2022 is ahead of us, and to me, it marks a period of great transition: ....our economy is likely adjusting into a less euphoric state, financial markets will react, geopolitics will become even more complex as we see an amended modern-day cold war, climate change will become front and center of conscious capitalism in the corporate board room, the workplace will reactivate close to full employment yet with a new hybrid profile ... and careers will, of course, evolve. For me, it is a time to take stock, expand, deploy knowledge and grow. After a colorful and rewarding career of around thirty years across corporate finance, followed by private equity, direct investing, serving on ten boards, venture capital, founding five separate firms, -- and recently, financing advisor to private companies and single family offices -- I am grateful for my own journey (and those that I served, learned from, worked with, and that mentored me along the way). Yet, significant opportunity remains ahead - particularly addressing the needs of the private company ecosystem: founders, owners, family enterprises, and related investors and boards. 🔘Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Looking ahead, I feel this is a powerful reminder to always look ahead, keep moving, and be your best.🔘 I am very fortunate to have acquired a great deal of knowledge in private capital markets - in 2022, I am going to meaningful scale up these activities with renewed attention on middle-market clients. Since 2002, I have led around a billion in direct private capital deployment, while serving on the related Boards of Directors (ten of them!) - I will now transition from direct investing and dedicate myself in the coming years to client work, serving goals across capital, growth, mergers, acquisitions, and strategic council. More soon. I look forward to being in touch. 🌎Most importantly, may 2022 bring you, your firms, families, and our world a period of a bit more normalcy, good health, prosperity, and positive leadership, inspiration, and personal growth🌎. R. Adam Smith ras@rascapitalpartners.com ...focused on private company capital and strategic solutions since 1993... #privateequity #capitalmarkets #boardsofdirectors #investmentbanking #privatecompanies #wisdomboard #mergersandacquisitions #financialsponsors #middlemarket #privatecapital #strategicadvisor
RAS Capital Partners
Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
New York, NY 1,027 followers
A private holding company, formed 2002, providing capital, board, and strategic advice to entrepreneurial businesses.
About us
We Look at Challenges as Opportunities For over 15 years, our clients and partners count on RAS Capital Partners to enhance their corporate journeys through leveraging our unique experience, judgment and robust network across a wide range of corporate conditions, financing challenges, and industry segments, as both principals, and advisors. RAS Capital Partners is a private, merchant banking platform, initially formed in 2002, providing long-term capital and strategic advice to family-owned and entrepreneurial businesses. Our mission is to cater to, and fulfill, the unique needs of our family office, private investor, board, and founder clients and partners who gain our trust based on our commitment to integrity, dedication, creativity, and excellence in what we do. Our priorities are to provide unbiased, useful, effective advice, empower the journey of our partners, and the proper capitalization required to actualize their dreams and missions, to augment the legacies of passion, wealth, and brands of those we collaborate with. www.rascapitalpartners.com 917.992.6400
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- Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Global family enterprise leadership | Family Business Audiocast | RAS Capital Partners | AVESTIX | Columbia Business School | LinkedIn 1% | SFOs MFOs | Salomon Brothers | 10x BOD | led $1B directs | Author | Consigliere
Recently, on episode #42 of the Family Business Audiocast on LinkedIn, Adrienne Penta and Lane MacDonald, leaders at SCS Financial, shared their views on the family enterprise and family office ecosystem. Lane MacDonald: ✔️ Lane MacDonald is a seasoned investment leader with decades of experience managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios across asset classes, including private equity, public markets, and real assets, for institutions such as Harvard Management Company and Fidelity. ✔️ As Chief Investment Officer at SCS Financial, he guides families in navigating complex portfolio construction, bringing institutional investment discipline to private capital and family office environments. ✔️ Lane’s career reflects a deep understanding of how to balance legacy, performance, and liquidity, helping families make long-term decisions that align investment strategy with personal values and enterprise goals. Adrienne Penta: ✔️ Adrienne Penta is a nationally recognized expert in family wealth management, with a background as a trusts and estates attorney and years of leadership in the