All Things Fundraising

In this episode of the Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with John Donovan, Head of Wealth Management Distribution at TowerBrook, for a deep dive into distribution strategies, leadership, and fostering a culture of transparency and service. With over 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, John brings valuable insight into managing relationships with family offices, RIAs, and private banks, and shares the key principles that have guided his career.

John’s career journey spans several prestigious firms, from Blackstone to Schroder Investment Management, before joining TowerBrook to lead their North American investor relations efforts. His focus now is on the wealth management channel, where TowerBrook’s modern value approach targets middle-market companies across sectors like health services, business services, financial services, and consumer products. The firm’s strategy is simple yet impactful—find high-growth, founder-led companies in these sectors and invest at attractive multiples, all while ensuring a firm-wide commitment to championing others.

The conversation dives into the evolution of TowerBrook’s investor relations strategy, which John describes as a three-phase process. Starting with the firm’s early years when founding partner Filippo Cardini led the IR function, John’s addition to the team represents the firm’s commitment to expanding its wealth management presence. He explains how TowerBrook’s IR team of around 12 professionals is structured to ensure transparency, shared goals, and a focus on both wealth and institutional LPs.

A major theme of the episode is the importance of communication and transparency. John highlights how TowerBrook emphasizes open, honest conversations with both internal teams and external clients, ensuring every team member is held accountable. He points to the use of CRM tools to track relationships, manage outreach, and ensure the team is aligned in their goals. John also stresses the value of maintaining service excellence, noting that building trust with LPs requires consistent communication, a collaborative approach, and the ability to share information and execute on deals efficiently.

John’s leadership style centers around servant leadership, empowering his team to make decisions and fostering an environment where everyone feels ownership over their contributions. He shares that “championing others” is a key part of the culture at TowerBrook, as the firm strives to help its employees, LPs, and portfolio companies succeed.

This episode is a great listen for sales leaders, fundraisers, and investment professionals looking to build strong relationships, improve communication strategies, and lead with integrity.

Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In this episode of the Dakota Fundraising News Podcast, we cover new job changes at major pension funds, including PSERS and OPTrust, and spotlight freshly launched RIAs like Evergreen Wealth Partners and Cambria Wealth Management. Hear consultant updates from Sacramento County, RFP activity out of Florida’s Pembroke Pines Pension Fund, and major investment moves by Illinois’ State Universities Retirement System. We also share the latest fundraising efforts from Quantum Capital, Partners Group, and Eastend Ventures — plus a reminder to register for our next Dakota Cocktails event.

Tired of fragmented data slowing you down? Book a demo of Dakota Research to centralize critical investment data and intelligence to simplify your decision-making process.

In this episode of the Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with Danielle Brown, founder and CEO of Altriarch, for a powerful conversation on strategy, leadership, and building a differentiated private credit platform. With 25 years in alternatives and a background that spans diligence, investing, and operations—including key roles at Dyal Capital Partners and Wachovia—Danielle shares how Altriarch was designed from the ground up to reflect the best practices (and lessons learned) from across the asset management industry.

After witnessing firsthand how firms succeed—or falter—through her work with GPs at Dyal, Danielle committed to building a firm defined by equity ownership, clear communication, and strategic focus. Every Altriarch team member becomes an equity holder after one year, creating alignment and encouraging a culture of ownership.

Danielle and her partner Meghan Brook launched Altriarch in 2021 with a distinct strategy: lending to specialty finance companies, including factoring and niche private credit. These borrowers often face challenges securing capital from traditional banks due to complexity and collateral structures. Altriarch seeks to fill that gaps, offering senior secured, subordinated, or co-investment solutions. The firm’s investment process is operationally intensive, involving weekly borrower communication and real-time collateral monitoring by dedicated investment and ops teams.

The distribution approach reflects the firm’s strategic edge. Danielle shares how Altriarch runs an education-first sales process, acknowledging the complexity of their offering. Each prospective investor’s process is organized into a trackable project—tracked in Asana, managed through Affinity CRM, and supported by customized content. Because most LPs are unfamiliar with accounts receivable-backed credit, Danielle emphasizes why she thinks deep diligence preparation and proactive investor education as keys to closing. Her team meets weekly to review top-priority relationships and brainstorm ways to re-engage leads with meaningful insights.

