Panelist

Kirenaga Partners - Profile

Kirenaga Partners is a unique early-stage venture capital firm founded on the simple belief that creating the highest value for all stakeholders comes from the building of great businesses, not from the trading of mis-priced assets.

OUR INSPIRATION: STAY SHARP
Kirenaga is a Japanese term used to describe a knife or sword blade. It literally translates to duration of sharpness or amount of edge retention.

We were drawn to the term Kirenaga because it represents the principles we aspire to embody as a company – to find and maintain a distinctive edge in everything we do. It takes a commitment to excellence and great craftsmanship to balance the metallic properties of hardness and toughness to create a blade with high “kirenaga.”

It takes a similar commitment to excellence and craftsmanship to find and structure investments that enable our portfolio companies to simultaneously grow and generate current return. Companies, just like blades, will lose their edge over time. Therefore, we must always remain vigilant to ensure that we, as well as our companies, Stay Sharp and Retain an Edge.

Additionally, we learned that Mt. Kenya, the second-highest peak in Africa after Kilimanjaro, was originally known as Mt. Kirinyaga. Anyone viewing the great Mt. Kirinyaga will likely see the same characteristics we saw and desire to build in all our portfolio companies – substantial, enduring, and inspiring.