Celebrating 10 Years of Riverside Acceleration Capital

A Decade of Growth, Partnership, and Acceleration

In 2016, Riverside Acceleration Capital (RAC) launched its inaugural fund, marking the start of a bold vision: to create an investment platform purely dedicated to helping software companies scale efficiently.

Now, ten years later, we are proud to celebrate a decade of impact, partnering with innovative software leaders across North America, Europe, and Australia; and helping them build mature, resilient, and fast‑growing businesses.

Our Origin: A New Model for Growth Capital

RAC was created to rethink how capital could better serve founders. Backed by The Riverside Company, a global investment firm with over three decades of experience and more than 1,150 investments, RAC brought a differentiated model to the market.

This model emphasized:

• Flexible, right‑sized capital, including growth-lending and growth equity.
• Alignment with founders, offering options for non‑dilutive or minimally dilutive structures that preserved founder ownership, and growth equity options for larger capital needs
• Hands‑on growth support, with dedicated advisors, frameworks, and strategic resources to help companies optimize performance.

Over the last decade, this approach has helped software companies accelerate growth while maintaining optimal control of their long‑term vision.

“RAC allowed me to grow while keeping full control of my business. I wanted a true growth partner who could help me scale, but I didn't want to bring on investors that might push me for an exit on their timeframe. RAC helped me grow, they provided follow on capital for me to do acquisitions, and I kept full control over my own destiny. I've recommended them many times.”

– Lloyd Armbrust, OwnLocal

Investing in the Future of Software

RAC has partnered with dozens of software companies, focusing on those with proven business models, efficient growth, and strong momentum. Our typical engagement for RAC’s Growth Lending structure begins around $2.5M+ ARR, with initial investments between $1M and $5M+ and potential follow‑on capacity; while the Growth Equity engagements begin around $4M+ ARR, with an investment range of $10M-$40M and reserves for future investment.

But financial capital is only part of the story.

The RAC Acceleration Program, Strategic Advisory Board, and RAC Toolkit have become defining elements of our ethos, providing guidance that portfolio CEOs regularly cite as transformative.

“Partnering with RAC has transformed our company. In each of our two rounds of financing they provided the right type of capital at the right time and the operational support has been essential for helping us solve new challenges as we grow. I can't imagine a better financial partner.” 

– Wes Fuller, FURTHER

A Decade Marked by Innovation

RAC’s first decade has been defined by the rapid progression of technology and the incredible advances of AI; and our support model is designed to help our founders navigate these advancements.

Looking Ahead: The Next 10 Years

As we celebrate 10 years of RAC, we are energized by the opportunities ahead:

• The next wave of automation and AI‑powered software
• A more global, distributed software ecosystem
• Increasing demand for flexible, founder‑friendly capital
• Continued expansion of our advisory capabilities and strategic resources

Our mission remains unchanged: to be a long‑term growth partner, helping software founders scale efficiently, sustainably, and with confidence.

Here’s to the next decade of collaboration, innovation, and accelerated growth!