LOCATION: Cottonwood Heights, UT (In-office role)
TRAVEL: Moderate (conferences, portfolio support, diligence visits)
MERCATO PARTNERS OVERVIEW
Mercato Partners is a growth-equity firm investing in capital-efficient technology companies across vertical SaaS, healthcare technology, and applied AI. Founded in 2007, the firm partners with exceptional founders in undercapitalized U.S. innovation regions and has produced top-decile performance across four prior funds. Our investment team runs full deal cycles from thesis development through exit. We are building a modern investing platform that integrates AI-native workflows into sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support.
ROLE OVERVIEW
Mercato is seeking an Associate to join the investment team. Associates play a central role in sourcing, evaluating, and executing growth-stage technology investments. This role involves meaningful ownership across the deal lifecycle, including thesis development, market mapping, financial analysis, and diligence coordination. Associates engage directly with founders and executives, contribute to investment committee discussions, and support portfolio companies post-investment. Strong candidates will combine sound investment judgment with fluency in modern AI tools to enhance research, analysis, and decision-making. While this is not a technical AI role, comfort leveraging AI to improve speed and insight is expected. This is a high-ownership, high-expectation position suited for someone who is analytically rigorous, commercially minded, and motivated to develop into a long-term investor.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
Education & Background
4-6 years of experience in consulting, investment banking, venture capital, private equity, corporate strategy, or operating roles.
Undergraduate degree in finance, economics, engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, or a related field.
MBA or advanced degree preferred but not required.
Investment Judgement
Ability to assess market size, competitive dynamics, and business model quality with independence.
Strong financial modeling and analytical skills, with the ability to connect numbers to strategy.
Sound business intuition and comfort forming and defending a point of view.
Sourcing & Relationship Orientation
Evidence of proactive sourcing, networking, or relationship-building efforts.
Ability to engage credibly with founders and executives in early-stage discussions.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of clear and persuasive investment materials.
AI Fluency
Comfort leveraging modern AI tools to improve research speed, analysis quality, and workflow efficiency.
Willingness to continuously adopt new tools that enhance investment insight.
Ability to evaluate AI-driven businesses at a high level and understand their commercial implications.
Personal Attributes
Strong work ethic and attention to detail.
High integrity, intellectual humility, and an ownership mindset.
Comfortable operating with incomplete information and shifting priorities.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Sourcing & Origination
Proactively identify and evaluate investment opportunities across industries such as vertical SaaS, healthcare technology, and applied AI.
Develop and maintain sector theses and market maps to support proactive outreach.
Build and cultivate relationships with founders and ecosystem partners.
Conduct initial screening calls and form independent perspectives on investment opportunities.
Support IOI development and early-stage underwriting analysis.
Deal Evaluation & Diligence
Lead core components of financial modeling, scenario analysis, and valuation work.
Coordinate and manage diligence workstreams.
Conduct customer, partner, and market reference calls; synthesize findings into clear recommendations.
Analyze competitive positioning, business model durability, and risk factors.
Leverage AI tools to enhance research efficiency and analytical depth where appropriate.
Portfolio Engagement
Assist Mercato deal leads in preparing board materials and KPI reviews.
Support portfolio companies on value-creation initiatives, including pricing, customer segmentation, strategic planning, and recruiting.
Monitor company performance and contribute insights to board prep and discussions.
Track relevant company, competitor, and industry developments for each portfolio company and proactively surface insights or potential risks to the investment team.
Respond to ad hoc analysis requests from portfolio leadership.
Firm Contribution
Prepare investment memos, deal summaries, and presentation materials for Investment Committee review.
Present portions of analyses and recommendations in internal discussions.
Contribute to post-mortem reviews and thematic research initiatives.
Collaborate across the firm to improve investment processes and knowledge sharing.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Mercato Partners offers a competitive compensation package including base salary, discretionary bonus, and profit-sharing. All employees are eligible for group health, dental, and vision insurance, and a 401(k) plan.