SWAT EQUITY
As President & Partner of SWAT, I helped launch one of the first venture funds embedded within a brand strategy agency, investing in founder-led consumer businesses before the market fully caught up.
SWAT Equity emerged from the entrepreneurial momentum already building inside SWAT by Kirshenbaum, but the vision was always larger than a traditional venture fund. The idea was simple: some of the strongest consumer businesses reveal themselves early through founder conviction, cultural instinct, and brand clarity long before the broader market fully understands their potential.
Launching a Fund Inside an Agency
As Managing Director & Partner, I helped launch and shape the fund as a brand-led investment platform operating at the intersection of venture, strategy, culture, and consumer behavior.
The $15M portfolio focused on founder-led businesses with differentiated positioning, strong operational instincts, and the potential to shape categories rather than simply compete within them.
My role extended beyond traditional diligence. I evaluated opportunities through both an investor and operator lens, looking not only at financial models, but at founder energy, narrative elasticity, customer psychology, and long-term brand scalability.
In many cases, the work continued well beyond investment through positioning refinement, go-to-market strategy, hiring discussions, operational systems, and growth planning.
Founder Speed. Shared Instincts.
I worked especially closely with Sarah Foley, now Founder of InviNext, whose speed, instincts, and strategic clarity helped shape the operating rhythm of the fund itself.
Together, we reviewed dozens of businesses monthly, moving quickly and trusting conviction when we saw exceptional founders building something culturally meaningful before the category fully matured.
The portfolio ultimately included companies such as Supergoop!, Banza, HATCH, NAADAM, Foodstirs, PetPlate, Blackwell Rum, Powerful Foods, and Zeel.
While the categories varied, the common denominator was always strong founder vision paired with a brand capable of becoming much larger in the consumer space.
Beyond Capital
My role extended well beyond diligence.
I worked directly with founders to refine positioning, pressure-test brand platforms, shape go-to-market strategies, and help create the systems required for growth. In some cases, I advised on hiring, communications, operational structure, or customer experience.
The goal was never trend-chasing.
It was identifying businesses that were early for the right reasons and helping build the strategic foundation required to scale.
The portfolio included brands such as Supergoop!, Banza, HATCH, NAADAM, Blackwell Rum, Foodstirs, PetPlate, Powerful Foods, and Zeel.
Some became category leaders. All had strong points of view from the beginning.
Takeaway
SWAT Equity gave me a clearer view into the kind of work I wanted more of.
Not simply advising brands from the outside, but helping architect systems designed to scale them.
It reinforced something that had been building throughout my career:
when business strategy, brand positioning, operations, and founder vision move together, growth becomes significantly more powerful.
That realization continues to shape how I work today.