About Us
Built by PeopleWho Have Done
This Before.
Exit 156 Capital is a growth equity firm founded by entrepreneurs and operators, not analysts. Here is where we came from and why it still shapes how we invest.
The Name
Exit 156 isa Real Place.
Interstate 94, Exit 156, in Collegeville, Minnesota. It is the turn generations of Saint John’s University students have taken onto campus. That exit represents a pivotal moment, the point where someone commits to something bigger.
We named the firm after it because that is exactly what we help companies do. Every business we back is at its own Exit 156, turning toward the next stage of growth.
How We Started
Three Alumni.One Belief.
Josh Robinson, Mike Nathan, and Brian Kueppers all graduated from Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, in different decades and built different careers. Josh scaled organizations from $50 million to $7 billion. Mike served in the United States Navy and went on to found Mendota Health. Brian built Apex Revenue Technologies to $120 million in revenue and sold it twice.
They came back to the same place with the same idea: growth equity that treats founders like partners, not line items. Exit 156 Capital launched to prove that a firm run by operators makes better decisions for the operators it backs.
What We Believe
A Few ThingsWe Hold To.
People First
We invest in management teams before we invest in markets. The best thesis in the world fails with the wrong team behind it.
Speed Matters
No committees. No approval chains. When we believe in a company, we move.
Alignment Over Control
We take non-controlling stakes because we believe founders build better companies when they still own the outcome.
Give Something Back
Five percent of our investment returns go to the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. That was the plan from day one, not an afterthought.
Where We Are Now
Regional Roots.National Reach.
We started as a Midwest firm with Midwest values. We are now a national platform investing in healthcare, agriculture, and technology companies across the country, backed by a growing ecosystem that reaches hundreds of thousands of founders, operators, and investors.
The values have not changed. The map has.
See the EcosystemWant to Know More?
Meet the partners, see how we invest, or reach out directly. We are easy to find and easier to talk to.