POV Partners invests in great businesses at strategic and operational inflection points.

We have spent our careers building the kinds of companies we now back.

Where we are useful

Acquisitions

Most companies in our target zone could significantly drive growth and enterprise value by acquiring businesses in their market, but lack the in-house expertise to do so. We source, diligence, negotiate and — the part that determines whether any of it worked — integrate. We have done this more than a dozen times.

Technology

The technology foundation of a company is a living, breathing entity that needs constant evolution and investment. We have modernized infrastructure, executed platform rewrites and consolidation, migrated customers, established offshore strategies, implemented AI internally and in product, and built teams, and will help guide you through these or other challenges you face.

Running the company

Founder-led businesses reach a point where the informal version of everything — reporting, hiring, pricing, the sales process, the close — stops working. Neither of us finds that boring. It is most of what the job actually is.

Capital strategy

Growth often depends on finding the right capital on the right terms. We have raised and structured debt and equity, financed acquisitions with private credit, and worked directly with lenders, investors, and advisers to build capital structures that support the company's strategy.

Exits

We have led successful business sales from inside the company for more than twenty years. That includes preparing the business to go to market, selecting and managing investment banks and advisers, shaping the positioning and buyer strategy, navigating diligence and negotiations, and keeping the company performing through closing.

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Our Thesis

We invest in businesses that are already good at what they do but have reached the limits of how they were built. The next stage may require an AI implementation, acquisition strategy, modernized technology, a more disciplined operating structure, the right capital—or, eventually, a well-run exit.

We recognize those moments because we have spent more than twenty-five years working through them as founders and operators, buyers and sellers. We have built, acquired, integrated, financed, modernized, and sold businesses across a range of industries.

We have raised and structured capital, hired and managed investment banks and other advisers, and led successful sale processes from preparation and positioning through diligence, negotiation, and closing.

Baseline and Talent Systems are two examples. We built and sold Baseline twice, and assembled Talent Systems through seven acquisitions before selling a majority stake to RedBird Capital Partners and StepStone Group.

Between us, we have led nearly every part of an operating company. That breadth is the model for this firm: no handoff from a deal team to an operating group.

We keep our portfolio intentionally small. When a CEO calls, one of us answers—and already knows the business.

Alex AminRafi Gordon

Portfolio

Talent Systems

Casting software · Los AngelesPartial exit

The casting and audition platform for film, television, commercials and theatre. Built by acquiring seven separate companies and putting them on one system, then rewriting the core technology from the ground up — every product shipped new in 2020. Majority stake sold to RedBird Capital Partners and StepStone in 2022; we remain shareholders.

Assembled fromCasting Networks, Spotlight, Cast It Systems, Casting Frontier, eTribez Casting, Staff Me Up, Tagmin.

talentsystems.com

Lango

Language access · NationwideCurrent holding

Interpretation, translation and deaf services for hospitals, school districts, courts and government agencies. Five regional providers consolidated onto a single platform, with machine translation layered over the human network. Founder-led by Josh Daneshforooz; we are minority investors alongside Mucker Capital.

Assembled fromTranslation & Interpretation Network, Language Partners, Equal Access Interpreting, Affordable Language Services, Lango Deaf/HoH.

lango.co

GoMaterials

Landscape supply · MontrealCurrent holding

Wholesale plant and tree sourcing for commercial landscapers. An industry that still runs on phone calls and PDF catalogues, being moved onto a marketplace. Founder-led by Marc Elliott; we are minority investors alongside Mucker Capital.

gomaterials.com

Doorvest

Residential real estate · San FranciscoCurrent holding

Single-family rental property for individual investors — sourcing, purchase, tenanting and ongoing management on one platform. A category that has always run on local brokers and fragmented property managers, being consolidated and automated. We are minority investors alongside Mucker Capital.

doorvest.com

Guidewell Education

Education services · US and UKCurrent holding

Tutoring, test preparation and admissions counselling for students from secondary school through graduate programmes. Nine specialist brands brought together under one group, each strong in its own niche, sharing infrastructure and referral flow across the whole. We are minority investors.

Assembled fromSummit Educational Group, Applerouth Education, ESM Prep, College MatchPoint, Reach Cambridge, mbaMission, Accepted, Launch Precollege Labs, Guidewell Global.

guidewelleducation.com

Prior

Baseline

Film & TV information

The definitive information platform for the film and television industry, built out through acquisition over sixteen years. Sold to The New York Times Company, reacquired, recapitalized with ABRY Partners, and sold to Tribune Media Company in 2014.

AcquiredStudio System (from UBM), Filmtracker, ScriptShark, Screenline (Germany).

Signal

Brand integration

Joint venture formed with WME-IMG, connecting brands and agencies to product integration opportunities in film, television and digital programming.

Industry and strategy focus

Tech-enabled roll-ups

Talent Systems · Lango · Baseline · Doorvest · Guidewell Education

AI-driven consolidation

Lango · Doorvest

Human capital

Talent Systems · Lango

Media and entertainment

Baseline · Talent Systems

Experiential

EZPZ Pizza · YuzuCo

Current and Former Investment Partners

We are usually not the only institution on the cap table, and we are comfortable in either seat.

Partners

Alex Amin

Managing Partner

Alex started his career at 20th Century Fox and MGM Television, then co-founded the Baseline film and television information platform. At Talent Systems he was co-CEO and led product, technology, sales, marketing and client service. UCLA.

Rafi Gordon

Managing Partner

Rafi spent four years at Credit Suisse First Boston on M&A and corporate financings, then ran Baseline StudioSystems as President from 1999 to 2008, including through its years inside The New York Times. At Talent Systems he was co-CEO and led corporate development, M&A, investor relations, legal and finance. UCLA.

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