Cole Roberts is a Financial Analyst with Venture First. Before Venture First, Cole worked as a Thematic Equity Client Portfolio Management Analyst at Goldman Sachs in Asset Management at their Salt Lake City, Utah office. He also worked as an intern at multiple firms in Louisville including River Road Asset Management and Accredited Wealth Management. […]
Departments: Transaction Services
Brad Couch
Brad Couch is a Senior Financial Analyst at Venture First where he has worked with clients across many different industries: Ed-tech, Health Tech/Digital Therapeutics, Waste Management, Automotive Trade, Bourbon/Whiskey, and Ag Marketing. Before his time at Venture First, Brad worked at Patoka Capital as a Private Equity Senior Accountant in New Albany, Indiana for nearly […]
Randy Strause
Randy Strause is an Associate with Venture First. Prior to Venture First, he worked for a boutique law firm focusing on business litigation and professional licensure law. He has alsospent time as an intern at Bank of America and the University of Louisville Department of Athletics.Randy graduated Cum Laude from the Brandeis School of Law […]
Jack Hellige
Jack Hellige is the VP of CFO Services and Analytics. Jack started his career in sell-side equity research at Hilliard Lyons (now Baird) in Louisville prior to joining Venture First as a Financial Analyst in 2019. He spent over 2 years in the trenches supporting the CFO services and transactions groups working with dozens of growth-minded […]
Mark Crane
Mark Crane serves as Venture First’s full-time VP of Investor Relations. He is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner and has 25+ years’ experience as a Leader or Advisor for fast-growth companies in technology, healthcare, and manufacturing. Mark’s work has connected him to 200+ high net worth individuals, family offices, and […]
Rob Penta
Rob serves as the General Counsel of Venture First, a member of its Board of Directors, the Chief Legal Officer of Whiskey Capital Finance Co., and the Chief Executive Officer of NetBallistics LLC. Prior to joining Venture First, Rob was a member of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP for 13 years where many of his […]
John Shumate
John is Founder & CEO of Venture First, a venture-focused financial services group providing deal structuring, M&A and capital raise advice, fractional CFO services, and an array of equity and derivative valuation. He is General Partner in Whiskey Capital Finance Co., a debt fund lending to the craft American whiskey market; Strike Ventures, a tech- […]