ultra-high-net-worth advisory space. ✔️ As Head of Wealth Planning at SCS Financial and founder of the BBH Center for Women & Wealth, Adrienne has pioneered initiatives around inclusive planning, generational communication, and legacy development for modern families. ✔️ Her work sits at the intersection of governance, family learning, and multi-generational continuity, helping families define success beyond the balance sheet and design planning frameworks that reflect shared values and evolving roles. Thank you, Adrienne and Lane. _________ About this audiocast: Family Business Audiocast - founded 2022 - includes guest experts in the family office, family firm, and family enterprise ecosystem. Family business is more than just a business…. it is a powerful and important ecosystem where family personal and professional dynamics intersect with business, wealth, philanthropy, purpose and legacy. Subscribe to our proprietary family enterprise newsletter and read periodic expert contributor series. Produced and Created by R. Adam Smith —————- Enjoy the episode here 🔗 Apple Podcast: https://lnkd.in/eHZ6UvdP YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eYsdGAKh Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eKNtMmBZ Amazon Music/Audible: https://lnkd.in/e932z7SJ iHeart Radio: https://lnkd.in/eqpyBYjp Pandora: https://lnkd.in/eEtSBvrv —————- Opinions presented are personal, and do not represent the positions of the organizations of speakers or guests, or their brands. —————- #familyoffice #leadership #nextgeneration #succession #familybusiness #familyenterprises #familylegacy #innovation #entrepreneurship #businesssucession #wealthmanagement #family #generationalwealth #philanthropy #familyfirms #audiocast #fba Jasmine Ren Aaqib Gondal Johanna Wu
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Global family enterprise leadership | Family Business Audiocast | RAS Capital Partners | AVESTIX | Columbia Business School | LinkedIn 1% | SFOs MFOs | Salomon Brothers | 10x BOD | led $1B directs | Author | Consigliere
Please join me, live, in a special Family Business Audiocast episode - our 43rd - with Richard J. Wolkowitz on the important topic of “founder’s mindset”. Richard Wolkowitz is a trusted family office leader and advisor known for helping enterprising families sustain continuity across generations. 🔆 With decades of experience embedded in founder-led families, Richard brings a sharp lens to the entrepreneurial mindset that drives family offices and the friction that can emerge as that mindset evolves across generations. 🔆 As founder of Xylogenesis® | Family Office Advisory, Richard acts as a trusted advisor and operator to families navigating the complexity of scaling a legacy, preserving the founder’s original spirit while building structures that support continuity, governance and NextGen leadership. 🔆 Drawing from his legal background and deep involvement in both the business and personal sides of family enterprises, Richard helps families harness the Founder’s Mentality as a strategic asset. ———— Details on the event: 🎙️ 💫 When: Tueday, April 1 12:00pm EST | 11:00am CST | 10:00am MST | 9:00am PST 💫 Where: LinkedIn, X or YouTube Live 🔗 LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eQ3d4M9T 🔗 X: https://lnkd.in/erTYN7Qb 🔗 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eYsdGAKh _______ Family Business Audiocast - founded 2022 - includes guest experts in the family office, family firm, and family enterprise ecosystem. Family business is more than just a business…. it is a powerful and important ecosystem where family personal and professional dynamics intersect with business, wealth, philanthropy, purpose and legacy. ____ Note: Registration required. Event may be recorded. *After registration, click "view event". Please add event to calendar* Event link is live available exactly 15 mins prior to event. Produced and created by R. Adam Smith ____ Subscribe to our proprietary family enterprise newsletter and on the look out for our periodic expert contributor series. ——- Opinions presented on this audio-cast are personal, and do not represent the positions of speakers’ or guests’ organizations. #familyoffice #leadership #nextgeneration #succession #familybusiness #familyenterprises #familylegacy #innovation #entrepreneurship #businesssucession #wealthmanagement #family #generationalwealth #philanthropy #familyfirms #audiocast #fba Jasmine Ren Johanna Wu Aaqib Gondal
Family Business Audiocast | Episode No. 43
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Global family enterprise leadership | Family Business Audiocast | RAS Capital Partners | AVESTIX | Columbia Business School | LinkedIn 1% | SFOs MFOs | Salomon Brothers | 10x BOD | led $1B directs | Author | Consigliere
Fascinating ! Thanks Ilya Strebulaev for this On average, it takes 11 years after graduation (for 23 colleges with most unicorn founders). Brigham Young University and University of Washington graduates are the quickest, launching "billion-dollar" startups just six years after receiving their diplomas — nearly twice as fast as the average. Impressive.
