Turning inherent value into coherent systems
Together we build the vertical systems that define how industries work.
Herent Capital partners with purpose-driven founders, owners, and sector experts in regulated, mission-critical industries. Our model combines aligned capital, strategic M&A, and AI-native operating systems to build the companies your industry deserves.
Coherence compounds.
ConnectOur values are our model
They shape what we look for, how we build, and how we partner.
Inherent
We begin with what is real. We look for depth, durability, and genuine purpose. In businesses. In people. In ourselves.
What is isolated, we make inherent.
Coherent
We build through integration. Capital, builders, M&A, and AI-native systems working as one aligned whole.
What is fragmented, we make coherent.
Adherent
We stay committed. We show up with consistency, discipline, and the long-term orientation that real building requires.
Coherence compounds.
Where human judgment meets artificial intelligence
The most defensible companies of the AI era will be built in industries where both are required.
Durable
Regulated, trust-sensitive, and mission-critical industries do not get replaced by AI. They get redesigned by it. Compliance, accountability, and clinical or operational judgment still require humans in the loop. That structural requirement is what makes these industries resistant to commoditization. AI changes how the work gets done, not whether humans are needed to do it.
Constrained
Essential industries are stretched. Staffing shortages, capacity limits, regulatory overhead, and administrative drag are crowding out the work that matters most. AI is not a threat to these industries. It is the relief they have been waiting for. Herent platforms give these industries back the capacity to focus on the work that only humans can do.
Decisive
Generic AI produces outputs. Vertical AI built into mission-critical workflows produces outcomes. Regulated industries generate the data, the workflow density, and the operational accountability that AI needs to deliver real results. This is where AI moves from a productivity tool to a system of action. This is where durable value will be created.
What we look for
We invest where the business shows the substance to compound and the position to lead.
Workflow
A mission-critical role in customer workflow. The business is operationally essential, not optional.
Market Dynamics
Regulated, trust-sensitive, or operationally essential industries where compliance, accountability, and domain expertise matter.
Revenue
Recurring revenue or repeat transaction activity. Not project work. Not one-time engagements.
Data
Proprietary or rights-cleared data generated through day-to-day operations.
Landscape
A fragmented ecosystem with opportunity to partner, integrate, and improve workflows.
Retention
Strong customer retention driven by operational dependence, not switching cost alone.
Three paths to one system of action
The AI era is rewriting what essential industries reward. Software that used to keep records is becoming software that takes action. Services that used to scale through labor are becoming services that scale through technology.
The companies that win this era own the full stack: software, services, data, distribution, and outcome. Every Herent platform is built to get there. The path depends on where we start.
Start with Software
For founders and owners. You have built proprietary technology, infrastructure, or a system of record that customers depend on. The technology is real. AI changes what your software can do. The next phase is bringing services, data, and intelligence into one platform around it. Herent partners with you to acquire and integrate the services businesses, data assets, and operational capabilities that turn your software from a system of record into a system of action.
Start with the Services
For founders and owners. You have built a trusted service business with deep customer relationships, proprietary workflows, and real domain expertise. The customer trust is real. AI changes what your services can scale into. The next phase is owning the technology layer that turns service delivery into a defensible, technology-led platform. Herent partners with you to build or acquire the software, data infrastructure, and AI-native operating systems that make the business compound.
Start with the Thesis
For sector experts and operators. You see how an industry should work. You see where the workflows are broken, where the data is trapped, and know what is needed to be the true system of action. Herent partners with you to co-create the platform from day one. We co-develop the thesis, co-build the technology against real workflows, acquire and partner with business, and structure economics so you build it with founder ownership, not as a hired CEO.
Four kinds of builders, One kind of partnership
Herent partners differently with each kind of builder we work with. But the commitment is the same. Aligned capital. Coherent strategy. The arc of building together.
Platform Builders
You have built something real and you see what it can become. You know your business better than anyone. You know which companies should be acquired, which technology needs to be built, and which workflows need to be rebuilt for the AI era. What you need is a partner who can execute the M&A program, support AI technology infrastructure, and help you scale operationally. Without losing your soul to a generic playbook or a board that does not understand what you are doing. That is the partnership Herent is built for.
Owners
You own a business that has earned the trust of its customers, its team, and its market. The business is real. What it needs now is a partner who will honor what you built and give it the next chapter it deserves. Herent is a home for owners ready for transition. We bring the technology, the M&A capability, and the long-term commitment to turn what you built into a platform that compounds for the people who depend on it.
Strategic Sellers
You have built or own a business with real customers, real workflow ownership, and real market position. The business deserves a partner whose entire focus is helping it grow. Herent brings the capital, the M&A capability, and the AI-native operating infrastructure to compound what you have built. Continuity for the customers and teams who depend on it. The strategic focus that dedicated ownership makes possible. We can structure as a carveout or joint venture, whichever fits the situation.
Sector Experts and Operators
You have spent a career inside an industry. You see what is broken, where the workflows are trapped, where the data is fragmented, and where the platform that should exist has not been built. You have created value before but rarely captured it. Herent is built for this. We bring the capital, the M&A program, and the technology infrastructure. You bring the thesis, the domain authority, and the leadership. We structure the equity so you build it as a founder, not as a hired CEO.
The structure follows the opportunity
Most firms have one model and force every opportunity into it. Herent does not. We structure each partnership around what the business, the builders, and the market actually require.
Invest
Growth capital and aligned ownership for businesses ready to compound. Right for founders and owners who have built something real and want a long-term partner to scale it with.
Acquire
Full acquisition of businesses and assets that belong inside a Herent vertical system. Right for owners ready for transition.
Co-Build
A new platform built from day one with an experienced operator as founder. Right for industry leaders with the domain authority to build the system that should exist.
Recapitalization
New ownership structure for a business ready for its next phase. Right for founders, operators, and existing investors who want partial liquidity, a new strategic partner, and the capital to transform the business for the AI era while staying invested in what comes next.
Carveout
Acquisition of an asset from a larger organization. Right for corporate sellers with valuable technology, data, or customer relationships ready to grow under dedicated ownership.
Joint Venture
Structured partnership where Herent and a strategic partner co-own and co-build a new platform. Right for situations where alignment, shared upside, and shared governance matter.
Build with builders
I started Herent to apply everything I have learned about company building, M&A, and private equity to the era we are now in. The work is different. The capital structure that fits is different. The kind of firm required to do this well is different.
My career started in company building at Internet Brands, where I executed more than 40 acquisitions and built the integration program as the platform grew from a $640M take-private to a $1.1B sale to KKR. I went on to private equity to learn the other side, building M&A programs and executing 20 tech investments at K1, Francisco Partners, and Vista Equity Partners.
Those experiences taught me what institutional private equity does well. They also showed me where the model breaks down. Capital that extracts more than it builds. Generic playbooks applied to industry-specific realities. Models that missed because innovation was not a priority. Relationships pitched as partnership but run as hierarchy. Cultures where conformity was safer than transformation.
I became convinced there was a better way. Build with builders. With sector experts who know the customer and the workflow. With capital that rewards the people who build, not just the people who fund. With technology built into the firm itself. And with a long enough horizon to do the work that actually compounds.
Herent is being built with founders, owners, operators, and technologists who believe this can be done differently. Together we are building the vertical systems that define how essential industries work. Together we are building something that lets each of us play bigger than we could alone.
Coherence compounds.
Let's build what comes next, together.
Jenna Sleefe
Founder
Let's build what comes next
If this sounds like the partnership you have been looking for, the next step is a conversation.