Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Amanda Opperman, PhD, Chief Impact Officer, Equity & Holdings at Lion’s Share Strategies:
Q: Can you tell our readers a bit about your company?
A: Lion’s Share Strategies is a unique platform that combines a consulting agency, an equity fund, and a holdings company under one roof. We help mission-driven organizations and early-stage ventures grow by applying proven start-up strategies in spaces like education, research, sustainability, and workforce development.
We don’t just give advice—we roll up our sleeves, build systems, and when the timing is right, we bring capital to accelerate growth. Our goal is simple: make innovation investable and impact scalable.
Q: What makes you stand out as the best option?
A: What sets us apart is the way we blend consulting and capital. Most firms do one or the other. We do both.
That means we can spot when a client actually needs a new playbook, when they’re ready for investment, or when they need both at the same time. We’re not just observers—we’re operators with skin in the game. That combination makes us a true growth partner from the first spark of an idea all the way to scaled success.
Q: Who’s your perfect customer, and why do they pick you?
A: Our ideal client is a mission-driven leader who knows they need to adapt but feels stuck in legacy models. That could be a university looking for new revenue streams, a lab with a breakthrough that needs commercialization, or a start-up with bold vision but limited runway.
They pick us because we know how to bridge worlds: we speak the language of research and higher ed, but we also know how to move with the urgency and creativity of the start-up world.
Q: What’s coming up for you in the next 6 months?
A: We’re growing on three fronts. First, expanding our consulting work with institutions facing big market shifts. Second, adding to our equity and holdings portfolio with ventures that align with our mission-driven thesis. And third, launching our structured three-part program—Think Like a Start-Up, Plan Like a Start-Up, Act Like a Start-Up—to give organizations a step-by-step path toward entrepreneurial sustainability.
Right now, Lion’s Share has 11 portfolio companies across the platform and $33M invested by our current partners. We’re also in the process of raising an additional $17M to scale our equity fund. That expansion will allow us to back more organizations that are positioned to lead in this moment of market disruption.
Q: What’s something people might not know about your company?
A: Many people don’t realize that Lion’s Share actually started as a private family office and holdings company backed by three direct investors with roots in eBay, Uber, and PayPal. That foundation gave us a front-row seat to the kind of disruptive growth models that defined the last two decades of tech.
Now, we’re building on that history by adding an equity fund and stepping in as a GP. This allows us to capitalize on the rapid market shifts happening today—especially in sectors like education, research, and sustainability—where traditional funding models are no longer enough.
Q: What truly differentiates Lion’s Share Strategies from other firms in the market?
A: Lion’s Share is different because we’re built to operate across the full growth journey. Most consulting firms stop at advice—they hand over a plan and walk away. Most funds stop at capital—they write a check and hope it works. We bridge both.
That means we can roll up our sleeves to fix what’s broken, design a strategy that works in the real world, and then bring in capital to make it happen. It’s a one-stop partner for organizations that don’t have time to juggle multiple firms.
For example, if a research lab has a breakthrough idea but doesn’t know how to get it into the market, we can help them package the idea, connect with the right partners, and then provide investment when the timing is right. If a university is too dependent on tuition or federal funding, we can design new revenue streams and help launch them like a start-up. For a layperson, it’s the difference between getting a recipe and actually having someone in the kitchen with you, cooking the meal side-by-side.
About Amanda Opperman:
Lion’s Share recently welcomed Amanda Opperman as Chief Impact Officer. Amanda brings more than two decades of experience scaling ventures across education, research, and enterprise. She’s known as a builder—someone who can take an idea from zero to a thriving operation.
Her background includes growing a consulting agency from $0 to $7M ARR in just four years, turning around underperforming divisions to return to profitability, and securing multi-million-dollar commitments for mission-driven institutions. At Lion’s Share, she brings that same operator’s mindset—balancing entrepreneurial creativity with disciplined execution.
Amanda’s leadership ensures the firm stays true to its mission: helping clients not just imagine change, but actually achieve it.
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