Our Story
Two sets of expertise - one business
Over their decades-long careers, the principals of Varda Partners and Barton Creek Equity Partners helped many businesses achieve success. By combining forces, Next Gear does what other firms cannot: offer expertise in digital growth and equity investment.
Varda Partners and Barton Creek Equity Partners team up
Born out of friendship and strengthened by decades of experience in their respective fields, Next Gear Growth Partners is disrupting the private equity landscape by offering an all-in-one solution for emerging B2C e-commerce companies. When Joe Peterson, founder and CEO of Varda Partners, and Ron Duncan, founder and managing partner of Barton Creek Equity Partners, met at Harvard Business School, neither envisioned that twenty-five years later they would launch a specialized growth equity firm.
Both Varda Partners and Barton Creek Equity Partners were founded on principles and experience that lead to successful growth and investing. For Varda Partners, that means delivering innovative digital strategies that drive growth. Barton Creek Equity Partners deploys capital and coaches management teams to succeed in the middle market. Next Gear Growth Partners, founded on the combination of these philosophies, is the best of both worlds.