Ignition Capital

Welcome to Ignition Capital. We are one of the largest private equity firms in Seattle. We are focused on finding “deep value” in the companies we work with. In these difficult financial and economic times, we hope our unique blend of operating executives with financial experience will be truly valuable to the companies we work with.

We work with the managers of the businesses that we fund to unlock value. We invest for the long haul across a variety of segments where we have expertise. We invest for the long haul and target returning to our investors 10-20% cash-on-cash returns with some day a nice exit valuation, but we are not dependent on good capital markets for exits. We work with businesses who can return dividends and cash to our investors each year.

Our focus is on:

1. Businesses that have a unique selling proposition. We look for high relative share in a particular market niche that is defensible and stable. We want businesses that are #1 or #2 in their category.
2. Management teams that know how to generate cash, not EBITDA, not non-cash returns, but who are able to return cash annually to investors. We also believe in management teams that want help. They want us as player/coaches to advise them in these difficult times. We don’t believe in fighting with management, but working as a team to stay #1 or #2 in a category.
3. Sectors that we know and have competed in. We believe that market conditions are very difficult globally so we are focused on areas where we have direct operating expertise. Our primary focus is on service companies or companies where service is a vital factor in the areas of information technology, telecommunications, healthcare, energy and transportation services. All areas where we have years, if not decades, of direct operating experience.
4. Financial partnerships with durable investment partners where we know that the relationship will remain stable and helpful. We know holding periods are going to be long, so we want to work with the right people on the boards of these companies.

We have the resources for the times. We are part of a family of funds with $2B under management but also have a select group of some of the most long term limited partners in the world.

We today are part of a group of three funds with different focuses:

• Ignition Capital is a global private equity fund investing in profitable companies around the world
• Ignition Ventures is a US venture capital fund investing in early-stage high technology
• Qiming is a Chinese venture capital fund investing in high growth companies in China