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71 West Capital Partners
David Park's 71 West Capital Partners deploys up to $50M per deal into founder-owned software and media businesses that institutional growth capital...
71 West Capital Partners
71 West Capital Partners was founded in 2013 by David Park, who previously spent over ten years in technology investment banking at J.P. Morgan, where he advised on M&A and capital-raising transactions for software services and digital media companies. The firm emerged from Park's conviction that profitable, founder-owned businesses in these sectors were structurally underserved by large growth-equity funds that require billion-dollar outcome potential to move their needle. He established 71 West to operate in that gap. The firm deploys equity capital in the range of $10 million to $50 million per investment, targeting majority or significant minority stakes in founder-led companies across enterprise software and digital media. Its mandate spans control buyouts, recapitalizations, and structured growth equity — it does not participate in venture rounds or passive minority positions. Confirmed past investments include KEH, the Atlanta-based pre-owned camera gear marketplace, acquired as a control buyout; and AIM Solder, a specialty materials business serving electronics manufacturing. Geographic focus centers on North America, though the firm will evaluate carve-outs of non-US subsidiaries where the underlying business model matches its sector thesis. 71 West operates with a lean, deal-led structure from a single office in New York. David Park serves as the investment committee anchor, evaluating potential transactions personally and often structuring bespoke deal terms that include earn-outs tied to founder retention. The firm has not disclosed total assets under management or team headcount publicly. There is no associated philanthropic foundation, club structure, or sister vehicle known. In the decade since founding, 71 West has maintained a deliberately low public profile, not issuing press releases on platform activity, consistent with a strategy built around proprietary deal origination rather than auction processes. Structurally, 71 West differs from a traditional private equity firm by operating without a formal fund structure or LP-imposed deployment timelines. It deploys capital on a deal-by-deal basis — likely through committed discretionary capital or a single limited relationship — which allows it to hold investments beyond fixed fund lives. This permanent-capital posture makes it viable to underwrite a six-year software services company transformation or a ten-year niche media platform build without the forced exit gates that define 10-year closed-end funds. For an allocator accustomed to classic PE durations, that governance architecture is the defining feature.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2013
AUM
<$250M (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
David Park
Founder & CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at 71 West Capital Partners?
David Park, the firm's Founder and CEO, runs investment decisions personally. He sources deals, structures terms, and sits on the board of portfolio companies post-close. Prior to founding 71 West in 2013, Park spent over a decade in the technology investment banking group at J.P. Morgan, advising on M&A and capital raising for software services and digital media companies. There is no separate investment committee or partners outside of Park known publicly.
How does 71 West source its deals?
71 West relies primarily on proprietary deal origination through Park's direct network developed across two decades in technology banking and operating advisory. The firm does not engage in broad auction processes and maintains a deliberately low public profile, not issuing press releases or marketing materials. This posture is consistent with control buyouts and structured recaps where the founder's trust in the operator is more important than headline bid price.
Does 71 West participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
71 West only executes direct deals — control buyouts, recapitalizations, and structured growth equity investments in single companies. It does not allocate to external funds, venture capital managers, or fund-of-funds vehicles. The firm writes equity checks between $10 million and $50 million per investment from its own balance sheet or discretionary committed capital.
What investment stages does 71 West typically target?
The firm targets profitable, founder-owned companies at inflection points — typically businesses generating meaningful EBITDA that need operational capital, strategic repositioning, or founder succession solutions. It does not invest in pre-revenue startups, venture rounds, or distressed turnarounds without underlying unit-level profitability. The ideal target has already proven product-market fit and is looking for a capital partner who can hold without forced liquidity timelines.
Does 71 West operate with a fixed-duration fund structure?
No, 71 West does not operate with a traditional closed-end fund or fixed investment period. It deploys capital on a deal-by-deal basis, likely from a single discretionary pool or long-dated committed capital arrangement. This permanent-capital structure allows the firm to hold portfolio companies beyond standard fund lives, which is structurally uncommon among mid-market private equity managers and directly impacts its underwriting of longer-duration theses like niche media platform builds.
What sectors does 71 West avoid?
71 West does not invest in biotechnology, hard tech hardware, oil and gas, real estate, or financial services outside of software tools serving those industries. Its mandate focuses narrowly on enterprise software services and digital media, and even within that lens it avoids pre-revenue or burn-rate-dependent models. The goal is cash-flow-positive operating businesses where the firm can control the capital structure.
How does 71 West handle founder retention after a control investment?
Structuring founder retention is central to 71 West's deal architecture. The firm frequently builds earn-outs and equity rollover incentives into its control buyouts, designed to keep founding operators motivated through the value-creation period. Park's personal involvement as a board member post-close is intended to give founders a single known relationship to rely on rather than a rotating cast of deal professionals.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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