All-in Support + Autonomy

CEO-in-Residence

Most search fund structures give you capital and a cap table. What they rarely give you is a partner who has actually sat in your seat, knows what the first 100 days feel like from the inside, and is willing to stay close long after the deal closes.

The CEO-in-Residence path is built around a different idea: that the right person, backed the right way, with the right structure around them, can build something extraordinary. You get real governance authority, permanent capital, and one focused partner instead of a fragmented group of investors pulling in different directions. You get someone in the foxhole with you, not above you.

We work with one or two people a year. When we say we're in, we mean it completely.

Permanent capital with no artificial timelines

A direct path to majority board control

One focused partner; no fragmented cap table

Intentionally selective: one or two people a year

Real governance authority, not just a seat at the table

Hands-on support from people who’ve done it

Built for operators, not optimized for exits

Permanent capital with no artificial timelines

Chris Callander

CEO, Oakin Lane

“What being a CEO-in-Residence with TBD means in practice is that Dmitri is genuinely, actually in it with me. He’s the person I call when I am not entirely sure what to do next, and he picks up. A true champion. That’s not something you can put in a term sheet.”

Dmitri Ivanov

Partner, TBD

“The CEO-in-Residence model exists because I’ve seen what happens when a great person gets the wrong structure around them. Too many investors, not enough real support, no one who’s actually been in the seat. We back one or two people a year, because that’s what it takes to do this right. Not at a distance. Alongside them.”

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We search for operators with heart

We are operators first, proven in the field, not just on paper. We build differently by fueling insight, creativity, endurance, and the type of innovation that comes from hands-on work and courage.

See how we operate