Private Growth
Where public market insight meets private market opportunity.
Strategy Highlights
- Late-stage growth equity and pre-IPO investments with near-term liquidity paths (target under two years)
- Sector-diversified approach aligned with Hood River’s public market coverage
- Underwritten by a small-cap public research platform applied to private opportunities
- Targeted investment size of approximately $10 – $30 million; ability to lead or co-invest
Investment Approach
The Hood River Private Growth strategy is designed to leverage Hood River’s public markets experience to identify mispriced small-cap growth companies in the late-stage private market. We focus on companies that are targeting an IPO or other liquidity event in approximately two years, providing growth capital to companies or secondary liquidity to company shareholders across sectors that generally mirror the Russell 2000® Growth Index — technology, energy, financials, healthcare, industrials, and others.
Private markets are less transparent, illiquid, and often invitation-only. We believe these characteristics can create information gaps similar to those we seek to identify in public small-cap equities. Our research process combines deep fundamental analysis, extensive management relationships, and insights derived from public-market activity to inform our
evaluation of private opportunities. We focus on companies where our research suggests a potential disconnect between valuation, fundamentals, and public-market comparables. This approach is designed to support disciplined underwriting and valuation decisions that draw on our team's over two decades of experience in U.S. small-cap growth equities in public markets — with a public markets viewpoint that can be differentiated in private markets.
To this end, in implementing the Hood River Private Growth strategy, Hood River seeks to:
Utilize Deep Market Knowledge
Draw on our team's more than 20 years' experience of small-cap growth investing, which spans thousands of companies and creates a deep pattern recognition framework around competitive dynamics, market sizing, and valuation benchmarks, to inform our private investment decisions.
Apply a Fundamental Research Process
Apply the same rigorous, proprietary fundamental research process that has driven our public equity strategies to private opportunities, including management calls, customer and supplier diligence, competitive analysis, public-company comparisons and valuation benchmarking. This process is designed to inform our view where future fundamentals may differ from market expectations.
Seek Near-Term Liquidity
Underwrite for shorter durations with defined exit paths, focusing on companies with a clear line of sight (and intent) to an IPO or strategic transaction.
Leverage Hood River’s Existing Network & Access
Leverage Hood River's investment network, management relationships, banking relationships, and sector contacts to support sourcing, diligence, and access to select private opportunities. Hood River's role as an active small-cap growth investor also provides visibility into companies preparing for the public markets, including IPO candidates introduced through banking relationships and pre-IPO investor education processes.
Capitalize on Public-Private Synergies
Sharpen diligence on private companies by working alongside Hood River's public-markets analysts covering the same sectors. Seek to use public-market signals — such as peer trading multiples, end-market data, and channel checks — to inform our private underwriting.
What We Look For
Stage
Late-stage primary rounds, pre-IPO secondaries, and structured equity opportunities
Timeline
Target companies with a clear path to IPO or M&A exit, typically within two years of investment
Sectors
Diversified across sectors that generally overlap with Hood River's public equity research coverage, including technology, healthcare, financials, energy, industrials, and consumer
Enterprise Value:
Approximately $1 billion to $10 billion
Target Investment Size:
Approximately $10–$30 million initial investments, with co-investment capacity where appropriate
Leadership
The Hood River Private Growth strategy is led by a dedicated team embedded within Hood River’s broader investment platform, with direct access to the Firm’s sector research, management relationships, and market intelligence.
Max Chee
Partner, Private Growth
Brian Smoluch, CFA
Principal Hood River, Portfolio Manager
David Swank, CFA
Principal Hood River, Portfolio Manager
Lance Cannon, CFA
Partner Hood River, Research Analyst
Matthew Sbriglio
Research Associate, Private Growth
The Private Growth team operates as an integrated extension of Hood River’s investment team, leveraging the Firm’s established research infrastructure, quarterly direct management and industry calls, and the team's combined two decades of small-cap growth expertise across sectors.
