David Drahms

David Drahms joined Osage in 2005 during the formation of the firm's first early-stage venture fund and helped build the foundation of what became Osage Venture Partners (OVP), an East Coast firm focused on B2B software. Over nearly two decades there he played a lead or supporting role in funding more than 50 startups across multiple funds, focusing on deal origination, investment selection, and portfolio management. He spearheaded OVP's healthcare IT investment focus and was promoted from Principal to Partner in March 2014; he currently holds the title of Venture Partner.

Before his investing career, Drahms worked at Teradyne, the Boston-based semiconductor test-equipment manufacturer, where he served first as a mechanical engineer and then as a project manager on a team designing and building the company's next-generation test equipment. He also gained direct operating experience as Executive Chairman of VividCortex, a database performance-monitoring platform (later acquired by SolarWinds).

Drahms earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. He has served since 2011 as Co-Chairman of the University of Rochester's Newman Community Advisory Board.

More recently, Drahms founded TechEngine Capital, a private equity firm he launched to partner with business owners he describes as underserved by traditional private equity firms and strategic acquirers. The firm acquires and scales established, profitable businesses—a shift from venture investing toward majority ownership of cash-generating companies—while he continues as a Venture Partner at Osage.

• At Osage: early-stage (seed/Series A) B2B and enterprise software companies on the East Coast, with a notable concentration in healthcare IT.
• Emphasizes a hands-on, partnership-driven board relationship over a purely capital role: *"Building a business is really challenging, and it is never straight up and to the right. Every day I strive to be your trusted partner."*
• At TechEngine Capital: acquires established businesses with $500K+ in EBITDA, typically bootstrapped or lightly capitalized, via majority transactions that provide both owner liquidity and growth capital.
• Seeks management teams that want a genuine partner, not just a check, and targets owners "underserved by traditional private equity firms and strategic acquirers."