Working alongside founders and the funds that back them, we see a clear shift taking place. The most effective investors are moving beyond monitoring performance and towards actively accelerating growth across their portfolios.
This change isn’t about control. It’s about momentum.
Why Oversight Alone Doesn’t Drive Growth
Traditional portfolio oversight plays an important role in managing risk and accountability. But in practice, it rarely solves the challenges that actually slow businesses down.
We regularly see portfolio companies grappling with:
- Inconsistent pipeline and go-to-market execution
- Founder dependency in sales and growth
- Unclear positioning as markets evolve
- Pressure to demonstrate progress between funding rounds
These aren’t issues that can be resolved in quarterly board meetings. They require hands-on support, practical decision-making and the ability to translate strategy into action.
That’s why we believe portfolio growth today demands more than observation – it demands acceleration.
What Acceleration Really Means
At Think Partners, we think of acceleration as the space between strategy and execution.
It’s about helping founders move from knowing what needs to happen to actually making it happen – faster, and with fewer false starts. In practice, this means focusing on the levers that create momentum early and compound over time.
Acceleration typically shows up in a few key ways:
- Sharper commercial execution
- Clearer market positioning
- Repeatable commercial traction
- Stronger communication with investors
When these elements are aligned, growth becomes more predictable – and far easier to support across a portfolio.
Building Growth Capability Across the Portfolio
One of the challenges funds face is scale. Supporting one company intensively is manageable. Supporting ten, twenty or more requires a different approach.
This is where having growth, brand and marketing capability behind the portfolio makes a tangible difference.
From our experience, many businesses don’t struggle because the opportunity isn’t there – they struggle because their positioning, messaging or routes to market aren’t working hard enough to create pipeline acceleration. When brand and marketing are treated as part of the growth infrastructure, rather than a bolt-on, companies communicate more clearly and move more confidently.
For funds, this creates consistency:
A clearer story across the portfolio
- Stronger investor perception
- Less friction between strategy and execution
It also means founders aren’t left trying to solve growth challenges in isolation.
Supporting Growth Between Funding Rounds
Acceleration is particularly critical in the periods between funding rounds – when expectations are high, time is limited and progress needs to be visible.
We work with founders to:
- Prioritise the growth actions that matter most – scalable sales systems
- Translate strategy into tangible progress
- Build momentum that investors can clearly see
This doesn’t just support revenue growth. It strengthens investor confidence and sets businesses up for more productive conversations about follow-on funding.
A Different Role for Funds
From our perspective, the most effective funds are redefining their role.
They still provide governance and oversight. But they also act as partners in growth – ensuring portfolio companies have access to the capability, clarity and support needed to scale.
This approach doesn’t replace strong management teams. It enables them.
From Monitoring to Momentum
Portfolio growth today is not about doing more reporting or increasing oversight. It’s about creating the conditions for businesses to move faster, communicate more clearly and scale with confidence.
The shift we’re seeing is simple, but significant:
from asking “How is the business performing?”
to asking “How do we help this business accelerate – now?”
That’s where true momentum is created.
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