Professor at Stanford | Bestselling Author | Innovation | Venture Capital & Private Equity
How many years after college graduation do people found startups that become unicorns? On average, it takes 11 years after graduation (for 23 colleges with most unicorn founders). The distribution is highly dispersed. Brigham Young University and University of Washington graduates are the quickest, launching "billion-dollar" startups just six years after receiving their diplomas — nearly twice as fast as the average. Duke University (7 years), along with @Maryland, Cornell University, and Stanford University (all at 9 years) also produce founders who beat the typical timeline. At the opposite end, UCLA graduates require a lengthy 18 years to achieve unicorn status, while University of California, Berkeley and Technion - Israel Institute of Technology founders need approximately 15 years. Thank you to the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Venture Capital Initiative team for spearheading this research.
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Global family enterprise leadership | Family Business Audiocast | RAS Capital Partners | AVESTIX | Columbia Business School | LinkedIn 1% | SFOs MFOs | Salomon Brothers | 10x BOD | led $1B directs | Author | Consigliere
Really appreciate this thoughtful story by Sheena Iyengar 👇
Any of us can come up with ideas to improve things—and many of these ideas might actually be very good. But the real challenge lies in knowing when and how to carry out these ideas effectively. Change always comes at a cost, and we want to ensure our improvements don't backfire. One powerful lesson can be learned from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was once president of Columbia University. Eisenhower frequently received requests to build pathways across the campus. He delayed making any decisions, recognizing that although he could imagine many ways to design pathways, he couldn't be certain which ones would best serve the students. One day, groundskeepers called him to observe something revealing: students had naturally created paths by repeatedly walking over certain grassy areas, effectively "tearing up the grass." Eisenhower famously noted that the students themselves had shown exactly where the pathways should be placed. The key takeaway? Effective change occurs where people are already creating it. By observing existing patterns and behaviors, we can implement improvements that naturally align with people's needs, ensuring the change is meaningful, practical, and cost-effective.
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Global family enterprise leadership | Family Business Audiocast | RAS Capital Partners | AVESTIX | Columbia Business School | LinkedIn 1% | SFOs MFOs | Salomon Brothers | 10x BOD | led $1B directs | Author | Consigliere
Diplomacy in the Age of Brinkmanship: Why Human Judgment Still Matters 🔖🔎💭 In a world once again marked by geopolitical rivalry and strategic tension, the dangers of miscalculation loom large. As power shifts and alliances stretch, we are reminded that …..diplomacy is not just about policy or power—but about people. 📍 The Cold War taught us many things. Among them: brinkmanship is dangerous, and human judgment can be the only thing standing between peace and catastrophe. One story stands as a timeless lesson: 📜 On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet lieutenant colonel, may have saved the world. ….. 📺 While monitoring the USSR’s early-warning system, his screen lit up with what appeared to be five incoming U.S. nuclear missiles. Protocol demanded immediate escalation. But Petrov paused. He used his judgment, his instinct, and his wisdom, choosing to report a false alarm.He was right. It was a glitch—sunlight bouncing off clouds, not an act of war. But had he followed orders, millions could have perished in a global nuclear exchange. ‼️ In moments of tension, diplomacy becomes a high-stakes chess game. And while systems, alliances, and military readiness matter, judgment is irreplaceable. ⚖️ Because behind every decision is a human being—and the ability to “read the room” is not coded into machines or protocols. It comes from experience, calm, emotional intelligence, and