Growth Equity: An Insider's Look
Melanie Nabar, Principal at Volition Capital, explains how growth equity works and why raising a big round can still leave a founder with nothing at exit. She also covers when it makes sense to raise money and when to wait.
Topics Covered
Show Notes
Melanie Nabar, a Principal at Volition Capital, breaks down what really happens when a company takes outside money. On this episode, Armando J. Perez-Carreno sits down with her to explain how growth equity fits between seed capital and a full buyout, and why a founder can own a hundred-million-dollar company and still stress over the mortgage payment.
Melanie spent three years in investment banking before moving into growth equity, where she’s now worked about seven years. She explains why raising a huge round can still leave a founder with nothing at exit, since the preferred equity holders get paid back before the founders do. You’ll also hear what separates founders who use capital well from those who burn it, and what a board is really there to do. If you run a growing business or you’re weighing whether to raise, this one gives you the map.
Topics Covered
- How growth equity fits between seed capital and a buyout
- Why a big funding round can still leave a founder with nothing at exit
- How the preferred equity stack pays out
- What separates founders who use capital well from those who burn it
- What a board is really for, and when it makes sense to raise or wait