largest all-IP voice networks in the U.S.
He then led a product engineering team inside Symantec, building a workflow automation suite to automate IT tasks within Fortune 500 companies.
Since 2010 Scott has been the CEO of Rocket Hangar, a technology product and services company serving primarily early-stage startups. He served two years as a venture partner at Sovereign’s Capital, and is an advisor to multiple early stage technology product companies.
Advisors
We have 50+ advisors who contribute their functional, industry, and regional expertise in the discovery, diligence, and ongoing management of portfolio companies. The gallery below is a non-exhaustive sample of our advisors.
Jobs
Are you or someone you know a perfect fit for a Sovereign’s Capital company? Feel free to explore the links below. Our portfolio companies are seeking to fill the following positions. Please reach out to them directly.
At Sovereign's Capital
There are currently no openings in the Sovereign’s Capital team.
United States
- Clinical Business Development Specialist: 410 Medical (Durham, NC)
- Email Marketing Manager: Man Crates (San Mateo, CA)
- Account Executive: EmployUs (Cary, NC)
- Full Stack Software Engineer: Threadloom (San Francisco, CA)
- Brand Marketing Manager: Kammok (Austin, TX)
- Senior Product Manager: Maxwell (Denver, CO)
- Senior Account Executive: Maxwell (Denver, CO)
- Account Executive: Fivestars (El Paso, TX)
- Marketing Project Manager: RevBoss (Durham, NC)
- Various positions: Springbuk (Indianapolis, IN)
- Technical Operations Lead: ShotTracker (Kansas City, KS)
- Chief Operating Officer: Immersed (Austin, TX)
Asia
- Business Manager: BrideStory (Bali, Indonesia)
- Country Manager: CloudFactory (Nairobi, Kenya)
- Head of Engineering: Grab Group (India)
- Head of Strategy and Planning: Grab Group (Vietnam)
- Country Marketing Head: Grab Group (Malaysia)
- Creative Lead: Hacktiv8 (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Account Manager: Printerous (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- IT Project Manager: RebelWorks (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Senior Backend Developer: TADA Network (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Senior Software Engineer: Xendit (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Other International
- Head of Investment Strategy: Christian Super (NSW, Australia)
- Head of Global Talent Acquisition: CloudFactory (Reading, Great Britain)

Contact

Headquarters
San Francisco Bay Area

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

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