moral clarity. As today’s tensions escalate—from Eastern Europe to the South China Sea—the lesson is clear: • We must prepare militarily, but lead diplomatically. • We must build strength, but remain calm. • And we must invest not just in defense systems—but in the judgment of those who hold the world in their hands. History doesn’t just turn on weapons. It turns on wisdom. #Diplomacy #Geopolitics #ColdWar #Leadership #CrisisManagement #StanislavPetrov #NuclearStrategy #HumanJudgment #ConflictPrevention #ForeignPolicy #Geopolitics #NationalSecurity #IntlRelations #GeoStrategy #MilitaryAffairs #WarStrategy #DefensePolicy #thinkTanks
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Here is the definite list of the largest family firms in the world. I hope you find the list to be useful as a resource for your teaching, research or simply as a source of inspiration. Thank you to all who contributed towards compiling the list. KMU-HSG | Institut für KMU und Unternehmertum Marie Klein Lauri Oinaala Robert (Bobby) Stover Jr
Largest 500 family businesses amount to world’s third largest economy The 500 largest family businesses generate US$8.8t and employ more than 25 million people across 43 jurisdictions. These and other findings were published today in the 2025 EY and University of St.Gallen Global 500 Family Business Index, which is a biennial ranking of the 500 largest family businesses in the world by revenue. Thomas Zellweger, Professor from the Center for Family Business at the University of St.Gallen, says: “Family-owned businesses have a remarkable ability to adapt and thrive in dynamic environments. The focus of family firms on their long-term survival, combined with high concern for efficiency and conservative financing practices, sets many of these firms up for continued success.” ➡️ Read more: https://lnkd.in/eXFT_PbU ➡️ Global 500 Family Business Index: https://lnkd.in/eMMV3dPJ Lauri Oinaala | KMU-HSG | Institut für KMU und Unternehmertum
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Global family enterprise leadership | Family Business Audiocast | RAS Capital Partners | AVESTIX | Columbia Business School | LinkedIn 1% | SFOs MFOs | Salomon Brothers | 10x BOD | led $1B directs | Author | Consigliere
A powerful sample of #perserverance 💫 thanks for sharing Yurii Rebryk ! 💦 Y Combinator
YC W24 | Founder & CEO at GetFluently.app 👉 Improve English with AI | Forbes 30 under 30
My LinkedIn tells you I’m a YC-backed startup founder who raised $4M+ and is living the dream life in SF, but here’s what it doesn’t tell you: → I was rejected by Y Combinator 2 times → I was rejected by 19 accelerators before YC finally said yes. → I launched three startups before Fluently, and they all failed. → I almost ran out of money before closing our first round. → The first version of Fluently? No one wanted to pay for it. I made every mistake you can think of: - I almost killed Fluently (AI English coach: https://getfluently.app) before it even started. - I focused too much on the product and not enough on the customer. - I assumed I knew what people wanted instead of asking them directly. The 3 lessons I learned building a startup that actually got traction: ✅ Talk to users, every single day. - Your best insights won’t come from analytics. - They come from real conversations with your customers. ✅ Only build what people want to pay for. - Ideas don’t matter. MVPs don’t matter. - If people aren’t paying for it, it’s not valuable yet. ✅ Persistence beats talent. - I got rejected more than 20 times before raising a dollar. - Every “no” helped me refine my pitch and product. YC didn’t magically make Fluently a success. But it did teach me how to move fast, focus on customers, and ignore the noise. If you’re struggling with your startup, don’t quit too soon. Failure isn’t the end. It’s just one more iteration before success 💪
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Global family enterprise leadership | Family Business Audiocast | RAS Capital Partners | AVESTIX | Columbia Business School | LinkedIn 1% | SFOs MFOs | Salomon Brothers | 10x BOD | led $1B directs | Author | Consigliere
Joseph Cass 🕊️ super thoughtful post Thank you for sharing. Inspiring. 💫 Garry Tan you da’ man.
