Tushar Shah

Tushar Shah is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Kinderhook Partners, LLC, an investment partnership he launched in 2003 alongside Stephen ("Steve") Clearman. The firm manages a concentrated portfolio of long-term investments in public and private companies, and reports having invested more than $1 billion across 100+ companies with annualized compounded returns it describes as greater than 20%.

Before founding Kinderhook, Shah was a Principal at Geocapital Partners, the venture capital firm founded by his eventual Kinderhook co-founder Stephen Clearman, which managed a series of North American and European partnerships. Earlier in his career he worked as a strategy consultant at the Monitor Group, leading projects in New York, London, and Tel Aviv, and he served as a WorldTeach volunteer in Ecuador.

Shah holds a B.A. in Economics from Williams College and is a CFA charterholder. At Kinderhook he has directed investments across many industries and served as a board member at numerous public and private companies, including active involvement in the firm's search-fund program.

Note: Kinderhook Partners (Fort Lee, NJ) is a distinct firm from the similarly named private-equity manager Kinderhook Industries; the two are unrelated and should not be conflated.

• Runs a concentrated, long-term book (typically a 3–5+ year horizon) across three channels: public equities, search funds, and minority growth equity.
• Public markets: Builds positions via open-market or block purchases and direct investments, generally $5–25 million initial size, in small public companies whose managements are closely aligned with shareholders.
• Search funds: One of the earliest and most active backers, investing since roughly 2004–2005, having backed 100+ search funds with dozens active at any time across ~8 countries. At the search stage he "typically do[es] about 10% of the search fund" (~$40K), then invests more heavily at the deal stage (10–25%).
• Why the search model works, in his words: search funders "fill a gap" — talented operators willing to become CEO of small businesses (often ~$1–5M EBIT) that traditional PE firms struggle to staff with leadership.
• What makes him say yes on a searcher: a track record of "success and achievement" in academics or work, evidence the person "really understand[s] what it is to go find a deal," and "a strong desire to run a company."
• Growth equity: minority stakes in private companies with proven business models and a concrete, well-defined use for growth capital.