Managing Partner
C. Jason Payne is a founder of Mainsail Partners. In addition to co-managing the firm, Jason is an active advisor to Mainsail CEOs through his role as a board member for Mainsail’s portfolio companies. Jason’s background as an entrepreneur and senior executive provides valuable experience he shares with management teams making the transition from bootstrapping to investing for growth.
Earlier in his career, Jason co- founded WiredCapital, a venture-backed technology company now part of HCL Technologies, and held a variety of roles with American Dental Partners (NASDAQ: ADPI), a dental practice management company. During his tenure with ADPI, Jason helped grow the business from start-up to over $130 million in revenues and over 1,500 employees through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. Jason began his career with Summit Partners, a leading global private equity and venture firm. Jason received an A.B. in International Relations from Stanford University.
In addition to his involvement with Mainsail, Jason sits on the advisory board of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), a division of the Smithsonian Institute, and enjoys spending time with his wife, two daughters, and a yellow lab.
jason@mainsailpartners.com
Managing Partner
Gavin Turner is a founder of Mainsail Partners. In addition to leading new investments and co-managing the firm, Gavin is an active board member for Mainsail’s portfolio companies and advisor to Mainsail’s CEOs. Gavin leverages his background as an entrepreneur and former senior executive to help Mainsail’s management teams build great companies.
Prior to founding Mainsail Partners, Gavin was a Vice President responsible for west coast media and communications investments at Summit Partners, a leading global private equity and venture firm. During his seven years at Summit Partners, Gavin completed 14 investments totaling over $200 million in capital. Gavin previously held a senior management position at Sirenza Microdevices, Inc. (an investment he sourced and completed while at Summit that was ultimately acquired by RF Micro Devices for $900 million).
In 2010, Gavin teamed with Jason Payne and John Griscavage (CEO of Professional Healthcare) to start the Madrone Foundation, a private foundation with the goal of assisting the financially challenged to pay for healthcare and education expenses.
Gavin received an A.B. in Economics, with Honors, from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
gavin@mainsailpartners.com
Chief Financial Officer
Lars Ahlstrom joined Mainsail as CFO in 2006. He has extensive experience in the private equity and venture capital industry, having worked with leading firms such as Golden Gate Capital, Storm Ventures, Silicon Prairie Partners, and International Equity Ventures.
Prior to Mainsail, Lars was the CFO in start-up companies such as XenSource, All Bases Covered and ISDA & Co. He also held CFO/Controller positions in the American Basketball League and Esprit International. He began his career in the leasing industry, working for Memorex Finance Company and Leasing Solutions.
Lars received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, with Distinction, from Stanford University and an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the UCLA Graduate School of Management. He enjoys travel, almost all sports and spending time with his wife and two daughters.
lars@mainsailpartners.com
Vice President of Digital Marketing
Chris works with the leadership teams at Mainsail’s portfolio companies to drive growth through digital strategies, insights, and execution. He is obsessed with leveraging the latest products and technologies to engage and convert customers for Mainsail’s businesses. Chris also helps the investment team evaluate opportunities in the digital space.
Prior to joining Mainsail Partners, Chris was a Vice President at Yahoo!, leading strategy and marketing for the company’s media businesses. Chris spent 10 years developing and executing programs which established Yahoo!’s leadership position in key categories, including fantasy sports, entertainment news, and original video content. Before Yahoo!, Chris worked at start-up companies, including Action Marketing Group (a Warren Miller Entertainment company) and a mobile billing software company.
Chris holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Connecticut. He does not spend nearly enough time playing golf or watching Uconn basketball, but does enjoy spending time with his wife and daughter and traveling.
chris@mainsailpartners.com
Principal
Stephen Wolfe joined Mainsail Partners as a Principal and is responsible for sourcing, executing, and managing new investments.
Prior to Mainsail, Stephen worked at Vector Capital, a leading global private equity firm, where he led the firm's deal sourcing efforts, including primary responsibility for building relationships directly with company executives, investment bankers, and other intermediaries. While at Vector Capital, Stephen was responsible for sourcing three investments, representing approximately $300 million of equity capital. Prior to joining Vector Capital, Stephen worked at Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse First Boston in their New York-based Technology Investment Banking Groups gaining specific experience in M&A and capital raisings for the technology services, software, and electronics sectors. Over the course of his investment banking career, Stephen executed over 25 technology-related transactions, including M&A and capital raisings, representing over $20 billion in total transaction value.
