THE NETWORK

It's never just us at the table.

One firm, dozens of builders behind it. No one here holds a title for its own sake — people earn their seat by advising the firm, investing beside us, or leading the companies we've backed. Most do more than one.

The firm

Cole Lysaught
Cole Lysaught
FOUNDER
Partner Equity
LinkedIn ↗

Cole Lysaught is the Founder of Partner Equity, an entrepreneurial investment platform that partners with founders, operators, and investment managers to build enduring businesses through aligned capital, strategic partnership, and disciplined capital allocation.

At the center of Cole's career has been a simple belief: capital is most powerful when paired with exceptional people and aligned incentives. Whether building companies, investing in businesses, or developing investment platforms, he believes long-term value is created through sound judgment, operational excellence, thoughtful capital allocation, and trusted relationships—not financial engineering or short-term optimization. That philosophy sits at the core of Partner Equity, where Cole invests alongside every partnership to ensure alignment with founders and investors.

Before founding Partner Equity, Cole co-founded Bloom Health Partners, helping build the company from inception to approximately $40 million in revenue and more than $10 million of EBITDA before its successful exit. Building and scaling a business firsthand reinforced lessons that cannot be learned solely from spreadsheets or boardrooms and continues to shape how Partner Equity partners with founders today.

Cole also serves as Managing Partner of Crossroads Capital, where he leads firm strategy, investor relations, fundraising, and the continued institutional development of the firm. He is also a Founding Partner of Harvest Group, a majority buyout platform focused on acquiring and building exceptional lower middle-market businesses. As a member of Harvest's Investment Committee, he helps evaluate investment opportunities, allocate capital, and support portfolio companies through long-term value creation.

Earlier in his career, Cole worked at TPG Capital and later became an institutional equity trader at JonesTrading. Together, those experiences provided an early foundation across both private and public markets while exposing him to the structural misalignments that can exist between capital providers and entrepreneurs, as well as between general partners and limited partners. Those observations continue to shape Partner Equity's investment philosophy: invest selectively, align incentives, and build businesses and investment platforms designed to compound over decades rather than quarters.

Across his career, Cole has helped build operating companies, investment platforms, and strategic partnerships spanning public equities, private businesses, and majority buyout investments. Rather than viewing public and private markets as separate disciplines, he approaches each through the same lens: disciplined capital allocation, asymmetric opportunity, and long-term compounding. That perspective enables him to evaluate businesses not simply as investments, but as enduring enterprises capable of creating value for founders, investors, employees, and customers alike.

Cole earned degrees in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from Texas Christian University, graduating cum laude. He serves on the TCU Dallas Alumni Board and has represented entrepreneurs at two G20 Global Entrepreneurship Summits focused on innovation, business building, and long-term value creation.

“Over the course of my career, I've become convinced that capital doesn't create exceptional businesses—exceptional people do. Capital simply accelerates what already exists. Our responsibility is to identify extraordinary founders and investment managers, align incentives, allocate capital with discipline, and help build organizations that compound in value long after the investment has been made. That's the philosophy behind every partnership we pursue at Partner Equity.”

They advise the firm

Judgment we borrow — many invest beside us too.
Tom Hund
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
Formerly BNSF Railway
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John Garcia
John Garcia
ADVISOR
Formerly Sprint
LinkedIn ↗
Jeff Lysaught
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
Formerly Goldman Sachs · United Capital
Mehmood Khan
Mehmood Khan
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
CEO, Hevolution Foundation
LinkedIn ↗
John Relton
John Relton
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
Founder, STRAIT
LinkedIn ↗
Adam Francis
Adam Francis
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
Founder, Host Healthcare · APF Capital Management
LinkedIn ↗
Paul Abel
Paul Abel
ADVISOR
Elite Business Ventures
LinkedIn ↗
Abbas Khan
Abbas Khan
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
PIF · Founder, Bloom Health Partners
LinkedIn ↗
Gabe Gooley
Gabe Gooley
ADVISOR
LinkedIn ↗
Kurt Mai
Kurt Mai
ADVISOR
LinkedIn ↗
Tony Sansone III
Tony Sansone III
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
Verdant Advisors
LinkedIn ↗
Anubhav Raj
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
LinkedIn ↗
Jarrod Dean, CFA
Jarrod Dean, CFA
ADVISOR · INVESTOR
LinkedIn ↗
Emerson Farrell
ADVISOR

They lead our companies

Founders of the businesses we've backed.
Ryan O'Connor
Ryan O'Connor
FOUNDER
LinkedIn ↗
Ricky Paradise
Ricky Paradise
FOUNDER
LinkedIn ↗
Tommy Shuey
Tommy Shuey
FOUNDER
LinkedIn ↗
Shareef El-Sissi
Shareef El-Sissi
FOUNDER
LinkedIn ↗
Dyke Minix
Dyke Minix
FOUNDER
LinkedIn ↗
+ dozens more

Founders, operators, and family offices across our companies and co-investments.

Most of these people wear more than one hat. That's the point.
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