How to Invest Opportunity-by-Opportunity in a Lean, Strategic Way in 2026
- kari620
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
We recently sat down with Shaun Gordon, Founder and Managing Partner of Astria Elevate, a operations-minded investor in US- and Canada-based companies. Astria is Gordon’s second investment firm, and he is deliberately doing things differently this time around.
"The trend we're seeing," Gordon explains, "is that many of us are better off investing opportunity by opportunity, but that means we need to rethink how we operate. Technology has become a huge part of that."
Below, Gordon shares four operating principles he's built into Astria Elevate and how he uses technology platforms like Verivend to execute on them. The best practices offered below provide investors with a lean operational blueprint without sacrificing sophistication, brand fidelity, and speed:
Treat every interaction in the dealmaking process as an extension of your brand
LPs develop their first impressions from first contact and throughout the fundraising process. Business owners develop their trust and comfort with a new investor over time. Back-and-forths - from document collection to capital calls - either reinforces or undermines your perceived professionalism (and approach to business/value creation). Gordon realized early that LPs and business owners have varying expectations, and meeting them where they are matters more than having a perfect one size fits all process.
"When an exciting opportunity is on the table, nobody wants to go through more back and forth. Instead, we’ve found that operational efficiency builds trust.” By understanding the preferences of its LPs just as well as the preferences of the business owners and founders it backs, Astria was able to adopt tools that streamline execution and create a smooth experience throughout the deal. Gordon turns efficiency into a key pillar of Astria’s brand that LPs and business owners notice immediately. Digital-forward execution means LPs get transparent communication and seamless payments. Smooth deal execution also shows business owners that Astria has operational know-how that will positively impact a business.
Eliminate internal inefficiencies before they erode productivity
Investors running lean operations transition between multiple roles daily: dealmaker, operator, fundraiser, relationship manager. Without the right systems in place, that complexity becomes chaos, confusion, and lost time. Gordon learned this the hard way.
"The reality for GPs is that going from LOI to liquidity is a long journey. There's a lot that happens after you fund," says Gordon. "Closing is just day one. Now you've partnered with a business. You're going to have to grow the business and update your stakeholders. With Verivend, you can do that through their investor portal. The modern interface fits with our firm. It streamlines the operational side of dealmaking. And it improves investor trust."
Features like investor portals make the process repeatable and faster. For sponsors scaling deal flow, the repeatability translates into real productivity gains and creates a consistent experience that LPs come to expect. Gordon also explains, “The modern interface fits with our firm. It’s reliable, secure, speedy and convenient to use.”
Optimize for flexibility and growth
Institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals approach capital commitments in completely different ways, which means a good system needs to meet each investor where they are without creating friction. Some LPs have committee-driven diligence processes that take weeks. Others can move in 24 hours. In 2026 and beyond, a GP’s technology infrastructure needs to accommodate both without creating extra work for you or forcing investors into a one-size-fits-all approach.
"Scale is really important for investors," says Gordon. A single, configurable system reduces administrative fragmentation and creates a consistent experience for all LPs, no matter their profile. When a platform has the flexibility to support deals in a variety of asset-classes, it makes it easier for a fund to scale.
This flexibility helps firms like Astria Elevate serve a diverse investor base while maintaining the operational simplicity that makes lean models work in the first place. This model also allows Gordon and the Astria team to meet new founders and fully appreciate new opportunities that arise because there are little to no operational hurdles to overcome.
Embed security into every step of the process
"In cybersecurity, there's this CIA triad: confidentiality, integrity, availability," Gordon explains. Few things erode investor trust faster than a security lapse, which is why he takes a disciplined approach to protecting investor data and communications.
Strong security gives Gordon a competitive differentiator for LPs and business owners who increasingly prioritize the digital maturity of the investors they work with.
"With Verivend, we have an embedded layer of all three aspects of the triad. It's more secure than anything we'd be able to build ourselves. When doing deals on a opportunity-by-opportunity basis, it's hard to find that kind of security elsewhere."
Conclusion: Invest in technology that combines software and service
Gordon’s approach at Astria Elevate proves investors can operate lean without sacrificing sophistication. Technology will continue to move forward, and it’s an opportunity for investors who operate on an opportunity-by-opportunity basis to embrace systems that grow with their firms to create efficiency rather than overhead.
Verivend - a platform where billions have been exchanged between parties and countless investor communications have been shared - partners with firms like Astria to enable every deal to get to close, including:
Manage investor communications, commitments, and payments in one secure portal
Reduce administrative friction and cybersecurity risk
Deliver a modern, professional transaction experience from day one
As Gordon puts it: "Efficiency isn't about cutting corners. It's about removing friction so we can focus on creating value."