Stephen received his B.A. from Columbia College. Born, raised, and schooled on the east coast, Stephen remains loyal to the New York Mets and Giants.
steve@mainsailpartners.com
Vice President, Technology & Operations
Taylor McKinley is Vice President, Technology & Operations at Mainsail Partners. Taylor works with Mainsail’s portfolio companies to drive improvements in product development, pricing, technology implementation and sales force optimization. Taylor also works with the investment teams to investigate new areas of investment for Mainsail.
Prior to joining Mainsail, Taylor managed software products at Fortify Software, which was later acquired by Hewlett Packard (HP). During his six years at Fortify and HP, Taylor ran the Software as a Service (SaaS) product line, the mobile technology product line and the pricing strategy and implementation for all products. Prior to Fortify, Taylor was an Associate in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division. Before joining Morgan Stanley he was an Associate at New England Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on acquiring middle-market operating companies, and a Principal at The Parthenon Group, a strategic advisory firm. At Parthenon Taylor helped lead projects for sales force optimizations, M&A integrations, acquisitions and pricing analyses for companies in the technology, retail, healthcare, private equity and publishing industries.
Taylor has a B.A. in Economics and English from Williams College and an M.B.A from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he was President of his class. Taylor enjoys running, biking, playing golf and spending time with his wife and family.
taylor@mainsailpartners.com
Senior Associate
Kyle joined Mainsail in 2009 and is responsible for sourcing and executing new investments. He focuses on growth-oriented investments in e-commerce & e-commerce technologies, internet, software, and business services. Kyle supports several of Mainsail’s current portfolio companies and played an integral role in closing the acquisitions of Steelwedge and Home Health Services.
Prior to Mainsail Partners, Kyle was an analyst in the Technology Group at Lazard Frères, concentrating on mergers and acquisitions advisory work for internet, e-commerce, and communications equipment companies. While at Lazard, he helped advise Amazon on its acquisition of Zappos and Cisco on its acquisition of Tandberg.
Kyle received an A.B. in Economics at Stanford University and was captain of Stanford’s Varsity Soccer Team. He is a sports enthusiast and loyal St. Louis Cardinals fan. Kyle enjoys sailing and skiing in his free time. He is passionate about online technologies and has aspirations to one day be an entrepreneur himself.
kyle@mainsailpartners.com
Sheldon Lewis
Senior Associate
Sheldon Lewis joined Mainsail in 2009 and is responsible for sourcing and executing new investments, as well as working with current portfolio companies. He focuses on growth-oriented investments in payment processing, SaaS, internet, franchising, and business services. Sheldon supports several of Mainsail’s companies and sourced Mainsail’s investments in PayLease and Steelwedge.
Prior to Mainsail Partners, Sheldon was an analyst in the Technology Group at Piper Jaffray, where he specialized in equity financings, restructurings and mergers and acquisitions advisory work. While at Piper Jaffray, Sheldon worked on successful recapitalizations such as PowerOne and advised on successful strategic transactions for clients including SoftBrands and Sylantro. Before Piper Jaffray, Sheldon was an analyst at Transition Partners, a venture capital firm.
Sheldon is a Colorado native and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.S. in Finance, with distinction, and an M.S. in Accounting, with distinction. In his free time he enjoys golf, soccer, running, and skiing.
sheldon@mainsailpartners.com
Senior Advisor
Joe Mandato is a Senior Advisor to Mainsail and its portfolio companies. In his role, Joe leverages more than 25 years of experience as a successful CEO and company-builder to provide strategic guidance and mentorship in the areas of value creation, leadership and execution for Mainsail’s CEOs and management teams.
Joe has served as CEO of several successful operating companies, including two leveraged buyouts. The first, an ophthalmic implant company, was sold to a UK based public company, and the second, a leveraged purchase from Johnson & Johnson, subsequently acquired by a NYSE company. Both transactions resulted in significant value creation for shareholders. He also advised the founders, was an active investor and was appointed to the Board of Directors of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN), developer of the Invisalign clear orthodontic appliance.
