Equity Expertise

We help you navigate capital decisions with clarity—from choosing the right investors to raising on the right terms, and occasionally investing ourselves.

How We Help With
Equity Expertise

Clear Capital Strategy

We help you step back, assess your options, and make intentional capital decisions aligned with where you’re trying to go.
A clear view of when to raise—and when not to
Alignment between growth plans and capital needs
Fewer reactive decisions driven by market noise
A capital strategy that supports execution, not distraction

The Right Investor Partners

We help you identify and choose investors who add value beyond capital and stay aligned as the business evolves.
Thoughtful evaluation of investor fit
Clear expectations around governance and involvement
Fewer surprises in board dynamics
Long-term alignment through growth and change

A Disciplined Fundraising Process

We bring structure and clarity to the fundraising process so it strengthens the business rather than overwhelming it.
Clear preparation before entering the market
Tighter narratives grounded in real operating metrics
More efficient processes with less leadership distraction
Confidence navigating diligence & investor scrutiny

Selective Capital Partnership

In select situations, we invest in companies when our experience and approach are a strong fit.
Capital paired with deep operational understanding
Long-term perspective shaped by real operating experience
Thoughtful, aligned involvement—not pressure
A partner who values discipline over hype

Capital Experience From Both Sides Of The Table

Billions
invested in Meritage companies

We’ve raised capital as founders and operators.

Our team has raised venture capital, managed boards, and operated businesses under real investor pressure. We know what fundraising feels like from inside the company—and how capital decisions ripple through execution, culture, and leadership long after the round closes.
80% +
of our companies have raised capital

We’ve deployed capital as long-term investors.

As managing partners and investors, we’ve deployed billions of dollars and worked with hundreds of companies across stages and industries. That perspective shapes how we help leaders think about investor fit, governance, and capital structures that support durable performance.
Trusted
by leading VC and PE firms

Frequently Asked Questions

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Where are you located?

 We are based in Denver but working nationally. We travel to clients, and are also happy to run your offsites and sessions at our locations in Denver, Vail, or Winter Park.

Who is behind Meritage?

Meritage is led by entrepreneurs, operators, investors, and founders who’ve built, bought, funded, and scaled real businesses. We’ve worked across technology and traditional industries, venture-backed and self-funded companies, and teams ranging from software engineers to frontline operators.

We came together around a shared insight: the companies that win aren’t always the ones with the best ideas or the most capital — they’re the ones that execute with discipline while others chase shy objects

Meritage exists to be the partner we wish we’d had: grounded, practical, and deeply experienced in execution, capital, and modernization.

What is a Business Operating System?

A Business Operating System is a framework for how a company runs day to day. It aligns leadership around a shared vision, establishes clear accountability, and creates a consistent cadence for setting priorities, solving problems, and tracking performance.

Every business has an operating system, but often they evolve almost accidentally, without much thought to how the whole system will work together, and often relying heavily on heroics and intuition. Systems like these break down when your business is under pressure.

A strong and deliberate business operating system helps organizations stay focused, make better decisions, and move forward with clarity—especially in periods of rapid growth or transformation.

What is EOS® (Entrepreneurial Operating System)?

EOS® is a complete business operating system designed to simplify and streamline even the most complex business challenges. It focuses on six key components of a healthy business: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction. 

Rather than theory, it emphasizes consistent habits and discipline, helping teams gain control of their business, create momentum, and execute more effectively as they scale.

Why did we choose EOS® as our preferred Business Operating System?

We'd each found EOS at critical moments in our own companies and watched it transform chaos into clarity. It worked just as well for a 1000-person B2B SaaS company as it did for a multi-location food and beverage company or a small family business. The principles of operational excellence are universal—only the application changes.

What kind of companies does Meritage work with?

We work with ambitious, growth-minded leaders who want to build something enduring. At the earlier stage, our clients have some real traction—often $2M+ in revenue or have raised $3M+ in outside capital—and are navigating the shift from entrepreneurial momentum to disciplined scale. 

Many of our companies have between $10M and $50M in revenue, though we also regularly partner with much larger organizations facing meaningful transformation, including public companies. 

What matters most isn’t size or industry, but mindset: leaders who are open to change, committed to growth, and more concerned about standing still than doing the hard work required to move forward.

What is Meritage’s history?

Our founders pioneered venture capital in the Rocky Mountain region, with over 40 years of investment experience. As a firm, we have always been dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build remarkable organizations. 

Over time, we saw that venture capital began to evolve away from helping entrepreneurs build organizations to become just another asset class, so we shifted our approach to focus on what we think matters most—operational excellence, capital expertise, and practical modernization practices.

How are you different from other EOS® implementers?

We are the only firm of EOS® implementers that specialize in serving companies that have raised outside capital. We understand the unique pressures of venture-backed or private equity growth,  which uniquely positions us to serve both companies that have raised outside capital as well as venture and PE firms themselves. 

We also have unique expertise in AI. Our team has led modernization of companies across industries—from AI-native startups to long-standing, operationally complex businesses. We understand the realities of legacy systems, frontline teams, regulatory constraints, and investor expectations. We apply EOS® with a unique view towards improving outcomes via smart technology modernization.

All businesses face challenges. Execution decides who wins.

We partner with select leaders to establish world-class execution—bringing operational discipline, capital fluency, and thoughtful modernization to build remarkable businesses.
"Jay has been with us from the beginning of our EOS journey. His knowledgable and professional approach helped overcome the natural reticence that accompanies any major operational change."
Carl Koelbel
CEO, Koelbel
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