Jay Hegenbart
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Hey Jay — similar path (IB → PE). been thinking a lot about proprietary origination in founder-owned businesses lately. would be good to connect.
Hey Jay, looks like we share a similar IB → PE path, though I was in London at CS & Greenhill not on the Oppenheimer / CIBC side like you. origination was always the same story for me — clear thesis, decent relationships, but no proprietary system of record. the people, tools and ideas were never really connected. every deal virtually sourced from scratch, nothing compounding over time. curious if that's still how most funds operate or if I'm behind the times? — Russ
Hey Jay, looks like we share a similar IB → PE background, though I was in London doing growth equity deals at Treis not in NYC partnering with founder-owned businesses like you've been doing at Infinedi. the pattern I keep seeing with most funds is weirdly consistent — strong thesis, solid network, but no proprietary system of record. the people, tools and ideas are never really connected. every deal virtually sourced from scratch, nothing compounds on itself. curious if that resonates or if you've built something different at Infinedi? — Russ
hey Jay — no worries if the timing's off. most funds I talk to have tried some version of building origination in-house — analyst pulling from Pitchbook or Grata, maybe using ChatGPT to help qualify, dumping it into a spreadsheet. each piece kind of works, but there's no system of record tying it together. the people, tools and ideas are all disconnected, so there's tonnes of wasted energy and everything ends up out of sync. been helping a few funds like Mentmore work through that. curious if you've run into the same thing at Infinedi? — Russ
totally get it if origination infrastructure isn't top of mind right now — most funds have 10 things ahead of it on the priority list. the funds I've seen crack it early just tend to compound deal flow in a way that's hard to replicate later. if it ever moves up the list, I'm easy to find. — Russ
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Jay — We've been building custom deal sourcing systems for PE funds that invest in founder-owned businesses — similar enough to what Infinedi does. also, incidentally, we share a similar-ish path: I spent time in banking (Greenhill, Credit Suisse) before moving to the direct investing side at a growth equity fund in London. One of our clients, Backer Group, uses a bespoke system we built them to source and engage founders of service and light manufacturing businesses. They're a small team, so the system handles origination in the background — finds companies matching their thesis, scores them on owner readiness and acquisition fit, then runs personalized outreach across email, LinkedIn, and even personalized letters. Everything integrates live with their CRM so nothing falls through the cracks. I noticed Infinedi is actively looking to connect with founders in real estate services, staffing & recruiting, and other verticals — the kind of proactive outreach where this infrastructure tends to create a lot of leverage. Given we've already built out this kind of system for funds with a similar profile, I wondered if you wanted to take a look under the hood? Fairly free this week and next, just let me know if you're interested. very best, Russell searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
Prospect Research
## PROSPECT INFORMATION: Name: Jay Hegenbart Title: Founder & Managing Partner Fund: Infinedi Background: Jay Hegenbart is the Founder and Managing Partner of Infinedi, a private equity firm based in New York that specializes in partnering with founder-owned businesses, particularly within what he terms the Intelligence Industries. Current Focus: His current focus is on growth-oriented investments and platform expansions. He is actively seeking connections with founders and advisors of US-based, founder-owned businesses in two specific sectors: Real Estate Services (specifically those involved in transaction execution) and Staffing & Recruiting (serving IT, Accounting & Finance, HCIT, and Life Sciences end-markets). Background and Education: Jay has over 30 years of experience in the financial services and private equity sectors. Before founding Infinedi in 2017, he was the Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Harvest Partners SCF, where he raised and deployed a $376 million fund. His prior experience includes Managing Director roles at Oppenheimer & Co. and CIBC World Markets, as well as positions at The Argosy Group, Prudential Securities, and PwC. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from Georgetown University (1987–1991). Key Skills: Private Equity, Leveraged Buyouts (LBO), Due Diligence, Corporate Development, Valuation, and Venture Capital. Recent Posts and Activity: - March 11, 2026: Jay reposted content regarding AI's impact on employment, noting, "White-collar jobs are considered at high-risk for AI displacement, yet job postings for software development — one of the functions expected to shrink most — are significantly outpacing overall postings." - September 25, 2025: He highlighted a major achievement for his firm, stating that his colleagues "were honored to accept the M&A Deal of the Year Award ($25MM–$50MM) for the acquisition of Atlantis by Infinedi-owned CEA CAPA." - September 25, 2025: He issued a call for collaboration in the real estate sector: "Infinedi is actively looking to connect with founders and advisors of US-based, founder-owned Real Estate Services businesses serving the various stakeholders involved in the execution of real estate transactions and processes." - August 19, 2025: He shared a mid-year update reflecting on the firm's trajectory: "Our momentum within the Intelligence Industries continues to accelerate, driven year-to-date by strategic acquisitions, Infinedi team expansion, award recognition, and strong growth across our portfolio companies." - June 30, 2025: Discussing the education sector, he posted: "The Education & Training sector remains highly fragmented, presenting meaningful opportunities for innovative businesses to scale with strategic support." - April 18, 2025: He celebrated a company milestone, posting: "At Infinedi, we are celebrating 7 years of growth, collaboration, and excellence in private equity! In this time, we have achieved remarkable milestones and created lasting value for our partners." - April 17, 2025: Regarding his investment philosophy, he shared: "Every business is unique. At Infinedi, we provide tailored solutions for founder-owned businesses. Let Infinedi guide your company through a successful transition." Fund details: - Description: Infinedi Partners is a private equity firm focused on long-term partnerships with founder owned businesses and financial entrepreneurs. Based in New York, the firm was founded in March 2018 by Jay Hegenbart. Infinedi provides significant business flexibility by using less financial leverage and encouraging management teams to invest for the long-term. The firm’s approach is solution-based, working with business owners to create tailor-made private equity investments orientated to maximize effectiveness for all stakeholders. Its investors include a diverse group of prominent institutions and family offices who also represent many of the world's largest and most prominent private equity investors. Many of these institutions have known the principals for decades and have benefitted from their successful track record of investing. For more information go to infinedi.com Infinedi is actively seeking new investment opportunities. - Website: https://www.infinedi.com - Location: New York, New York, United States - Lead qualification: Research: - Query: =Infinedi Jay Hegenbart recent investments fund thesis - Answer: Jay Hegenbart founded Infinedi Partners in 2018, focusing on first-time private equity investments in founder-owned businesses. Infinedi Partners has made notable investments in companies like BWG Strategy and CEA CAPA Education Abroad. Hegenbart's firm emphasizes long investment durations and minimal financial leverage.