Former Bain Ventures, Spectrum execs target $350 mln for debut

The University of Michigan Board of Regents will consider a $25 million commitment to Boston, Massachusetts-based Silversmith at its July 16 meeting, according to endowment documents.

Former Bain Capital Ventures Managing Directors Jeffrey Crisan and Todd MacLean joined with James Quagliaroli to launch Silversmith earlier this year. Co-founder Lori Whelan, the former CFO of pizza restaurant chain Papa Gino’s, is the firm’s chief operating partner, according to her LinkedIn.

Silversmith Capital Partners I will invest in lower middle market companies in the technology and healthcare sectors, targeting companies in “the growth space between late stage venture capital and large scale private equity,” according to University of Michigan documents.

In its technology vertical, Silversmith will invest in software-as-a-service and information services companies, with a focus on application software, financial technology and data services businesses with subscription or transaction-based customer models. The healthcare component of the strategy will also focus on software companies, with an emphasis on those that address inefficiencies in payment services or patient treatment outcomes, according to University of Michigan documents.

The firm’s investment officers boast impressive resumes in the venture capital and growth equity sectors, according to their LinkedIn pages. Crisan worked for Bain Capital Ventures for 16 years before leaving to launch Silversmith. Prior to Bain Capital Ventures, MacLean was an executive at firms such as Accel Partners, Summit Partners and Bain & Company. Quagliaroli was a managing director for Spectrum Equity for more than a decade.

The firm’s partners did not respond to requests for comment.