Stephanie Geveda, founder of Coalesce Capital and no stranger to our pages and posts – and a member of our Women in PE list last year – recently closed her first fund, at $900 million after initially targeting $750 million. That’s no small feat in a fundraising environment some are calling one of the worst ever, if not the worst.
As Chris Witkowsky writes in the opener of this year’s list, there were a few factors that played to Coalesce’s advantage: Geveda, before hanging her shingle, had a long career at Warburg Pincus, and had a track record that she could brandish for prospective LPs. Warburg even became an LP in the fund, committing into the first close. So, in a sense, Geveda wasn’t really a rookie when dealing with LPs when selling her debut fund. “Ultimately, when raising a first-time fund, you have to convince investors to take that leap of faith,” she says.
In our Q&A with her at the end of our Women in PE package, she says, with characteristic wit: “Starting a fund can feel quite lonely – there’s not exactly a ‘How to set up a PE Firm for dummies’ guide you can buy off a shelf.”
As we show time and again in these lists, ambitious women who are breaking into private equity or starting their firms know the value of mentorship and camaraderie. Kerstin Dittmar, founder of L2 Point Management, on the power of networking: “There’s no batphone to call, but… word spreads around and everybody makes sure you have the right connections and support.”
Here is the Class of 2024:
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