We acquire and grow mission-critical software companies.
Blue Ladder Capital is built by people who have actually run software companies. Not by people who have only read about them.
A flexible model designed around founder outcomes and long-term growth.
We care deeply about doing right by founders, teams, and customers. After we acquire a company, we immediately make investments that will enable operational excellence and sustainable growth.
Acquire.
We purchase 90-100% of vertical-focused software companies that demonstrate strong fundamentals and loyal customer bases.
Operate.
Experienced leaders step in on day one to support the team, from go-to-market to product to customer success.
Grow.
With dedicated leadership and proven operating frameworks, we accelerate growth and enable the founder to play their next role.
What our team is thinking about.
Investors who operate, or investors who are 'operationally inclined'?
Nearly every firm below $100M of ARR brands itself "operationally focused" — gray-haired advisors and an ops team a phone call away. It works, but it's imperfect. Everyone on our team has been both an investor and a CEO, which is why we send Functional Operating Executives into every company we back.
Garrett Levey Saying 'no' is hard. When is it the right answer?
Our largest customer offered us over a million dollars a year to build a new module. We ran the diligence, found the category had defeated everyone who tried it, and said no while keeping them as our biggest advocate.
Bill Kloza Restoring sanity to your customer contracts
Our largest customer refused to renegotiate a contract tilted entirely in their favor, so we called their bluff and terminated before auto-renewal. Four months later, every bad term was gone, with a 50%+ price increase and a multi-year renewal.
Brendan Ahern Want to learn more? Start a conversation.
We'd love to meet, trade notes on what we're seeing as the software world goes through a generational evolution, and share more about our philosophy for building great software companies.