Gray Line helps founders build enduring businesses that transform industries

We’re obsessed with helping founders succeed.

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Intentional. Aligned. Committed.

Intentional. Aligned. Committed.

Gray Line always puts founders first. We lead by taking an active role in the companies we invest in.

Intentional

We’re intentional in everything we do. From the very first interaction, we’re obsessed with helping our founders succeed.

We understand that your company’s situation is unique. Alignment with your vision and aspirations for your company is crucial for us.

Aligned

Committed

We’re committed to your success. We run a focused portfolio where your success is our success.

Our focus

We’re a growth equity firm focused exclusively on B2B software businesses at the “early growth” stage—where we’re most experienced and impactful. Businesses we partner with have:

Obvious product market fit

Markets ripe for disruption

Cultures focused on winning

Sticky products that delight

Founders building for endurance

Economics ready to scale

Portfolio

AI-powered client communication archiving, record keeping, and compliance software platform.

SaaS provider of real-time AI video analytics for threat detection.

Full suite AI-powered SaaS for modern Audiologist clinics

Previous experience

SaaS provider of employee performance and engagement software for data-driven talent management.

SaaS unified customer interaction management platform for banks, credit unions, and insurance companies.

SaaS employee intranet and experience management platform for the enterprise.

SaaS provider of AI-driven occupancy analytics to optimize workplace utilization.

SaaS provider of business management software and payment solutions for the wellness industry.

SaaS provider of an all-in-one AI assistant and CRM for multi-family property management companies.

Our team

Managing Partner

Eddie Kang

  • Eddie Kang is the Founder and Managing Partner of Gray Line Partners. Prior to founding Gray Line Partners, Eddie led investments at Telescope Partners, Next47, Tola Capital, and Point72 where he led Growth Stage investment activities.

    Throughout his career, Eddie worked closely with Brandfolder (acquired by SmartSheet), Topbox (acquired by Khoros), 15Five, Glia, VergeSense, Simpplr, Boulevard, and EliseAl. Before becoming an investor, Eddie advised on M&A, IPOs, and debt offerings in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Prior to the private sector, Eddie was a US Army Officer serving in Korea and Afghanistan.

    Eddie graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is the founder of the Old Grad Club, a non-profit that educates, inspires, and connects business leaders in the veteran community.

Partner

Rob Hammond

  • Robert Hammond is a Partner on the investment team at Gray Line Partners. Before Gray Line Partners, he led investments at Point72 Private Investments. Before his investing career, Rob was a corporate strategy professional at Dallas-based electric vehicle manufacturer, Canoo, and a technology investment banker at Rothschild & Co., where he advised technology companies and investors on a range of transactions, including M&A, startup fundraises, leveraged buyouts, and other corporate actions.

    Before entering the private sector, Rob was a US Army Officer, serving in various locations including China and Afghanistan.

    Rob earned a BS in Chinese Language from the United States Military Academy and an MA in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Nanjing campus.

Will Maio

Head of Data Science

  • William Maio spearheads Data Science initiatives at Gray Line Partners, bringing over 13 years of hands-on technological leadership to the table. With a laser focus on optimizing the data pipeline, William enhances data-driven decision-making across all facets of the investment lifecycle.

    Prior to joining Gray Line Partners, William led data infrastructure at McDonald Tech Labs, where he orchestrated the processing of near real-time streaming AI-speech data, significantly enhancing the AI-driven drive-thru system. He also played a pivotal role as a founding engineer at TerrAvion (YCW14), where he engineered a cutting-edge aerial imaging processing data pipeline, managing terabytes of imagery every week.

    William holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in computer engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with a specialization in Computer Vision.

Julia Runyon

Chief of Staff

  • Julia Runyon is Chief of Staff at Gray Line Partners, focusing on investor relations, operations, and compliance. Before joining Gray Line, she spent more than a decade managing fundraising for alternative investment managers. Most recently, she was a Vice President on the Private Capital Advisory team at Raymond James – Cebile Capital, where she managed institutional fundraises for private equity funds, advising clients on fundraising strategy and investor communications, while overseeing investor outreach and the logistics of the fundraise.

    Previously, Julia spent ten years at BerchWood Partners, a global placement agent focused on middle-market private equity and real assets funds. As Vice President and Associate Director of Marketing she led global fundraises across buyout, infrastructure, venture/growth, private debt, and energy strategies. 

    Earlier in her career, Julia held roles at Moore Capital Management, the National Basketball Association, and Zimmer Family Law.

    Julia earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Oregon’s Clark Honors College, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Jack Wharton

Software Engineer

  • Jack Wharton is a Software Engineer at Gray Line Partners, where he leads internal software development and brings deep expertise in full stack web development, database management, AI integration, and cloud infrastructure.

    Prior to joining Gray Line Partners, Jack served as Lead Technology Engineer at Social Valid, where he directed the end-to-end development and deployment of a SaaS platform focused on enhancing personal security on the web.

    Jack holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Washington State University, graduating summa cum laude, and remains actively engaged with the university as a technical mentor for computer science capstone teams.

Our values

Values are the bedrock of our long-term success.

Duty and discipline inform every aspect of how we operate.

Integrity and intellectual honesty guide our strategic thinking and investment decisions.

Radical transparency and deep alignment in goals and vision are paramount to the success of our partnership.

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