VALUES & APPROACH

Pathfinder started with a very simple question: what kind of firm do we want to create? Out of that question came a multitude of others, followed by a lengthy discussion on culture and values. The simple question ended up having a simple answer. We want three things: to have fun, to work with people we like (we know, it’s very closely related to having fun), and to create upside for all involved - our investors, team members, and portfolio company management and employees. Over time, this grew into the list below of what we do, who we are, and who we aren’t:

We do:

• Invest for value: for our partners, employees, portfolio company, and society;
• Believe promising opportunities exist where others give pause: distress, underperforming, environmental issues, and various other forms of uncertainty;
• Focus on markets where inefficiencies and lack of information create prospects for success;
• Believe strongly in incentives, not only for managers but also for everyone involved in our investments. People with different destinations rarely arrive at the same place. We further believe that the policy of sharing rewards through aligned incentives gives us a competitive advantage in negotiations and operations;
• Help people who help us. We work hard to involve deal sources in companies after the deal has closed, whether on the board, in management, or in advisory roles; and,
• Believe in diversity, of all types, and we believe this leads to better, more profitable businesses.

We are:

• Transparent. Our marketing materials, website, investor updates, and interactions with portfolio companies offer full disclosures on all aspects of our business. The only part of our business that is not transparent are current negotiations.
• Fast. We are responsive and make decisions quickly.
• Fun. We take our work very seriously, but not ourselves. We enjoy what we do and the people we work beside. We inject a positive and loose yet intense atmosphere into our portfolio companies. We believe that such an environment, combined with performance incentives, creates the greatest opportunities for collective success.
• Value-Focused. Before making an investment, we must be able to envision a clear value-creating plan. And this plan applies to ALL stakeholders: investors, management, employees, and ourselves.

We don’t:

• Participate in bidding wars. We especially value proprietary deals that need to be completed quickly and allow us to negotiate with sellers on a one-to-one basis;
• Invest in businesses that would give others credible reasons to question our social consciousness; and,
• Believe that being responsible means we have a lower return requirement for our limited partners. On the contrary, we believe it creates an atmosphere of trust and cooperation that enhances performance.