Paul began his career as a CPA at a local accounting firm before moving to Boston to earn his MBA at Harvard. While there, he interned and later worked at Bain Consulting, where he was introduced to Mitt Romney and recruited as one of the early employees of Bain Capital. Over the next several decades, Paul helped shape one of the world’s leading private investment firms. He led or co-led more than 50 transactions, expanded Bain Capital into Asia, and served as co-head of the firm’s investment committee.

Terry, meanwhile, built his career as both an investor and an operator. He spent decades working across a range of businesses, with meaningful chapters in telecommunications and asset management. That included WK Communications, a telecommunications rollup, Evercom, a nationwide provider of telephone systems for correctional facilities, and later Tortoise Advisors, an asset manager focused on midstream energy infrastructure.

The idea for VantEdge began to take real shape during Paul’s 50th birthday celebration, when he and Terry started mapping out a firm built around industries they understood, operators they respected, and a partnership model they believed in. More than 30 years after first meeting at K-State, the timing finally came together. Terry had sold his shares in Tortoise, and Paul had stepped back from Bain Capital into a senior advisor role. VantEdge Partners was founded in late 2016 with its first three hires: Meghan Whitefield, now CFO, and Jay Matlack and Trevor Lott, now Managing Directors leading the firm’s two core verticals. Since then, VantEdge has grown to more than 12 private company investments and a team of 20, all focused on partnering with leading operators in growing industries.