Garry Tan was a struggling founder with no funding and no network – but one act of kindness caught the attention of Silicon Valley’s elite… In 2008, Garry Tan was stuck. He had worked at Microsoft and Palantir, but wanted to launch his own company. The problem? He had no funding. No network. No traction. He was desperate for a break. So desperate, he started taking photography gigs, shooting local hip-hop album covers just to make money. Then he heard about Startup School, a prestigious event hosted by Y Combinator (YC), where legends like Jeff Bezos and Marc Andreessen were speaking. Garry wanted to be useful, but didn’t know how. So he did something unusual… He arrived early, sat in the front row, and – unannounced - started taking high-quality photos of every speaker. No one asked him to. No one paid him. He just showed up and helped out. Garry raced home, edited the photos, and uploaded them to Hacker News. He had no idea what would happen next…but when he woke up, his inbox was flooded. His post went viral and attracted the attention of Paul & Jessica Graham - the founders of YC. The duo received hundreds of requests for mentorship. But Garry? He didn’t ask for anything. He just helped. A year later, Garry stood in the same room - but this time, he wasn’t taking photos. He was on stage, pitching his company. When YC announced their new batch, Garry’s name was on it. Paul & Jessica later said that Garry’s act of initiative and kindness was one of the reasons they backed his business. Then, the ultimate full-circle moment… After selling his company, Garry returned to YC as a Partner. And in 2022 Paul Graham called him with an even bigger offer: to become CEO of Y Combinator. The same organization he once hustled to impress - now had his name at the top. Garry later reflected on this time: "If you give first, you’ll be surprised what you get back. What you put out in the world will come back to you ten thousand times over."
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RAS Capital Partners reposted this
Global family enterprise leadership | Family Business Audiocast | RAS Capital Partners | AVESTIX | Columbia Business School | LinkedIn 1% | SFOs MFOs | Salomon Brothers | 10x BOD | led $1B directs | Author | Consigliere
Please join me, live, in a special Family Business Audiocast episode - our 43rd - with Richard J. Wolkowitz on the important topic of “founder’s mindset”. Richard Wolkowitz is a trusted family office leader and advisor known for helping enterprising families sustain continuity across generations. 🔆 With decades of experience embedded in founder-led families, Richard brings a sharp lens to the entrepreneurial mindset that drives family offices and the friction that can emerge as that mindset evolves across generations. 🔆 As founder of Xylogenesis® | Family Office Advisory, Richard acts as a trusted advisor and operator to families navigating the complexity of scaling a legacy, preserving the founder’s original spirit while building structures that support continuity, governance and NextGen leadership. 🔆 Drawing from his legal background and deep involvement in both the business and personal sides of family enterprises, Richard helps families harness the Founder’s Mentality as a strategic asset. ———— Details on the event: 🎙️ 💫 When: Tueday, April 1 12:00pm EST | 11:00am CST | 10:00am MST | 9:00am PST 💫 Where: LinkedIn, X or YouTube Live 🔗 LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eQ3d4M9T 🔗 X: https://lnkd.in/erTYN7Qb 🔗 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eYsdGAKh _______ Family Business Audiocast - founded 2022 - includes guest experts in the family office, family firm, and family enterprise ecosystem. Family business is more than just a business…. it is a powerful and important ecosystem where family personal and professional dynamics intersect with business, wealth, philanthropy, purpose and legacy. ____ Note: Registration required. Event may be recorded. *After registration, click "view event". Please add event to calendar* Event link is live available exactly 15 mins prior to event. Produced and created by R. Adam Smith ____ Subscribe to our proprietary family enterprise newsletter and on the look out for our periodic expert contributor series. ——- Opinions presented on this audio-cast are personal, and do not represent the positions of speakers’ or guests’ organizations. #familyoffice #leadership #nextgeneration #succession #familybusiness #familyenterprises #familylegacy #innovation #entrepreneurship #businesssucession #wealthmanagement #family #generationalwealth #philanthropy #familyfirms #audiocast #fba Jasmine Ren Johanna Wu Aaqib Gondal
Family Business Audiocast | Episode No. 43
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