Scaling Human-Centric Brands Through Private Equity with Monogram Capital’s Jared Stein
PLUS: Former Palantir Tech Lead Building Something New
Episode of the Week
In Episode #116 of Geeks of the Valley, we sat down with Jared Stein, Co-Founder at Monogram Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm specializing in scaling high-growth, human-centric consumer brands.
Jared walks through Monogram’s investment philosophy and why the firm focuses on companies with deep consumer resonance. He shares insights from leading investments in Chewy.com, Olipop, Genexa, and Planet Fitness, detailing how emotional connection, strong brand equity, and operational excellence drive sustainable growth. The conversation explores the evolving role of private equity in consumer markets, including the increasing importance of wellness, trust, and personalization in shaping investment decisions.
Drawing on his background at Bain Capital, Golden Gate Capital, HGGC, and Goldman Sachs, Jared also discusses lessons learned from scaling category leaders, the role of strategic partnerships, and how to balance value creation with authentic brand building.
Whether you’re an investor seeking differentiated strategies, a founder building a consumer brand, or a strategist tracking market shifts, this episode offers a deep dive into the future of human-centric private equity.
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Venture Radar
Instagram’s “Picks” – A Move Toward Interest-Based Social Discovery
Instagram is currently prototyping a feature called “Picks”, which allows users to select their favorite movies, TV shows, books, games, and music, and then highlights where those interests overlap with friends. The goal is to transform Instagram from a primarily visual, feed-driven platform into one that fosters intentional and interest-based social connections. Unlike passive scrolling, Picks would give users a way to discover shared affinities that could spark deeper engagement, conversation, and ultimately, more time spent on the app. This experiment signals Instagram’s broader ambition to evolve from being just an entertainment hub into a true social discovery platform.
The timing of this move is strategic. Instagram’s leadership has been explicit in wanting to pivot away from being seen as TikTok’s video-copying competitor, instead carving out its own differentiated space as a network rooted in authentic connection. Features like Picks echo successful playbooks from dating and social platforms such as Tinder and Hinge, which leverage shared interests to drive compatibility, but they extend the concept into friendship and community-building. For brands and creators, this could mark the beginning of micro-communities within Instagram - clusters of users united around cultural passions and hobbies. These interest-based clusters could become powerful new arenas for targeted campaigns, influencer partnerships, and content strategies that go beyond broad demographics.
Still, the risks of feature fatigue are real. Instagram has experimented with layers like Maps, Reels, Threads integration, and group functionalities, some of which have struggled to find product-market fit or faced user pushback. Picks will need to feel organic rather than intrusive, and it must be framed as a playful way to connect rather than yet another data-driven feature that feels “creepy.” If implemented seamlessly, however, it could add real stickiness to the platform - especially among younger users seeking relevance, belonging, and curated discovery rather than endless algorithmic feeds.
For investors, Picks is an early sign of Instagram’s willingness to experiment in new directions at a time when engagement growth is slowing across mature social platforms. It shows that Meta is still actively iterating on ways to reinvent Instagram’s role in the social media stack - leaning more into how you connect rather than what you consume. For operators, it is a reminder of the growing importance of affinity-driven communities as a channel for brand storytelling and user acquisition. The outcome of Picks will serve as a useful case study: can a legacy platform pivot from passive entertainment to active connection in an era where attention is increasingly fragmented?
Geeks of the Week
Startup Name: Instant
Geography: US
One-liner: Instant is the modern Firebase. They make it easy to build realtime and collaborative apps like Notion and Figma.
Founder(s) Background: Staff Softwar Engineer at Airbnb, Senior Software Engineer at Meta,
Thoughts:
The Race for the “Modern Firebase”
InstantDB enters a highly active segment: developer backends that promise faster iteration without managing infrastructure. Firebase (Google), Supabase, and Hasura already dominate share of mind, but InstantDB is carving differentiation by leaning into real-time, offline-first, and collaborative experiences. In a market where developers increasingly expect plug-and-play scalability, InstantDB’s speed-to-deploy is its wedge. The upside: if it becomes the “default backend” for indie builders and early-stage teams, switching costs create sticky long-term adoption.Tailwinds from Agent-Driven Development
The rise of AI agents generating or maintaining apps creates new demand for instant, provisionable databases. Instead of manually configuring Postgres or stitching together APIs, agents can spin up functional, multi-tenant backends automatically. This is a frontier use case where incumbents like Firebase feel dated, and where InstantDB’s architecture—lightweight SDKs, relational querying, offline sync—positions it well. It could become the “database for agents” in addition to being a Firebase alternative.
Founder(s) building in stealth
Deals of the Week
GoodShip – AI-Powered Freight OS
GoodShip, operating out of Bellevue, Washington, raised $25 million in a Series B round led by Greenfield Partners, alongside returning investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners, Ironspring Ventures, Chicago Ventures, and FUSE VC. The startup uses AI to unify internal freight data, flag inefficiencies like overpayment or delivery delays, and guide procurement with historical insights. With a tenfold increase in revenue over the past year and clients including Tropicana and KBX Logistics, it’s now scaling automation, engineering hires, and exploring international expansion.
Arintra – AI Medical Coding
Arintra, a healthcare-focused startup with operations in the US and India, raised $21 million in a Series A round led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India), with participation from Endeavor Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Counterpart Ventures, Spider Capital, and Ten13. The company leverages generative AI to automate medical coding and flag insurance claim issues, helping providers reduce administrative burdens and improve revenue cycle efficiency.
August – AI Legal Automation
“August," a New York–based AI startup founded by Columbia University alumni, secured $7 million in seed funding led by NEA and Pear VC, with support from investors like Gokul Rajaram, Geoff Charles (Ramp), David Azose (OpenAI), and Kevin Zhang (Bain Capital Ventures). Designed to automate document-heavy workflows for midsize law firms, August aims to boost efficiency in a segment traditionally underserved by AI-enabled tools.
Notable Mergers and Acquisitions
MeridianLink – Acquired by Centerbridge Partners in a $2 B deal
US financial software provider MeridianLink, known for its digital lending, account opening, and credit verification solutions, has agreed to be taken private by private equity firm Centerbridge Partners in a $2 billion acquisition. Shareholders will receive $20 per share—a 26% premium—and the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025. MeridianLink boasts ~2,000 financial institution clients, and its Q2 revenue increased 8%, with a narrowed net loss of $3 million.CyberArk – Acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $25 B
In one of the largest cybersecurity acquisitions of the year, Palo Alto Networks is buying identity management firm CyberArk for approximately $25 billion (mostly in stock). The acquisition values CyberArk at about 19 times its annual revenue and gives its shareholders a 15% stake in Palo Alto. The deal underscores the rising demand for AI-powered security capabilities, although Palo Alto’s stock dropped nearly 10% post-announcement.
This edition is brought to you in partnership with Stella Capital.