Shiv sits down with Vik Thapar, Managing Director at Cypress Growth Capital, to explore how royalty-based growth capital helps bootstrapped B2B companies scale without dilution. Vik breaks down when this structure works best, how repayment is designed to support continued growth and why many founders use it to double down on proven sales and marketing motions.

The discussion also delves into the operational side—how a team of former operators supports founders day-to-day—and the patterns Cypress sees as these companies mature toward growth equity or strategic outcomes.

On this episode, Shiv is joined by Rafael Telahun, Managing Director at Altaline Capital Management, to discuss value creation that is built on strategy, rather than just institutionalization. Rafael breaks down how to meaningfully rerate a business by getting hands-on to make improvements like increasing mission criticality, making strategic pricing changes and raising gross and net retention. Plus, learn how why creativity, customer discovery and humility matter more than rigid playbooks.

Tune in as Rafael breaks down how to execute these approaches in practice—including pre-close planning to 80%+ detail, turning vertical focus into competitive advantage and knowing when to make people changes immediately post-close.

Josh Christensen, Director at Mercato Partners, shares how minority growth investors can turn ecosystem-building into a true competitive advantage—without taking control or over-engineering outcomes. Drawing on his experience scaling Mercato’s playbook across non-coastal markets, Josh breaks down what it takes to embed sales, marketing, and human capital excellence from first touch through IPO, and how to focus resources where they actually accelerate 100%+ growth.

Learn why authentic relationship-building drives stronger deal flow and portfolio performance, how community initiatives can surface the best opportunities ahead of a fundraise, and what it takes to measure value creation beyond capital returns.