Grady Kidder

Grady Kidder is a growth-equity investor who in 2024 co-founded Potamus Equity, a Raleigh, North Carolina–based growth private equity firm, alongside partner Jackson Evans. The firm invests in and partners with "underappreciated" technology and business-services companies across North America, positioning itself as a source of strategic capital and operational support for founders and management teams at an inflection point in their growth.

Before launching Potamus, Kidder spent his career at Catalyst Investors, a New York growth-equity firm (fund size reported around $377M), which he joined in 2016 and where he rose to Principal. There he was responsible for deal origination — writing research reports, formulating investment strategies, and conducting company outreach — and supported the deal team on due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio management.

Earlier, Kidder worked in investment banking: as an analyst in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications coverage group at Wells Fargo Securities in New York, and previously in the Leveraged Finance group at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in Atlanta.

He holds a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MS in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

• Invests in and partners with underappreciated technology and business-services companies at an inflection point, aiming to accelerate growth through engaged, tailored support rather than passive capital.
• Emphasizes alignment with management as the top priority — in his own words on the VIVE deal: *"We are aligned with the management team on a strategic vision and are excited to support their next phase of growth."*
• Combines strategic capital with operational expertise to help companies expand within their markets.
• Historically (Catalyst / Signal profile) associated with Series B consumer-internet and enterprise/SaaS deals, with individual check sizes reported in the $30K–$3.0M range and a ~$1.5M sweet spot.