What It Takes to Source “Elite” Founder-Owned Software Companies with Jake Colognesi

Jake Colognesi, Founding Partner at Mamba Growth, joins the Deal Sourcery Podcast to break down how sourcing sits at the center of building a new growth equity firm.

Mamba focuses on bootstrapped, founder-owned B2B software and tech-enabled services businesses—companies that are growing quickly, highly sought after, and often not actively considering outside capital. That makes company identification, differentiated outreach, and long-term founder engagement critical to the firm’s strategy.

Jake shares how Mamba defines its ideal target, why clarity around the investment profile is the starting point for effective sourcing, and how his team earns founder attention by leading with genuine value rather than generic outreach. He also explains Mamba’s “everyone sources” culture, including how senior investors can support junior sourcing professionals through responsiveness, preparation, recognition, and a willingness to move quickly when an opportunity emerges.

The conversation also covers:

• The case for a hybrid, “eat what you kill” sourcing model
• How diligence and execution build pattern recognition that improves future sourcing
• What LPs evaluate when diligencing an emerging manager’s sourcing capabilities
• Why technology alone is rarely a defensible sourcing advantage
• How AI and automated outreach are raising the bar for relevance and personalization
• Why trust, creativity, in-person engagement, and delivering value upfront will matter even more in the future

For emerging managers, investment professionals, and BD teams trying to build a more disciplined sourcing engine, Jake offers a practical look at how sourcing becomes a firm-wide culture rather than a standalone activity.

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