Co-Founder & COO of Pear Deck.

Founder, CEO, and Board Member at Element451.

Founder & Managing Partner

Private Equity Partner at Choate, Hall & Stewart

Ethan Carlson is a Senior Associate at Vista Point Advisors, where he works alongside senior advisors on the sourcing and execution of M&A and capital raise transactions for founder-led software and internet businesses. Ethan initially joined the firm as an Analyst in 2020 before returning in January 2023. Across both his tenures at Vista Point, Ethan has contributed to eleven transactions representing approximately $1.2 billion in enterprise value. 

Between his two tenures, Ethan worked as a Senior Analyst in Houlihan Lokey's Global Technology Group, where he focused on both buy-side and sell-side technology transactions. He returned to Vista Point with firsthand experience on both sides of a transaction, giving him direct insight into how acquirers and investors evaluate software businesses.

Ethan holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from Syracuse University.

Jeff Bean is a Founding Member and Managing Director at Vista Point Advisors. Jeff helped found Vista Point in 2011 to serve founders and management teams of private, software/internet companies seeking investment or full/partial liquidity events. Jeff has 15 years of investment banking experience focused exclusively on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising projects in software and internet verticals.

Prior to Vista Point, Jeff worked at a Silicon Valley-based boutique investment bank where he focused on M&A and capital raising transactions. Prior to that, Jeff worked at KeyBanc Capital Markets in their Technology, Media and Telecom group in Denver where he executed a variety of transactions, from financings to buy-side and sell-side M&A to IPOs. Jeff has a B.S. from the University of Colorado.

Jeffrey Koons is a Founding Member and Managing Director at Vista Point Advisors. Jeffrey helped found Vista Point in 2011 to serve founders and management teams of private, software/internet companies seeking investment or full/partial liquidity events. Jeffrey has fourteen years of investment banking experience focused exclusively on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising projects in software and internet verticals. Over his career, Jeffrey has executed over $5.5 billion of M&A and capital markets transactions for private, technology businesses.

Prior to Vista Point, Jeffrey worked at a Silicon Valley-based boutique investment bank where he focused on executing Mergers and Acquisitions and private capital transactions in the internet and digital media verticals. Prior to that, Jeff worked in the respiratory and oncology operations group at Genentech, and the Technology, Media and Telecom group at Banc of America Securities. 

Founder and CEO of Service Autopilot.

Loson Stockton is a Senior Associate at Vista Point Advisors, where he joined in 2020 and has since progressed from Analyst to Senior Associate. For more than five years at the firm, Loson has been actively involved in the sourcing and execution of numerous transactions across software and technology verticals.

Prior to joining Vista Point Advisors, Loson worked as an Analyst at D.A. Davidson in their technology investment banking group and as an Analyst at Software Equity Group, a boutique software-focused M&A firm. Loson graduated from the University of San Diego in 2020 with a double major in Finance and Business Economics.

Founder and CEO of Hostaway.

Mike Greco is a Managing Director at Vista Point Advisors, where he has built his investment banking career advising founder-led software and internet businesses on M&A and capital raise transactions. For over a decade at Vista Point, Mike has developed deep expertise across a broad range of software and SaaS verticals while working with private equity, PE-backed strategic, and publicly traded acquirers to deliver competitive outcomes for founders.

Prior to joining Vista Point Advisors, Mike worked as an Analyst at J Moore Partners, where he focused on enterprise software M&A. Mike holds a B.S. in Real Estate Finance from the University of Southern California, where he played baseball.

Miles Lacey is a Managing Director at Vista Point Advisors, having joined the firm as an Analyst in 2013. Over more than thirteen years at VPA, Miles has helped dozens of founders complete successful transactions across a broad range of software and technology verticals. His transaction experience spans private equity firms, PE-backed strategic acquirers, and publicly traded companies across both domestic and international markets.

Prior to Vista Point, Miles was an Analyst at Advanced Equities, where he focused on private placements for emerging technology companies. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Saint Mary's College, where he was a member of the National Economics Honor Society.

Russell Perkins is a Principal at Vista Point Advisors, where he has worked collectively for more than ten years across two tenures at the firm. Over that time, Russell has advised founders on M&A and capital raise transactions across a broad range of software and technology verticals. He is based in New York, where he helps lead Vista Point's East Coast efforts.

Between his tenures at Vista Point, Russell worked as a growth equity investor at PeakSpan Capital focused on B2B software, where he served as a board observer for several portfolio companies. He returned to Vista Point with firsthand experience evaluating software businesses from an investor's perspective, an understanding that directly informs how he positions and prepares founders for a competitive process.

Prior to his first tenure at Vista Point, Russell worked in the Investment Banking Division of Financial Technology Partners. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Yale University.

Founder of iContact and SaasRise.

Co-founder and Board Member of Nepris (now Pathful).

Sarabeth Sandweiss is a Senior Associate at Vista Point Advisors, where she advises founder-led software, AI, and internet businesses on M&A and capital raise transactions. After initially joining Vista Point as an Analyst and working her way up to Associate, Sarabeth left to work as an investor at Turn/River Capital, where she focused on growth capital investments in mission-critical B2B software. She returned to Vista Point as a Senior Associate, bringing with her a buy-side perspective that deepens her ability to help founders understand how investors evaluate software businesses.

Prior to her initial tenure at Vista Point, Sarabeth worked in the transaction diligence practice at EY. She holds an MPA and a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.

Vice President of Investment Management at Goldman Sachs.

Scott Austin is a Managing Director at Vista Point Advisors, where he has built his M&A advisory career since joining the firm as an Associate in 2013. With more than twelve years at Vista Point, Scott has become one of the firm's longest-tenured advisors, helping founders execute transactions across a broad range of software and technology verticals with private equity firms, PE-backed strategic acquirers, and publicly traded companies alike.

In 2025, Scott helped open Vista Point's New York office and serves as the firm's senior presence on the East Coast.

Prior to joining Vista Point Advisors, Scott worked as a Trader at Capital Asset Exchange and on the trading desks at Nomura Securities. Scott holds a B.S. in Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University, where he played lacrosse.

Co-founder and CEO at Turnkey, Chatter, and Tonic Health. His successful experiences working with the boards of these companies, as well as being a board member himself, make him well suited for our discussion topic today.