Ascend Ventures into Education

This case describes the decision by Ascend Ventures to invest in a firm that falls outside their investment strategy. Ascend Ventures is a relatively young private equity firm that has targeted technology companies that are managed by women or minorities. The company under their consideration, Platform Learning, operates in the for-profit education market, providing supplemental education services to children in failing public schools. Because Platform Learning is not a technology company, Ascend's investment managers are worried about their ability to add value in this market and concerned about how their limited partners might react to this investment.