Danielle also reflects on her leadership evolution—initially struggling to relinquish control before realizing that empowering her team led to better results. She fosters autonomy, encourages smart risk-taking, and supports her team through questions and coaching, not micromanagement.

To young professionals, she advises: “educate, don’t sell,” and always “keep the ball in your court”—follow up with accountability and intention. Her final insight: pattern recognition matters in sales, and a few missteps in a meeting can derail a deal, so preparation is essential.

This episode is a blueprint for leading with clarity, building trust, and executing with depth in the complex world of private credit.

Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In Episode 17 of the Dakota Research Podcast, we spotlight the Middle East’s transformation into a global investment powerhouse. Once defined by oil exports, the region is now attracting massive capital inflows across AI, renewable energy, infrastructure, and venture capital. National strategies like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and UAE’s Vision 2031 are fueling this shift—powered by sovereign wealth funds (PIF, ADIA, QIA) and major family offices.

We unpack deal trends, M&A activity ($46B in Q1 2025), and landmark transactions involving AI infrastructure, data centers, and defense. Plus, we explore co-investments, growing U.S. fund activity in the Gulf, and how private credit and venture capital are becoming core allocations for MENA allocators.

Whether you're tracking sovereign flows, megaprojects, or new capital markets, this episode offers insights into one of the world’s fastest-growing investment frontiers.

Tired of fragmented data slowing you down? Book a demo of Dakota Research to centralize critical investment data and intelligence to simplify your decision-making process.

In this week’s Dakota Fundraising News Podcast, Lara Galloway joins Elevation Point as head of growth alongside Melinda Brodbeck as head of corporate communications, Saibal Mukherjee takes on equities manager research at Mercer, Hunter Brackett becomes public equity portfolio manager at the NC Department of State Treasury, and Pierre Duran joins Trinity University to oversee private markets. Hub International acquires Veripax Wealth Management as part of its $178B RIA network expansion, while The Quick Group and Alteris Capital Partners both debut new RIAs with over $100M in assets. On the institutional front, Louisiana TRS selects Hamilton Lane and StepStone to lead its private markets consulting, with an RFP open for $10B+ AUM co-investment managers, and Chicago Teachers’ outlines $170M in real estate and infrastructure pacing plans. Jacksonville’s large cap value manager vote is postponed, Fresno County commits $100M+ across four managers, and Texas TRS makes $895M in new allocations across private equity, real estate, and infrastructure. BharCap Partners raises $1.1B for Fund II, with backing from LAFPP, and Mekong Capital announces plans for a $200M regenerative agriculture fund launching in 2026.

Tired of fragmented data slowing you down? Book a demo of Dakota Research to centralize critical investment data and intelligence to simplify your decision-making process.

In this episode of the Dakota Fundraising News Podcast, we cover job changes including, Ryan Gardner joining Texas A&M Foundation as Assistant Director of Investments, Isla Chu being named Director of Investments at Michigan State University, and Laura Walker becoming a Consultant at NEPC. In RIA/FA activity, Andy Knowles launches Knowles Private Wealth with Raymond James, Tempo Wealth debuts in Ohio, and Strive Retirement Group opens in Florida focusing on corporate plans. Institutional updates include Oregon PERS recommending a contract extension for Meketa, and Boston Retirement issuing a $90M real estate RFP with a private equity search to follow. Somerville allocates $25M across AEW and Invesco, Hartford commits $5M to Mesirow, and Arkansas Teacher Retirement commits $80M across Arlington Capital and Great Hill Equity.

Tired of fragmented data slowing you down? Book a demo of Dakota Research to centralize critical investment data and intelligence to simplify your decision-making process.

In Episode 32 of The Emerging Manager Growth Show, Gui Costin shares why RIAs are the top fundraising channel for emerging managers—and how to break in effectively.

