Alliance Growth Partners

Entrust your company to a partner who will carry on your legacy and is committed to fostering growth for employees, customers and your business.

Alliance Growth Partners is rooted in the principles of allyship and fueled by a passion for growth.

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Flexible Structures

Alliance Growth Partners presents fair and adaptable deal structures, tailored to create a mutually beneficial outcome aligned with your unique transition goals.
Focus on Employees and Legacy

Preserving yours’ and the businesses’ legacy is paramount. We are focused on ensuring the culture continues to thrive and prioritizing the well-being and growth of your dedicated employees.
Long-Term Investment

We are committed to growing the business through multiple economic cycles and giving all stakeholders surety that the company is and will be there in the long run.

Our Process

We’ll arrange a 45-minute phone/video call for us to learn about one another, and dive into your goals for your business. The information you share is always confidential. We are always excited to meet and learn from successful entrepreneurs.

Desired Outcome: Understand if there is a mutual fit and discuss potential next steps.
Here, we will focus on better understanding your business and will ask for limited data such as recent financial results and key successes. This aids in determining initial valuation. All information shared will be protected and kept confidential under an NDA.
This stage often lasts about 15-45 days.
Desired Outcome: Presentation of a non-binding indication of interest (IOI).
We will come visit you to better understand your business, conduct diligence face-to-face, and help explain next steps and requirements for the process.
This will happen during the initial diligence stage.
Desired Outcome: Better understanding of one another and solidified desire to receive / submit a letter of intent (LOI)
We will agree on terms of the transaction with a goal to solidify price and structure that is favorable for all stakeholders. As needed, we will explore debt and potential seller financing if appropriate.
Desired Outcome: Signed LOI and outline of confirmatory diligence process.
During this stage, we will involve advisors such as legal and accounting, who will help complete the required diligence.
Often this is a complex and time-consuming process, during which we promise transparency, efficient communication, and empathy.

This stage typically lasts around 75 days.
Desired Outcome: Finalized diligence, purchase agreement, and transition plan.
Sign final legal documents, wire funds to you and others as needed and celebratory dinner / events.
Desired Outcome: Take-over day-to-day operations and transition plan being implemented.

Meet the Team

Skyler Almquist

FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER

From an early age, Skyler loved getting his hands dirty. Growing up in his father’s landscaping business showed him firsthand the work and effort it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. He was raised in St. George, UT at the footsteps of Zion National Park where he fell in love with nature and being outside. Often you will find him exploring on long runs and bike rides around Chicago.

Prior to founding Alliance Growth Partners, Skyler worked at OMERS Private Equity and J.P. Morgan where he focused on mergers & acquisitions across various industries. He received his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and was a member of the 2023 Zell Fellows Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Cohort, and received a B.S. from Brigham Young University.

Ashlin Almquist

CHIEF OF STAFF
Ashlin is the embodiment of creativity. She currently works as an interior designer in the Chicago area where she helps people turn houses into homes. Not only is she passionate about her work, but everything Ashlin does is full of thought and passion.
Archie Almquist

JUNIOR ANALYST
Archie recently graduated from crawling to walking. He enjoys long naps and in his spare time loves to visit the beach. His theme song is “What’s this?” from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Winnie

CHIEF HAPPINESS OFFICER
Winnie has a master’s degree in eating anything and everything in sight and a bachelor’s degree in needing to say hi to everyone. She loves coming to the office and is always doing her best to make sure we are protected.

Investors

We are backed by incredible investors who all share strong desires to build and grow world-class companies.

Each investor brings unique skills and assets to the table, including:

Deep knowledge and experience in a variety of industries

The investors have made investments in over 100+ companies across many industries and have sat on a variety of boards. Skyler is still early in his career with much to learn and being backed by experienced mentors deepens the wealth of knowledge he will be able to tap into.

Excitement and capability to deploy significant capital

Skyler chose his investors not only for their experience but ability to deploy capital during all economic cycles. He is confident that Alliance Growth Partners is capable of funding transactions in the range of $10M - $100M+.

Best in class resources and tools

Each investor has unique resources and varied networks that give them unparalleled reach into industries and businesses. They have assembled world-class resources that Skyler as a young operator will be able to access.

Drew Johnson

Gauge Capital

Michael Dutton

The Builders Fund

Dan Hanks - Peterson Partners

PARTNER
Dan brings 10+ years of transaction experience and currently serves on numerous company boards. He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. from Brigham Young University.
Max Artz - Peterson Partners

PARTNER
Max is an experienced investor and advisor to SMBs across various industries. Prior his role at Peterson Partners, he worked in a number of operating roles at companies in the consumer and ecommerce industry. This dual experience gives him a unique perspective, having sat in both investing and operating roles. He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. from Babson College.
Kyle Coots - Miramar Equity Partners

CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
Kyle is a seasoned investor with 12+ years of experience focusing on software and healthcare companies. He has invested across both venture capital and private equity, bringing a deep understanding of unique transaction structures. He recieved his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and a MPA from the University of Texas at Austin.
Kurt Leedy - Miramar Equity Partners

CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
With 18+ years of investing experience, Kurt brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and unique understanding to SMBs. Prior to founding Miramar, he was an investor in the technology, media, and telecom industries. He received his MBA from Wharton and a B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.
Neal Jacobs - Maven Equity Partners

FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
Neal brings a passion for entrepreneurship, a significant investment track record and a deep background in finance. Prior to founding Maven Equity Partners, Neal was a partner and co-portfolio manager at two public market investment firms, Cambrian Capital and Bodri Capital Management. He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Duke University.
Lacey Wismer - Hunter Search Capital

FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
Lacey is an incredibly seasoned investor with 10+ years focusing on search fund investing. She is the Co-Founder of Women’s Search Network, a group formed to encourage more women to consider entrepreneurship through acquisition as a viable career path and to support female searchers and CEOs achieve the highest levels of success.
Prior to founding Hunter Search Capital, she was a healthcare investment banker at Deutsche Bank with an emphasis on M&A in healthcare services. She received her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from the University of Colorado.
Rich Augustyn - Endurance Search Partners

FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
Rich is an accomplished entrepreneur with a distinguished track record of building and leading successful companies that have made a real impact in the insurance and HR sectors (NIP Group and ExtensisHR).
Rich is passionate about sharing his knowledge and insights with other business leaders. He firmly believes in the power of mentorship and openly shares his experiences and lessons learned to help others achieve their professional goals.
Tiffany Augustyn - Endurance Search Partners

PARTNER
Tiffany has spent her career as a middle market and growth equity private equity investor working alongside driven leaders and management teams to build great companies.
Prior to joining Endurance, Tiffany was an investor with the global private equity firms TPG Capital and L Catterton where she helped lead a number of buyout and growth equity investments as well as served on the Board of several operating companies. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Yale University.
Andy Love - Aspect Investors

FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
Andy Love is the Managing Partner and Founder of Aspect Investors. Prior to founding Aspect in 2012, he served as CEO of Behavioral Health Group (BHG), a substance use disorder treatment company he co-founded in 2006 through the search fund model. Under his leadership, BHG was a three-time winner of both the Inc. 500|5000 award, where the company was ranked the 18th fastest growing private healthcare company in the U.S., and Dallas 100 award. Since exiting BHG in 2012, he has partnered with over 200 search funds as an investor and advised many more.
He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, an MA from the Stanford Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Saumil Jariwala - Feta Fund

FOUNDER
Saumil is a young and ambitious investor, having launched Feta Fund in 2023. He brings a wealth of experience and ability to quickly help searchers through diligence. Prior to founding Feta Fund, he was an investor at Trilogy Search Partners and Charlesbank. He received a B.S. from Wharton and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jason Pananos - The Nashton Company

CO-FOUNDER & CEO
Jason brings a long-term perspective to investing with a focus on compounding cash flow, growth and returns. Prior to founding The Nashton Company, he alongside Jay, acquired Vector Disease Acquisition where he served as President. Vector Disease Acquistion grew to be a leading provider in disease prevention programs for municipalities.
He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Jay Davis - The Nashton Company

CO-FOUNDER & CEO
Jay brings a long-term perspective to investing with a focus on compounding cash flow, growth and returns. Prior to founding The Nashton Company, he alongside Jason, acquired Vector Disease Acquisition where he served as CEO. Vector Disease Acquistion grew to be a leading provider in disease prevention programs for municipalities.
He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Vanderbilt University.
Tom Jackson - Datacor

CEO
Tom serves as CEO of Datacor, a leading provider of process manufacturing and chemical distribution software. He acquired Datacor in 2016 and has led the business through multiple economic cycles and investments. He brings a wealth of knowledge around operations and growing businesses. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Clayton Sachs - Datacor

VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF STRATEGY
Clayton is an experienced operator, currently serving as Vice President and Head of Strategy at Datacor, a leading provider of process manufacturing and chemical distribution software. Prior to Datacor, he worked at TA Associates, a global private equity fund and at J.P. Morgan.
He received his MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.A. from Princeton University.
Jeff Neblett - ISPN

CEO
Jeff is an accomplished executive, currently serving as CEO at ISPN Network Services where he leads the company’s strategic direction and business development efforts. Him and Scott acquired ISPN back in 2020 through the search fund model. He received his MBA from Berkeley Haas School of Business and a B.S. from Boston College.
Scott Lauber - ISPN

President & CFO
Scott is a proven executive, currently serving as CFO at ISPN Network Services where he is responsible for all financial aspects of the company. He plays a role in strategic planning efforts and other key aspects of change management at ISPN. Him and Jeff acquired ISPN back in 2020 through the search fund model. He received a B.S. from Boston College.
Drew Johnson - Gauge Capital

CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
Drew co-founded Gauge Capital and works primarily in the firm’s healthcare and consumer verticals. He has deep experience in the consumer and healthcare industries having invested in the industries for 20+ years and having served on numerous company boards. Gauge Capital is a leading private equity fund with over $2.5B of assets under management.
He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Brigham Young University.
Mike Dutton - The Builders Fund

CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
Mike has participated in the startup and growth of several companies as an operator. He was the CEO of Winder Farms, building it from a small dairy delivery business to a leading online grocery delivery business with over $40M in revenues. Further, he co-founded Genus Group which he sold to International Data Group; and Dyad Security, an IT security firm that was acquired by Outpost 24.
He received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Brigham Young University.