We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Miriam Altman-reyes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Miriam, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
Brass Ring Ventures is not your typical venture fund. We are a team of operators who have worked within companies through six collective exits in the industries in which we invest.
Leveraging our experiences, we take a hands-on approach, providing direct support to our portfolio companies. Through our “Advise, Educate, Execute” framework, we serve as founder-to-founder advisors to the CEO and as fractional executives on the leadership team, getting in the trenches to help companies get to the next stage of growth.
Over the last 18 months, we have worked closely with several early stage companies to achieve major milestones, including: closing seven-figure contracts, launching new products, driving toward profitability, closing financing rounds, making key hires, and managing significant leadership transitions.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am the Founder, CEO, and General Partner of Brass Ring Ventures, a growth studio and investment fund focused on supporting technology-driven solutions that foster economic mobility through education, workforce development, health, and financial inclusion.
My professional journey began 17 years ago. As a high school history teacher in NYC public schools, I witnessed systemic issues, particularly chronic absenteeism, which is rooted in a lack of access to coordinated communication and data. This experience inspired me to co-found Kinvolved, an EdTech company that I led as CEO to grow to serve millions, achieve profitability, and demonstrate proven impact, ultimately leading to its acquisition by PowerSchool, the industry’s largest company, in 2022.
After the acquisition, in speaking with dozens of founders, I discovered a significant gap: founders, especially women and people of color, often lack the hands-on advisory support that is critical to scaling their businesses. In response, I launched Brass Ring Ventures in 2023, combining investment with direct operational support. I built a team of six Operating Partners and three Advisors, all from my prior business, with deep expertise in strategy, fundraising, finance, go-to-market, sales, growth, marketing, branding, and technology.
What sets us apart is our hands-on approach. We not only guide founders but also roll up our sleeves to help them build scalable, investable businesses while de-risking investments for funders.
Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.
I successfully sold my first company in 2022 to PowerSchool, a leading public company in education technology. The journey—from ideation to acquisition—was deeply rewarding and full of invaluable lessons.
As the founder and CEO, I navigated every stage of growth, from product development and go-to-market strategy and sales to fundraising and financial management and talent development. My 15+ years of experience in education, workforce development, social enterprise, and technology shaped my ability to make strategic decisions and position the company for long-term success. Drawing on my background as an educator, we prioritized creating value for our users—students, educators, administrators, and parents — over investors. Driving value for the customer drove value for the investor in the end.
One critical lesson is the importance of building customer relationships. This means talking to customers daily, taking their feedback into account when commercializing new products, retaining them for the long-term, and leveraging their successes to drive growth. Equally vital is investing in your team—developing contributors and leaders who are values- and mission-aligned, creative and able to solve problems, and can operate independently while being members of a team.
Selling to PowerSchool was more than just a financial milestone; it was an opportunity to expand the impact of our mission. Their alignment with our values ensured that our work in improving student outcomes could continue to scale meaningfully.
For entrepreneurs preparing for an eventual sale, my advice is to think long-term. Build your business with a clear vision for its future, stay rooted in your mission, and surround yourself with advisors and investors who share your goals. These steps not only prepare you for a successful exit but also ensure your company’s legacy thrives post-acquisition.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
As a leader, I believe authenticity, consistency, and results have been the cornerstone of my reputation. I’ve always been open and communicative about my intentions and the factors underlying my decisions with my team members, investors, and board members, and now with founders. I take the fact that many of the relationships that I built during the Kinvolved days have transcended to my new venture as validation of this.
As a team and a firm, our work speaks for itself. We each have a proven track record as successful executives. We are continuing to build our reputation in our new roles with Brass Ring by providing high-quality support to our founders, guiding them as they make critical decisions and learn the ins and outs of running a successful business. We operate with a “teach a person to fish” mentality, facilitating founders’ leadership development and skills.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brassring.vc
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brassringventures
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brass-ring-ventures
Image Credits
Runy Pswarayi