Earlier in his career, he served as President and CEO of Origin Medsystems, a developer of minimally invasive surgical devices, where he also co-founded and served as CEO of Gynecare, a women’s health spin-out from Origin, which was later acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Origin was acquired by Guidant Corporation (NYSE; later acquired by Boston Scientific), where Mr. Mandato served as a Vice President and member of the founding management committee and CEO of two of its five operating units. He has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Mayfield Fund, a venture capital firm.
Prior to his distinguished career, Joe served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. He currently serves on the boards of Embrace Global and Save the Children. He received his doctorate degree in management from Case Western Reserve University, and serves on its Board of Trustees. His research focused on the evolving role of boards in ensuring effective governance. He serves on the adjunct faculty of The University of San Francisco’s Graduate School of Management and is a Lecturer at Stanford University. Additionally, Joe is currently a Fellow in the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative.
Associate
Patrick joined Mainsail in 2011 and is responsible for sourcing and executing new investments. He focuses on growth capital and recapitalization investments across several high-growth industries, including business services and software. Patrick also supports current portfolio companies.
Prior to Mainsail Partners, Patrick was an analyst in the Technology Investment Banking group at ThinkEquity, where he advised on and executed financing and strategic transactions for companies such as Hanwha SolarOne, NeoPhotonics, OpenTable and SuccessFactors. Before ThinkEquity, Patrick supported the live broadcasts of sporting events as a production assistant for NBC Universal Sports and Olympics.
Patrick received a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. He also studied international finance at the University of Seville in Seville, Spain. Patrick enjoys spending free time outdoors in Northern California and listening to live music.
patrick@mainsailpartners.com
Research Analyst
Nathan joined Mainsail in 2011 and is responsible for assisting portfolio companies with research initiatives, including analyzing target markets, customer research, and leveraging media and marketing analytics to drive growth. Nathan’s goal is to identify trends and insights to help Mainsail’s portfolio companies make data-based decisions. In addition, he works with the Mainsail investment team to identify interesting markets and potential investment opportunities.
Prior to Mainsail Partners, Nathan worked at Tora Trading Services, spending time in both their San Francisco and Hong Kong offices. He graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Social Psychology. Nathan spent time in college as a volunteer YMCA basketball coach and he is currently an active volunteer at other organizations around the city. He is a Bay Area native and in his free time you’ll find him playing tennis, basketball or any number of other sports.
nathan@mainsailpartners.com
Marketing Analyst
In Sarita’s role as Marketing Analyst she provides marketing support to Mainsail’s portfolio companies, including research, reporting and supporting targeted marketing campaigns. In addition, Sarita assists in Mainsail’s communication efforts and supports office administrative needs.
Prior to Mainsail Partners, Sarita worked as the Public Relations Coordinator for Live Nation - Southwest, the largest concert promoter in the world, where she was responsible for securing media coverage for each event in Arizona, Las Vegas, and New Mexico. Sarita received an B.A. in Communications with a minor in Business from the University of Arizona. In Sarita’s free time, she enjoys traveling, playing sports, and spending time with friends and family.
sarita@mainsailpartners.com
Executive Assistant
Elizabeth Armstrong is the Executive Assistant to Gavin Turner and C. Jason Payne. Elizabeth's responsibilities range from managing calendars, travel schedules and correspondence to supporting investor relations, as well sharing office management duties with the administrative support team.
Elizabeth has over 20 years of experience in executive administrative support. Most recently she has worked at Nestle Dreyer's Ice Cream, but gained the majority of her experience supporting founding partners and executives in successful venture capital firms and software companies. Outside of the office Elizabeth is a published, fine arts photographer and enjoys catching up with her husband and two teenage sons over home cooked meals.
elizabeth@mainsailpartners.com
Executive Assistant
Courtney Esposto is the Executive Assistant to Taylor McKinley and Stephen Wolfe. Courtney is responsible for managing calendars, travel schedules, and providing administrative support to the entire Mainsail Team.
Prior to Mainsail Partners, Courtney worked as the second assistant to the CEO of Apple, and as an Office Manager at Aquilo Partners, a boutique investment bank focused on life sciences. Courtney received an A.B. in Liberal Studies from the University of the Pacific and was a member of Pacific’s Division I Field Hockey Team. Outside of work Courtney enjoys spending time with her husband and son.
courtney@mainsailpartners.com