Lew Eisaguirre

Executive Profile

For more than three decades Lew Eisaguirre has been identifying emerging business opportunities and transforming “big ideas” into successful business ventures. His expertise lies in an innate ability to work at the cross-section of entrepreneurial ideas, strategic investments and growth strategies to innovate, bridge, fund and scale companies.  Lew has established a reputation, backed by a successful track record, for opportunity identification, deal development, growth plans and exit strategies that deliver accretive earnings, ROI and value in fast-paced ever-changing business and market climates.

As a serial entrepreneur, Lew has a breadth of business, financial and operating experience in start-ups, turnarounds and growth enterprises, and public and private corporations spanning multiple emerging markets and industry segments. Innovating before the term became popular, Lew has an untapped passion for pursuing the next big idea, and is happiest when ramping up a business to peak revenue, profit and market value.

Lew is a keen strategist, negotiator and dealmaker with high-level perspective in delineating the best form, structure, valuation and staging required to raise capital and secure corporate financing. Whether it is private investment, venture capital, strategic corporate investment, public offerings or other novel financing structures, Lew creates value for companies by developing capital sources for a variety of growth cycles.

Over the past 30 years, Lew has been fueling his passions through the start-up of seven different businesses, as the CEO and CFO of high-growth public and private companies, as a fund manager and business advisor to eight investor-backed portfolio companies. His experience runs the gamut of industries/markets, including consumer products, natural resources development, manufacturing, high-tech and services.

Raised a second-generation Basque rancher in the Colorado Rockies where he developed a strong work ethic, competitive spirit and tenacity early in life. Over the past 30 years, he has become a passionate wilderness adventurer, skilled bush pilot and master falconer who has monetized his experience and lessons learned as an investor, entrepreneur and business leader. 

Lew’s is an alumnus of Colorado College where he earned a Bachelor Degree in Economics, with an emphasis on Environmental Economics. After college graduation, he passed on operating the family ranch to create his own path in one of the last true US frontiers, Alaska. While completing his MBA at the University of Alaska, he founded a commercial construction company to capitalize on the Alaskan oil boom, and served as a Financial Consultant raising $12M+ in equity and private placements for 8 different investment opportunities on behalf of high net worth individuals.

Lew was recruited out of business school by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to join their management consulting practice. Under the tutelage of a well-respected senior partner, Lew specialized in business and financial modeling for clients across media, cable, communications, video and technology at time when these industries were undergoing significant transformation and change.

Excited after his experience working with leading media and communications companies, Lew left PwC at the age of 26 to capitalize on dramatic changes and potential opportunities within the high-tech sector.  Over the next 15 years, Lew launched three “new media” companies, led an emerging broadcast/cable TV solutions business through IPO and sustained growth, and structured/managed venture capital to commercialize enterprise software solutions for the consumer electronics sector. Along the way, Lew learned valuable lessons related to intellectual property valuation and monetization, business to business relationship development, consumer demand and adoption rates, and rapid technology evolution from hardware/software to digital and online platforms.

After the sale of a company, Lew attracted the attention of the founder of a pioneer in the burgeoning private family investment sector. As the Senior Vice President and “operational” leader for the firm over the next 15+ years, Lew solidified his reputation for identifying strategic investment opportunities, structuring investments ranging from $1M to $30M, and delivering accretive earnings, ROI and value as an incubator for emerging, under-capitalized, growth and turnaround businesses across Southern California.

Lew helped build a portfolio that encompassed several ecological land development projects, and companies ranging in size from start-up to ~$100M in revenue across the apparel, food/beverage, industrial products, marketing services, retail and security services sectors.

Many of the businesses required leadership ranging from business advice and guidance to hands-on management to accelerate growth. As such Lew guided entrepreneurs and small business leaders in developing business strategies, marketing plans, financial models, product development/commercialization plans, sales/distribution agreements, and ultimately accretive exit strategies.

For nearly a decade Lew served as CEO of what became one of California’s largest state-of-the-art wine production facilities. When other niche players went out of business during the 2008 financial crisis and ensuing multi-year economic decline, Lew reinvented the business, and within 5 years built the company to $25M in sales with ~15% EBITDA, and structured a lucrative private equity buyout in 2018.

When the founder of the private investment firm decided to retire, and shifted from active to passive investments, Lew launched a venture enterprise in 2019 to focus on innovating, bridging, funding and scaling potential “big ideas” by advising companies on growth opportunities that create real earned equity and enterprise value through five-year exit horizons.

Having lived and worked along the Central Coast of California and in Alaska throughout his career, Lew believes “big ideas” will ultimately originate from the land and its people, communities and cultures, and these regions are ripe for investment. He is leveraging his broad, yet deep experience in natural resource development, consumer products and technology, along with key partners in ecological/ecosystem services, to tap into under-served opportunities in these markets.

With residences and business hubs in Southern California and Alaska, Lew is 110% available for advisory and executive roles on an interim or dedicated basis. He is open to relocate or commute with his private aircraft to serve the needs of investors and businesses.

Direct Line:
805.689.7967

Hubs:

10 E Yanonali St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

721 Depot Drive
Anchorage, AK 99501