An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
— Benjamin Franklin
With those simple words, Benjamin Franklin gave us a gift, that if diligently applied, can create infinite value and fulfillment in our lives. We take this gift seriously at Saltwater, starting every conversation with a new company from a position of humility, curiosity, and an understanding that operators have insights that we are privileged to learn from. We help builders build and ensure that the learning, throughout our partnership, never stops. At Saltwater, we operate shoulder to shoulder. We have no corner offices, no ivory towers. We prefer the trenches.
Saltwater is a private holding company that owns and operates a family of businesses at the intersection of taste and connection. We believe the best things in life happen in person. As screens become more constant, the desire to reconnect through creativity, shared experiences, and real human connection will only grow. We are building a permanent capital platform for the best live experience businesses in the world.
We started building a venture portfolio that is now 30+ companies making an impact and showing great results. We are lucky to call these founders our friends. Over time, we found it more fulfilling to be deeply involved with our portfolio companies, so we began making larger investments into fewer deals, focusing on profitable companies doing culturally defining work. The agencies, production houses, festivals, and creative studios that bring people together and make culture move. Given the depth of our involvement and our long-term partnership, we call this model 'partner equity'.
As practical investors, we are value-driven, and as practical entrepreneurs, we are values-driven.
People come first. Life is short. We want to spend it with great people who will challenge us and help us grow. We surround ourselves with those who are authentic, honest, intelligent, and who push us to learn and be better every day.
We are pragmatic and long-term focused. We don't have arbitrary investment horizons. We prioritize durable value creation alongside founder-operators rather than optimizing for a fixed-horizon IRR or aggressive debt service. We believe strongly in the power of patience and compound interest.
Leave the planet better for our kids. Given nature's gifts have shaped our life experiences, we feel indebted to protect our oceans, our lands, our planet, and preserve its beauty for future generations.
We look for companies at the peak of their creative game, with a distinctive point of view on taste, culture, and aesthetics. We evaluate every opportunity through five lenses we call the 5 C's:
Creativity
The team starts with design, art, and ideas. Their work reflects a genuine creative sensibility, not formulaic execution. They produce things that surprise, move, and inspire.
Culture
Their projects impact human experience, entertainment, and culture at large. They work with notable brands, artists, and institutions. They push the industry forward.
Curiosity
The team sees opportunities others miss. They experiment with new business models, reach new customer segments, and push into adjacent verticals.
Capacity
The team has the people and the margin to evolve toward a studios approach, even if they haven't done it yet. Bench depth and organizational maturity support scaling.
Capital
The business is financially healthy with multiple years of profitability. The founder's earnings create real economics for new partners, not just a lifestyle business.
While our capital is the product of a phenomenal venture outcome, we've found we are more 'Berkshire' than 'Benchmark,' though we admire both firms. By taking a majority ownership position in our companies, we can be patient and balance long-term growth with sustainable profitability. As operators turned investors, we are comfortable investing earlier than most private equity firms, and support operators in environments other investors wouldn't touch. We like that hard work creates value and see that as a lasting competitive advantage.
We love the trenches. Our operational involvement focuses on strategic partnership to improve how the company runs, plans, and scales. Revenue expansion through cross-selling, new distribution, and brand elevation. Management depth to reduce key-person risk. M&A infrastructure to roll up adjacent capabilities. And institutional-quality finance and reporting to drive better decisions. In many cases, a heavy operational hand is unnecessary. We practice discretion.
After almost a decade driving one of the world's fastest growing technology companies we have broad operating experience ready to be shared with our partners, supporting them in the inevitable challenges of scale. We build trust through that support, and the patience it takes to build an organization that lasts. From the moment we meet a company to the close of a transaction, working with the Saltwater team feels different, and welcomed by owners. We're not private equity. We're not venture capital. We've built.
Our partner equity investment is welcomed while other investment is often just 'stomached.' If we do our job correctly, it will start a relationship that remains strong for decades.
We chose the name Saltwater because, from an early age, my experiences in the ocean have been a crucial source of inspiration, clarity, and personal growth. Charlie Munger once asked me, with a healthy balance of skepticism and characteristically genuine curiosity, 'Why are you investing in companies?' My candid response: 'It is the most interesting and most challenging way to keep learning. I love people, and business is people.'
We're careful about how and with whom we invest, and with that combination, we're building a company that will endure and compound capital over time. We look forward to building with you.
Ryan Graves
