Applied Value

What they do

Founded in 1997 by Bruce Grant and the late Jan Stenbeck, Applied Value Group functions as both a boutique management consultancy and an investment house. In August 2025, the firm received a strategic growth investment from Trivest Partners to scale its consulting operations. As part of this transaction, the firm's family office investments and social impact initiatives were formally reorganized under a distinct entity, Applied Invest LLC. The firm is highly regarded for its hands-on approach, frequently deploying its own consultants into portfolio companies to accelerate growth, reduce costs, and implement operational turnarounds.

What they look for

Applied Invest focuses on investing in and scaling high-potential businesses using a "Lean Growth" philosophy. Their investment approach is anchored by three core pillars: Focus (concentrating on core strengths and leveraging external partners), Simplicity (reducing complexity and standardization structures to scale with purpose), and Speed (agile capital allocation and operational execution). They look for companies where they can apply their proprietary consulting methodologies to create immediate value, specifically targeting opportunities for gross margin expansion, fixed cost reduction, and working capital efficiency. They avoid purely passive investments where they cannot add tangible operational value or influence management.

Stage

Seed, Series A, Series B+

Sectors

Climate, Cybersecurity, SaaS, Deeptech, Healthcare, Consumer

Based

New York, US