Investor Q&A: Mike Farrell on Trust, Patience, and the Long Game of Backing Founders

Managing Director Mike Farrell has been at Spectrum since 2009, spearheading investments in software and data businesses like CINC Systems, Origami Risk, and RapidRatings. In June of 2026 we talked about how decisions actually get made inside a room of strong opinions, what separates the companies that break out, and the kind of partner he tries to be when a founder calls with a problem.

Q. You’ve been at Spectrum since 2009. What pulled you toward growth equity in the first place, and what’s kept you here for almost two decades?

The answer to the second part is easy – I haven’t been fired yet! But in all seriousness, growth equity struck me early on as the most interesting place to be in private investing. You get to work with innovative companies, and you’re out meeting the hardest-working, most impressive entrepreneurs in the business. And at a firm like Spectrum, the investment is just the beginning of the relationship – you partner with these great management teams, help them scale, and make great friendships along the way.

I worked at a growth equity fund before attending business school and I knew that I really wanted to join Spectrum after graduating. So coming out of business school I didn’t wait to be recruited – I reached out to one of the Managing Directors and recruited my way in. Spectrum had a reputation as being an entrepreneurial firm with a great culture and I really wanted to be a part of that.

Q. Spectrum is run by a group of partners with strong, diverse opinions – and it’s also a place that prizes contrarian thinking. How do you get a room like that to come to consensus?

I’ve found that – whether it’s an internal partner meeting at Spectrum or a meeting with leaders of a portfolio company – consensus is easy 95% of the time. Most decision-making is straightforward as long as people have been brought along on the journey and have had adequate time to weigh the options. People want to feel ownership, and that they’ve had a chance to speak up. I learned early on in my career that the way you get to the decision matters as much as the decision itself.

As for the 5% of the time when people genuinely disagree – that’s where trust matters. If you’ve built up trust over time, someone can say, “I disagree with you, but I know you’re coming from a good place and your instincts have been right so I trust you here.”

“I learned early on in my career that the way you get to the decision matters as much as the decision itself.” - Mike Farrell, Spectrum Equity

Q. Can you think of a time where that contrarianism paid off – and you were able to understand something about a business that wasn’t apparent at first glance?

One of the best examples is CINC Systems, an investment I led with Cam Ghorbani. CINC’s business model was complex and we spent a lot of time getting our heads around the nuances. We wanted to make sure we understood the value drivers for all the different constituents in the ecosystem. We ultimately decided the underlying value proposition was strong, and we made a bet that some others might not have. It was contrarian at the time, and the thesis got tested almost immediately after we invested. Thankfully, it worked out well.

Q. Thinking about the companies you’ve been closest to, what patterns do you see in the ones that really broke out?

Great management teams. And by “great” I actually mean two things specifically: A great leader is someone that can galvanize a team behind their vision for the company. Employees understand this vision and are working collectively towards this common goal. Second, being obsessive about product. Great leaders understand their customers – and their customers’ problems – so well that they’re confident they can solve them.

Q. How are you thinking about AI’s impact on the companies you’ve already backed? What does it change for the ones you’re evaluating now?

For our current companies, the thing I care about most is intellectual curiosity. The leaders who are embracing it, using it themselves, trying things, pushing their teams – that’s the mindset we see in our portfolio. For most companies, AI is a big opportunity: you can run more efficiently, make the product better, innovate faster…but you do have to adapt to a different way of working. That might require you to rethink your software development lifecycle, or completely change how your marketing team functions today.

In diligence, we’re spending a significant amount of time understanding how a company leverages AI. We want to understand what a company is doing with AI – how innovative they are, but also how thoughtful. That’s become an important barometer for us.
“AI is a big opportunity: you can run more efficiently, make the product better, innovate faster…but you do have to adapt to a different way of working.” - Mike Farrell, Spectrum Equity

Q. Once you’ve invested, how do you build trust over the course of a relationship with a company?

In a way these partnerships are like marriages – we spend years working with management teams, and over the course of that time there are highs and lows. The inevitable rough patches are opportunities to build trust by being collaborative, pragmatic, and unafraid of conflict.

Q. What do you want founders to know about working with you?

Let me flip it – here’s what I’d want a founder to say about me in a reference call. I’d want them to say I’m fair and reasonable, and that I’m a real thought partner whether they’re calling with good news or with a problem. I love when we have something to celebrate, but that’s not the point of a partnership – you bring partners on to help solve problems.

Mike Farrell is a Managing Director at Spectrum Equity. He joined Spectrum in 2009.

The interview reflects the views of the individual as of the date of publication and may not reflect current views. To improve readability, this interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness. These edits do not materially alter the meaning of the discussion. Any company identified herein is for illustrative purposes. For a full list of the Firm’s portfolio companies, please visit https://spctrm.pe/list-of-investments, which is updated periodically and reflects investments that have been publicly announced.