LEADERSHIP
We play a key role in acquiring, investing in, and founding small businesses.
Alan Warms, Principal
Mr. Warms founded Participate Capital in 2005 (originally named Participate Media) and has played key roles in acquiring, investing in, and founding more than 10 businesses over the last 20 years. Recent investments include Alliance Advisors and Hydro Flask (exited; sold to Helen of Troy). Alan has been an advisor to Tensility Venture Partners, a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on enterprise AI/ML startups, since 2017. Alan is a member of the Global Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management and sits on the Board of Directors of Alliance Advisors and Honest Game.
Alan also founded BuzzTracker.com and associated technologies and sold to Yahoo! in September 2007 where he subsequently ran Yahoo! News, Technology and Education; was investor in and publisher of RealClearPolitics from 2005-2007; founded Participate Systems, the premier provider of online community (called social media today) software and services to the Global 2000, in 1997, and sold to Outstart (now part of IBM) in 2004.
Alan worked as a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group from 1992 to 1996 and an engineer focused on new manufacturing technologies at Kraft General Foods from 1988 to 1990. Alan has an MBA from the J.L.Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He lives in Chicago.
Gary Leff, Principal
Mr. Leff has founded, scaled, and invested in consumer, hospitality, gaming, and F&B businesses for more than 30 years, with multiple successful exits. He has played lead roles in building high-performing platforms in regulated gaming and experiential retail, including the creation and rapid growth of Laredo Hospitality Ventures, which scaled to 57 distributed gaming locations in under five years before being acquired by the largest distributed gaming company in the country at the time.. Earlier, he founded Stir Crazy, a private-equity-backed Asian casual dining concept that grew to 12 locations across major U.S. markets and was acquired in 2006. He also co-founded and led the development and operations of Hatch, a leading cannabis dispensary company in the Illinois market .
Gary has also been an investor and advisor to Rivers Casino since 2009, contributing to the strategy and branding of the guest experience for one of Illinois’ top-performing casinos, and has advised on several other projects for Rush Street Gaming, a highly successful regional gaming company. He also was an investor and active board member of More Than Gourmet, a leading innovator / manufacturer of made from scratch class French stocks and sauces, working closely with the management team to more than double sales and increase profitability during his tenure, leading to a successful exit via a management-led recap in 2016.
Gary began his career in strategy consulting at Bain & Company and Monitor Group. He holds an MBA. from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Chicago.
Ian Lurie, Advisor
Ian Lurie is a digital marketer with a twenty-five-year intolerance of trendy concepts and nonsense. He uses both sides of his brain as a content creator, digital strategist, and search engine optimization nerd.
During his career, Ian has worked with startups and major brands in all industries, including Patagonia, Microsoft, Amazon, Kate Spade, Les Schwab, and Spotify.
Ian founded Portent, a digital marketing agency, in 1995 and sold it to Clearlink in 2017. He’s now on his own, consulting for brands he loves and speaking at conferences around the world.