Female-founded private equity firm that focuses on the lower middle market of the restaurant and F&B industries: Rellevant Partners

Private equity. The very term continues to evoke admiration, envy, and—in the hearts of many public company CEOs—fear. Private equity firms’ reputation for dramatically increasing the value of their investments has helped fuel this growth. Their ability to achieve high returns is typically attributed to a number of factors: high-powered incentives both for private equity portfolio managers and for the operating managers of businesses in the portfolio; the aggressive use of debt, which provides financing and tax advantages; a determined focus on cash flow and margin improvement; and freedom from restrictive public company regulations.

We introduce you to Rellevant Partners, an early-stage growth equity firm whose investments leverage the founders’ unique skills and network to bring a competitive advantage to premier concepts in sectors like restaurants, restaurant technology and food and beverage.

We conversed with Jessica C. Kates, Co-Founder and Managing Partner to know further about the company

Q. What was the motivation behind starting Rellevant Partners?

My partner and I started Rellevant Partners for multiple reasons. Looking around the private equity industry, where women hold a small minority of senior positions globally, it was important to us to start a female-founded private equity firm and help change this statistic. Hopefully, we can serve as role models and inspiration for other women beginning their finance careers. When we attend conferences, there are still only a handful of women in rooms full of hundreds of men, and we are hoping to help change that.

We believe that our combined expertise sets us apart from more traditional private equity investors in the space. Our goal is to become the go-to investor for the lower middle market of the restaurant industry. We love to work with entrepreneurs, founders, and early management teams as strategic partners to add value and help them achieve their objectives.

Q. What makes Rellevant Partners relevant in today’s times? Could you give us some context?

Great question since that is the genesis of our name. Over the span of my career, whether as a junior investment professional and even more recently as a senior member of other private equity firms, I have memories of sitting across the table from a founder or CEO and feeling just like a “suit” giving them advice without most of the people on my side of the table having sat in their shoes. I felt like the message we were giving was not relevant and that we were just your typical private equity investor, with money but adding no real value.

At Rellevant we are changing that. We are relevant because of the combined 40+ years of experience related to the industries we invest in. I also have 8 years of operating experience as CEO and CFO of consumer-facing businesses and have sat in the seat of the entrepreneurs with whom we are partnering. We are strategic and patient investors who are in it for as long as it takes to create meaningful value for all parties involved. Rellevant is relevant. (The “elle” is French and means “she or her”, courtesy of my Montreal roots).

Q. What does innovation mean to Rellevant Partners?

Rellevant invests across the restaurant, ResTech, food & beverage, and FoodTech industries. Innovation across our industries of focus means different things, but it would touch upon the following factors, either alone or in combination. The answers to these questions would also be key to helping us identify a good investment opportunity. Has the concept created something that is craveable and differentiated? Is there a distinct competitive advantage? Is the brand positioning distinctive? How are they helping society? Is there a strong valuation proposition and is it being delivered in a unique way? What pain points are they solving? Are they disrupting the industry?

Q. How is Rellevant Partners unique? What differentiates you from others PE firms in this sphere?

In today’s environment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find capital to fund emerging, high-growth concepts in the restaurant industry. Furthermore, we have seen an increase in the number of ResTech companies that have emerged in the past few years, catalyzed by Covid and a shift to online ordering. These companies have typically only had access to traditional tech VCs who provide little strategic value outside of their tech expertise – these companies are looking for partners who have experience in the restaurant and hospitality industries. Our deep expertise in the industries we invest in make us stand out from the pack.

Q. How would you describe your leadership style? And which supporting skills do you think are most important when it comes to leadership?

As a leader, I have always prioritized an open-door policy. I want to make sure that employees and peers see me as approachable and collaborative and are never afraid to ask questions or admit to having made a mistake. I have worked for all different types and leading by fear is just plainly not a leader at all. I try to lead by example while being open-minded and learning from those around me. I also have high expectations but try to deliver my messaging in a calm manner. I want people to want to work with me and have fun doing it.

Q. Keeping in mind the social and cultural bondages which generally trim down the freedom, confidence and boldness of women, what steps/programs/policies you would like to suggest for the women who want to be successful like you?

Believe in yourself and don’t let anything stand in your way. This is especially important for women starting out in the finance industry or entrepreneurship. These are still heavily male-dominated industries, and there still very much exists a bro culture in those industries that can be very intimidating and make success much harder to attain. Keep pushing and prove them wrong! Also don’t be afraid to reach out to alumni and industry executives, just as two examples, and ask for advice and mentorship. The great thing about the world today is that women are all about supporting other women and bringing them up, so never be afraid to ask for help.

Q. What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

Any time I participate in meetings and zooms, attend conferences, and participate in panels, I take mental notes of positive messages, communication styles and behavior of those around me that I want to incorporate into my leadership style in the future. I endeavor to be constantly learning and try to surround myself with people in both my personal and professional life who I admire and who approach the world differently than I do. By absorbing and incorporating these learnings as much as I can, I try to continuously improve and increase the impact I can then have on others.

Short bio of Jessica C. Kates

Jessica co-founded Rellevant Partners with Janice Meyer in 2019. Jessica has a unique hybrid background that combines over 15 years of private equity experience with almost 10 years of C-level operating and management experience. Jessica also serves as the Interim CFO and Strategic Financial Advisor to companies in the consumer and biotech industries.

Jessica holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BCom with Great Distinction/Dean’s Honor List from McGill University. Jessica serves on the Board of RASA, an Indian fast-casual restaurant based in DC that is one of Rellevant’s portfolio companies. Previously she was on the Board of Rosa Mexicano, Yardbird, and Stacked, as well as the Harvard Business School Women’s Association of New York.