He debunks myths about needing large AUM, long track records, or fee flexibility, and explains why cold outreach is essential to success. Gui walks through city scheduling, crafting strong email invites, and using quarterly webinars to drive awareness. He also outlines how to leverage CRM for pipeline tracking and why asking two key questions in every meeting helps qualify real opportunities. A must-watch for fundraisers looking to scale smartly.

In this episode of the Rainmaker Podcast, Gui Costin sits down with Michael Rubenstein, Managing Director at RMWC, for an insightful look into disciplined sales execution, solo practitioner fundraising, and the mindset needed to succeed in a competitive investment landscape. As RMWC’s first employee and the architect of its capital formation strategy, Michael shares his evolution from top-performing financial advisor at State Farm Investment Management to leading sales and investor relations for a specialized real estate credit firm.

Michael credits his early success to embracing a structured, metrics-based sales process he learned through the “Circle of Wealth” system. This replicable model enabled him to track inputs like calls and meetings, tailor conversations to client needs, and consistently close multiple lines of business. Today, he brings that same process discipline to RMWC, where he leads sales as a solo practitioner, backed by a firmwide culture of accountability and ownership.

Michael recounts how RMWC pivoted from a fund-of-funds model to its current focus: short-duration, floating-rate, senior-secured real estate credit. With roughly $5–$20 million check sizes, RMWC primarily targets family offices, multi-family offices, and RIAs. In 2024 alone, Michael conducted over 400 investor meetings—an impressive volume he attributes to strategic cold outreach, warm referrals, and carefully curated in-person events that foster peer-to-peer influence among LPs.

Communication is central to Michael’s approach. He tracks opportunities by stage—lead, intro call, diligence, soft close, hard close—and reports regularly to leadership using Backstop CRM and a detailed relationship spreadsheet. But he’s quick to emphasize that no tool replaces the human element. A personal follow-up to a canceled meeting at iConnections led to a rebooked conversation simply because he took the time to check in. “Trust is what we’re selling,” he says. “People want to do business with people they connect with.”

Michael’s leadership style blends “shock and awe” with “land and expand.” He believes strong first impressions and consistent service create loyal, scalable relationships. His advice for young professionals? Nail your sales process, get a mentor, and be meticulous about CRM hygiene—small follow-ups can be the difference between a deal and a missed opportunity.

This episode offers a tactical, real-world roadmap for fundraisers navigating today's tight capital environment—and a reminder that great salespeople lead with process, empathy, and persistence.

In Episode 16 of the Dakota Research Podcast, we explore the rapidly expanding space economy, a $2 trillion opportunity redefining infrastructure, defense, and global connectivity. From reusable rockets and smallsat constellations to in-space manufacturing and orbital logistics, space is moving from moonshots to market-making.

We break down the investment landscape—highlighting government-backed defense initiatives, private capital pouring into infrastructure and satellite networks, and M&A across launch, logistics, and Earth observation sectors. The episode also features recent deals and notable players like SpaceX, Rocket Lab, VAST, and Planet Labs.

Plus, we unpack themes that matter to institutional investors: dual-use technologies, sovereign space strategies, and the role of space in ESG, communications, and data infrastructure.

Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In this episode of the Dakota Fundraising News Podcast, we discuss job changes including Tom Borghard joining Yale Investments as director, Vivek Jindal is named CIO at Caprock, and Jonathan Grushkin becomes CIO at Sanford Health following roles at Cleveland Clinic and RWJ Foundation. In RIA/FA M&A, Mariner Wealth Advisors acquires $1.4B Taurus Asset Management, EP Wealth adds $900M Buffington Mohr McNeal, and Michael Breitfeller launches The Breit Group in North Carolina. Institutional updates include an $8M passive equity RFP from Medford Contributory Retirement and global tech equity market research by Sweden’s FTN. Orange County Employees Retirement commits nearly $294M across nine funds, while Louisiana and Houston pensions invest in Stripes VII and TPG AG Credit Solutions. Fundraising news features AlpInvest closing a $4.1B co-investment fund with backing from Kentucky Teachers and Thoma Bravo completing a $34.4B buyout cycle, including its Europe fund.

Tired of fragmented data slowing you down? Book a demo of Dakota Research to centralize critical investment data and intelligence to simplify your decision-making process.