Making Unique Private Market Opportunities Accessible

Companies are staying private longer, making it difficult for employees and early shareholders to unlock the value of their equity before the company goes public. The result is a push for liquidity by private company shareholders looking to sell their shares pre-IPO and institutional and accredited investors wanting access to quality blocks. Next Round Capital facilities this process by presenting exclusive secondary market opportunities for investors to buy into some of the world’s most promising companies.

By the Numbers

Our Leadership

Our team and advisory board is comprised of wall street analysts, tech entrepreneurs and experienced venture investors.

  • team
    Ken Smythe
    Founder & CEO

    Ken Smythe is the Founder of Next Round Capital and leads the firm’s efforts across the institutional private markets and capital raising space. He has over 20 years of venture and finance experience and has transacted in over 50+ venture-backed companies across SaaS, Fintech, Consumer, and Biotech. He also has an extensive track record investing in early-stage companies across sectors, including DraftKings, Peloton, and SOFI.

    He began his career as an analyst at Neuberger Berman and later became President of a $5bln hedge fund, a private equity firm headquartered in London. Before founding Next Round Capital Partners, Ken was a Managing Director at Artist Capital, leading the Private Shares group.

    He is a frequent media contributor, including Bloomberg, TechCrunch, The New York Times, Forbes, and TheStreet.com. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and has completed the Value Investing Program at Columbia University.

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    Phil Hein
    Managing Director,
    Capital Markets

    Before joining Next Round Capital Partners, Phil worked for RHK Noble Capital as an institutional equity private shares advisor. He has extensive experience working with leading institutional investors and companies to facilitate liquidity for shareholders. He has extensive relationships with Hedge funds, PE firms, and family offices in the US and globally.

    Prior to entering the world of institutional equities, Phil spent 20 years in operational and managerial roles for several leading consumer goods companies (both public and privately held companies).

    Phil received a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University. In his free time, Phil likes to ski and mountain bike with his family. He holds the Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses.

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    Michael Giambalvo
    Associate,
    Capital Markets

    Mike currently serves as a Capital Markets Associate at Next Round Capital. In his role, he spearheads the firm’s endeavors in identifying venture capital-backed companies actively seeking liquidity. He actively engages with prominent institutional investors seeking to transact in private share transactions.

    He comes to Next Round with a background in Fintech, having led sales and business development at Vise, a technology-powered asset manager backed by Sequoia. His focus was increasing assets under management across the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and Wealth Manager channels. Before his tenure at Vise, Mike made significant contributions at Meridian, a provider of equipment leasing solutions.

    Mike holds an Accounting Degree from the College of the Holy Cross. Mike enjoys running, golfing, and reading books on personal finance and investing during his free time.