…substantial time and effort into situations of promise that nevertheless require additional development before being ready to attract private equity investment. Athena complements and builds around the strengths of its operating partners, providing strategic insight, skill in venture organization, and transactional and capital-raising capability. Post-closing, Athena continues its supportive role at the Board level. In essence the firm employs the investment judgment and know-how of an operationally experienced private equity investor, commencing this role early enough to shape and benefit the capital-raising process. Athena refers to this scope of practice as Enterprise Sponsorship.

Athena structures its involvement to address the unique requirements of each particular investment opportunity. Depending on the facts at hand, the firm's developmental role (in addition to raising or providing capital) could be to clarify and better communicate the strengths and strategy underlying the new enterprise's business plan; to find or negotiate the acquisition that will form the basis of that enterprise; to assist in recruiting a complete management team; or to serve in either a consultative or interim management role in order to pre-emptively address operational or organizational issues prior to seeking outside capital. In all instances the goal is to complement the domain-specific operating know-how of the entrepreneur(s) with the process-specific investment know-how requisite to properly constituting a new venture, attracting first-tier capital sources, and navigating the dialogue that ensues with investors both before and after a deal is made.