Welcome to Nova Partners
Guiding businesses through the transactions that define them.
A boutique advisory firm serving businesses and private equity sponsors on debt financing, M&A and strategic transactions across developed markets.
Our Approach
Collaborative, Long-term partnerships
Sustained outcomes are achieved through genuine collaboration. We focus on building enduring client relationships founded on openness, integrity, and mutual trust. The length and continuity of many of our partnerships, several extending back to our firm’s earliest days, reflect both our relationship-led approach and the consistency of our results.
Fundraise with ease.
Get Organized
Transform the fundraising process into a strategic advantage
Save Time
Delegate time-consuming tasks to people you can trust
See Results
Stay on track during the highs and lows of your fundraising round
Are you running a high-growth startup?
We work with founders building category-defining companies solving meaningful problems. If you have real traction, let’s talk.
The Capital Department Fundraising Experts
Selma Studer
CEO
Selma brings experience leading marketing and communications at Fortune 500 companies. Selma holds a BA in Economics and French from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Oxford, where she was a Saïd Foundation Scholar and Chair of the Oxford Business Network for Entrepreneurship.
Maria Springer
Founder & CEO
Founder-centric, Maria is passionate about helping entrepreneurs raise capital with confidence. Maria holds a BA in Political Science from UCLA, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, and an MBA from the University of Oxford where she was a Skoll Scholar.
Kelley Frank
Senior Director
Kelley has worked with businesses from pre-seed startups and global companies including Universal Music Group— and is a former founder herself. She counts keynote speaking and mentoring at Techstars among her favorite creative outlets. Kelley holds a BS in Business from Indiana University.
Erick Guajardo
Senior Operations Manager
Erick is an ecosystem builder bringing experience in venture, private equity, and philanthropy. He has managed analytics and sales processes for a vertically-integrated CPG PE firm and was a founding team member of an early-stage venture fund. Erick holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Nina Ekmescic
Senior Content Strategist
Nina brings experience in developing compelling brand narratives and leading marketing strategies across diverse sectors, from consumer packaged goods to government agencies. Nina holds a BA and an MA in Communications from Arizona State University.
Justin Chan
Technical Product Manager
Justin is a former founder with experience helping Fortune 500 companies leverage data. He previously worked at a global quantitative hedge fund and American Express. He holds a BS in Finance & Data Science from New York University, where he graduated magna cum laude.
MaryKate Meedzan
Deal Strategist
MaryKate has an impressive track record of driving new strategic initiatives and product development across the fintech industry, including at JPMorgan Chase, Betterment, Netcapital, and Morgan Stanley. MaryKate holds a BA in Economics from Franklin & Marshall College.
Hayden Gold
Analyst
Hayden has experience in corporate development and strategic investments, specializing in sourcing, analyzing, and pitching early to growth stage companies. He is currently pursuing a BS in Economics with a focus on Finance and Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania.
Capital raised for a few of our favorite startups
UpCounsel
“Not only did you help me identify the right investors and how to get the strongest introductions to them, you also helped me build signal and develop an end-to-end process around the raise. I literally couldn’t have done it without you. You had my back the entire step of the way and created space to openly discuss the inevitable highs and lows of the raise process.”
KJ Erickson, CEO
AKT London
“It’s actually amazing what you’ve created for us. Who knew a spreadsheet could deliver so much joy!”
Edward Currie, Founder
RASA
“I felt your execution was excellent, I will highly recommend Capital Department, and we hope to work with you on future raises.”
Stephan Van Der Mersch, CFO
Koia
“The process, support, and professionalism you provided exceeded all expectations. You provided urgency without panic, you pushed without being pushy, and provided thorough communication without over-communicating. A rare skill set that helped get the job done, and was appreciated by the whole team!”
Chris Pruneda, CMO
Atom Limbs
“A+… thanks for crushing this!”
Tyler Hayes, CEO & Co-founder
VergeSense
“You were a key part of our success across three venture rounds. You have fantastic attention to detail and had my full trust in creating fundraising pipelines, organizing data rooms, and responding to investor requests.“
Dan Ryan, CEO & Co-founder
End-to-end fundraising support for founders, CEOs, & startups
Let’s raise!
We work with a limited number of startups.
If you think you’re a fit, we’d love to hear from you.