Respida Capital has expanded its investment team with the appointments of Kyle Kruse as principal and Kyle Kolakoski as vice president as the software-focused private equity firm looks to deepen portfolio management capabilities and pursue additional growth-stage software investments.
The hires reflect continued competition among private equity firms for experienced technology investors with expertise in software transactions, operational scaling and add-on acquisitions as investment activity in enterprise software remains active despite a more selective financing environment.
Managing Member James Zubok said both executives bring strong software sector knowledge and transaction experience that will help support Respida’s portfolio companies while increasing the firm’s ability to source and execute new investments.
Kruse joins Respida with roughly a decade of experience spanning software private equity and investment banking. Most recently, he served as a vice president and founding member of Ten Coves Capital, a growth equity firm focused on B2B SaaS and fintech businesses. Earlier in his career, he worked on Morgan Stanley’s mergers and acquisitions and corporate strategy team.
At Respida, Kruse will focus on investment sourcing, transaction execution, portfolio management, capital formation and broader firm development initiatives.
Kolakoski also brings approximately 10 years of technology investment experience, most recently serving as vice president in Stephens’ technology investment banking group. His work there focused on vertical software and Internet of Things sectors, areas that continue attracting strong investor interest as businesses increase spending on operational automation and connected systems.
Prior to Stephens, Kolakoski worked on the technology valuation advisory team at Kroll, formerly Duff & Phelps.
Respida said Kolakoski will focus primarily on originating and executing new platform investments and add-on acquisitions across the firm’s software portfolio.
The broader private equity market for software companies has remained highly competitive, particularly for businesses with recurring revenue models, vertical specialization and AI-enabled operational capabilities. Firms increasingly are emphasizing operational expertise and platform-building strategies as software valuations normalize following the rapid expansion seen during earlier technology investment cycles.
Respida positions itself as a software-focused private equity firm partnering with growth-oriented software companies and management teams to scale operations and build long-term market leadership positions.
Private equity firms specializing in software have increasingly recruited professionals with both investment and operational experience as value creation strategies become more execution-focused rather than purely reliant on financial engineering.
The additions of Kruse and Kolakoski suggest Respida is continuing to build out institutional infrastructure and transaction capacity as it pursues broader expansion across enterprise software markets.