Will Code
LinkedIn Copy
Hey Will — congrats on launching Ember Ridge. Similar PE background here — been deep in services origination lately. Would be good to connect.
Hey Will, similar background, weirdly — I'm from Zimbabwe, did growth equity in London, not launching an independent sponsor in Chicago. most funds I talk to have a database — PitchBook or Grata — maybe a CRM, and then the origination setup is mostly Excel and email from there. but proprietary deal flow still feels thin. thesis, network, and intelligence never sync into one system — so origination resets every cycle instead of compounding. does origination look different at Ember Ridge? — Russ
Hey Will, similar background, weirdly — I'm from Zimbabwe, did growth equity in London, not launching an independent sponsor in Chicago. most funds I talk to have a database — PitchBook or Grata — maybe a CRM, and then the origination setup is mostly Excel and email from there. but proprietary deal flow still feels thin. thesis, network, and intelligence never sync into one system — so origination resets every cycle instead of compounding. does origination look different at Ember Ridge? — Russ
hey Will — one more thought on origination. after hitting this wall myself doing growth equity, I ended up building origination infrastructure for funds full-time — Mentmore Capital, Axiom Equity, Noble Rock, a few others. at my old fund we had a solid stack and smart people, and origination still restarted from scratch every cycle. the funds who systematise it early end up compounding deal flow — the ones who don't keep resetting. curious if Ember Ridge has cracked that or if it's the same pattern. — Russ
hey Will — appreciate the connect either way. we documented the origination infrastructure we've built across funds — tech stack, workflows, prompts. free to share if it'd be useful at Ember Ridge. either way, I'm around if origination ever becomes a conversation worth having. — Russ
Email Copy
Hi Will, looks like we share a similar PE path — though I'm from Zimbabwe and ended up doing growth equity in London, not launching an independent sponsor in Chicago. the typical origination setup I see is a data subscription, a CRM that's half-populated, and a lot of Excel and Outlook doing the heavy lifting. yet the off-market pipeline stays weirdly thin. the intelligence is all there but it's scattered across tools and inboxes — so nothing compounds into a real origination edge. does origination look different at Ember Ridge? Russell searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
hi Will — been thinking more about origination. after hitting this wall myself doing growth equity, I ended up building origination infrastructure for funds full-time — Mentmore Capital, Axiom Equity, Noble Rock, a few others. the pattern I keep seeing is that the funds who systematise it early end up compounding deal flow in a way that's really hard to replicate later. happy to compare notes on what's actually moving the needle if you're interested. Russell searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
hi Will — something about this keeps rattling around. when I was doing growth equity we had every subscription going — PitchBook, CRM, enrichment tools, the lot — and I still spent half my time manually pulling origination together across all of it. always wondered if that was just us being disorganised or if it's genuinely universal. imagine Ember Ridge has a way more dialled setup — but figured I'd ask. Russell searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
hi Will — completely separate from all that. we put together a playbook on PE origination — the tech stack, the workflows, some of the prompts and automations that actually move the needle. happy to send it over if it'd be useful at Ember Ridge. Russell searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
hi Will — I'll leave it here. the origination playbook is yours whenever — no expiry on that. I'm deep in this space all day, so if it ever becomes a conversation worth having, I'm around. Russell searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
Prospect Research
## PROSPECT INFORMATION: Name: Will Code Title: Partner & Co-Founder Fund: Ember Ridge Equity Background: Please provide the Profile Data and Posts Data you would like me to process. Once provided, I will generate the summary according to your instructions. Fund details: - Description: Ember Ridge Equity is a Chicago-based independent sponsor focused on acquiring businesses generating EBITDA between $2 and $5 million in the United States or Canada. With Midwest founders from entrepreneurial roots, Ember Ridge is focused on cultivating partnerships with company founders and management teams while providing the capital and support required to create value for employees, customers, and our partners. Ember Ridge Equity was established in 2025 by co-founders Will Code and Ian Weber. - Website: https://www.emberridgeequity.com/ - Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States - Lead qualification: Research: - Query: =Ember Ridge Equity Will Code recent investments fund thesis - Answer: Ember Ridge Equity focuses on investing in non-discretionary service businesses, recently promoting Jeb Kolby to president and securing $111M for The Hawthorne project.