About Tailwind
Operators first. Advisors second.
Before we were investors and advisors, we were entrepreneurs ourselves — building, raising, and exiting companies. That's the kind of experience that actually makes a difference when capital is on the line.
What doesn't work
The things investors quietly pass on.
- Complex, layered capital structures
- Markets defined too broadly to be defensible
- Over-promising and under-delivering on milestones
- Over-estimating the size of the problem
- Under-estimating the capital actually required
What works
The things that earn a yes.
- A great team with the right skills and scars
- A product or service that clearly meets a need
- A confident plan, communicated simply
- An elegant pitch that brings it all together
- Honesty about what you know and what you don't
What we do
The connective tissue between great companies and the right capital.
No two companies are the same, so our process is tailored to each client. In its simplest form: we understand, we advise, and we execute.
The first step is to understand your company inside and out — what makes you unique and different enough to be compelling, and who's on the team driving it. Then we listen to your current pitch, or work with you to create one if you don't have one yet.
Then we tell you what we think — the honest truth, not flattery — and help you fix what needs fixing so your company stands out in the crowd of everyone else trying to attract attention and capital.
Finally, we give you the opportunity to tell your unique story to people looking for equally unique opportunities. That's where our network does the heavy lifting.
The team
Three partners. Decades of operating experience.
Eric Hale
Managing Partner
Eric has spent more than 35 years in senior management at Fortune 50, mid-sized, and early-stage companies — including 20 years at the CEO level. He has raised capital through private equity, venture capital, and private investors, and has taken two life science companies through their IPOs on NASDAQ.
He has broad experience navigating products and services that require government agency approval — FDA, EPA, USDA, EU — and is well-versed in strategy development, exits, M&A, in- and out-licensing, new market development, and evaluating complex technologies for market viability.
Eric has invested in or advised a number of healthcare companies including Coherex Medical (acquired by BioSense Webster, a J&J division), Olive Medical (acquired by DePuy Synthes), and Provide Nutrition (acquired by Frog Fuel). He has also advised Grandeur Peak, an international small-cap investment fund, on select life science companies.
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Mike Horne
Managing Partner
Mike brings a deep network of high-net-worth individuals and broad experience supporting startups across industries. He got his start at Wasatch Advisors — a Utah-based investment firm with $15B under management — spending two years in research before catching the entrepreneurship bug.
Since then he has started six companies, expanded two to multiple states, and raised capital and exited three. Through it all, he realized he's at his best working with small teams to help them scale and raise — and less interested in running them once they grow. So he stopped going into business for himself and started coaching companies through their raises.
Mike has raised millions of dollars in Angel and Seed rounds from venture capital institutions and individual investors.
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Ben Hale
Partner
Ben supports Tailwind's clients across diligence, pitch development, and investor outreach. [Replace this paragraph with Ben's real background — education, prior roles, specific industries or company stages he focuses on, and any notable wins. Two to three sentences is plenty.]
[Optional second paragraph: what Ben specifically does day-to-day at Tailwind, or the kinds of founders he most loves working with.]
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