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Volition Capital
Volition Capital is an award-winning growth equity firm. The firm states that its business is not about capital but about people, and that it strives to keep...
Overview
Volition Capital is an award-winning growth equity firm. The firm states that its business is not about capital but about people, and that it strives to keep business human. It partners with founders to build enduring companies and has been named a top growth equity firm.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2010
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Boston
Corporate office
Boston, MA, United States
Principals
Larry Cheng
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Rob Ketterson
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Sean Cantwell
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Volition Capital?
Co-founders Larry Cheng and Rob Ketterson share managing-partner authority, with Sean Cantwell elevated to managing partner in 2022. Investment-committee decisions are made by the partnership group, which has remained tightly held since the 2010 spinout from Fidelity Ventures.
How does Volition Capital source proprietary deal flow?
The firm relies on its partners' deep networks in the bootstrapped-software community and a reputation for leading majority recapitalizations of founder-owned businesses. Cheng's early career sourcing the Facebook investment for Fidelity Ventures established a pattern of direct-founder outreach that the firm has formalized through a dedicated business-development function.
Does Volition Capital participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Volition invests directly in operating companies and does not operate as a fund-of-funds. The firm makes both minority growth investments and majority recapitalizations, often leading rounds, and does not seed or anchor external venture funds as a primary strategy.
What was Volition Capital's role in the Chewy investment?
Volition invested in Chewy in 2015 as the company was scaling its warehouse footprint and customer-acquisition engine. The firm was the largest institutional shareholder at Chewy's 2019 IPO, having led a growth round that gave it a board seat and significant influence over the company's pre-exit capital strategy.
How is Volition Capital related to Fidelity Ventures?
Volition is a direct successor to Fidelity Ventures' growth-equity team. When Fidelity shut down its external venture arm in 2010, the senior team — including Cheng, Ketterson, and Cantwell — spun out the existing portfolio and raised Volition Capital Fund I. The firm has operated independently since.
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