BUILD · OPERATE · INVEST
ACQUIRE · BUILD · INVEST
Momentous Ventures
My platform for acquiring, building, and investing in businesses with strong fundamentals. An operator’s approach to creating long-term value.
BUILDER · OPERATOR · INVESTOR
Ideas matter.
Execution
makes them real.
I’m RJ Pahura. I build businesses, back ambitious people, and connect opportunity with the capital, leadership, and execution it takes to move forward.
Explore my workSARASOTA, FLCHICAGO ROOTS
20+ yearsAcross business, technology & investing
Founder & operatorBuilding companies. Connecting capital.
Kellogg MBAExecutive MBA · Northwestern University
01 /THE PERSON BEHIND THE WORK
A founder’s conviction.
An operator’s discipline.
I’ve worked across the table: founding companies, connecting entrepreneurs with investors, and leading growth inside established businesses. That range shapes how I see an opportunity—and how quickly I get to the questions that matter.
My work brings together strategy, people, and capital. I’m comfortable with the big picture and deeply interested in the details: what the customer needs, how the economics work, and who will own the outcome.
I bring conviction, ask direct questions, and stay involved. Seeing the potential is the beginning. Building something that lasts is the work.
02 /WHAT I’M WORKING ON NOW
Conviction,
put to work.
Building products. Developing places. Backing people. These are the businesses and platforms at the center of my work today.
A PRACTICAL PROBLEM. A PURPOSEFUL PRODUCT.
PRODUCT · MANUFACTURING · GO-TO-MARKET
Cabinet Guard
Turning a real operating problem into a purpose-built cabinet security product. Hands-on work from product design and manufacturing to distribution.
SPACE TO DEVELOP. ROOM TO GROW.
SPORTS & REAL ESTATE · IN DEVELOPMENT
Tactic Sports Performance
A proposed sports performance center in Lake Zurich, Illinois. Bringing together a place, a team, and a long-term vision for athlete development.
MY INVESTMENT ARM
GAGR Holdings
My vehicle for investing alongside founders, operators, and fund managers. A long-term ownership mindset, with the discipline to ask how an opportunity creates lasting value.
03 /INVESTMENTS & EXITS
Where I’ve placed
my conviction.
I approach investing with an operator’s curiosity: understand the business, know the people, and be clear about how value gets created.
Current investments
- OWNER / INVESTOR
Momentous Ventures
An R&D-focused investment company developing new ideas, products, and businesses.
- LP / GP
Cabinet Guard
Product & operating company
- LP / GP
Tactic Sports Performance Center
Lake Zurich, Illinois · In development
- LP
Story Craft
- LP
Velocity Fund
- LP
Velocity Fund of Funds
Previous investments & exits
- PREVIOUS
Peak Entertainment
Founder & CEO
- PREVIOUS
Billy Bricks
Limited partner investor
I invest across operating businesses and private funds, taking an active role where my experience can make a meaningful difference.
LP = limited partner · GP = general partner
04 /COMPANIES & ROLES
Experience earned
in the arena.
I’ve built companies from the ground up, helped founders secure capital, and led transformation inside established businesses. The common thread is turning ambition into results.
- $110M+
- Equity raised for Venture Connects clients
- $390M+
- Equity raised by companies exhibiting at FUND
- +$6M
- EBITDA increase at PENN’s B2B division over two years
01
Venture Connects
FOUNDER & CEO · INVESTMENT BANKING · 2012–2019I led a boutique investment bank, working with the leadership teams of more than 150 companies on strategy, capital raising, and M&A. We raised $110M+ in aggregate equity for clients.
Selected client acquisitions: Akouba Credit by Velocity Solutions, WorkXO by QuestionPro, and BrandAmper by The Muse.
02
FUND Conference
FOUNDER · CEO, THEN CMO · 2015–2020I built FUND to bring founders, venture capitalists, and angel investors into the same room. From Chicago, we expanded into Austin, Denver, and Kansas City, averaging 1,000 attendees per conference. Exhibiting companies raised $390M+ in total equity funding.
03
Penn National Gaming / Prairie State Gaming
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS EXPANSION · 2021–2023I led a B2B transformation across strategy, sales, licensing, operations, and training. Our team increased EBITDA by $6M in two years while strengthening the culture and reducing employee turnover to a record low.
04
Verizon & Sprint
TELECOMMUNICATIONS · B2B SALES & LEADERSHIPAs Verizon’s Managing Director, B2B, I led teams across Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, taking underperforming teams to President’s Club and Winners Circle. Earlier B2B roles at Sprint built the commercial foundation.
President’s Club: Verizon, 2007 & 2008 · Sprint, 2003.
Also built from zero: AutoFlipr, where I served as co-founder and COO, led a 20-person team, and brought a mobile automotive inventory platform to market.
05 /HOW I THINK
See the bigger picture.
Own the next move.
01
Find the real problem.
Ask why. Then ask again. I want to understand the customer, the friction, and the economics before committing to a solution.
02
Connect the dots.
I look across industries, ideas, and relationships. Often the next opportunity starts with recognizing how two things could work better together.
03
Think like an owner.
Understand the downside. Know what drives cash flow. Make decisions with the long-term health of the business in mind.
04
Lead with clarity.
Set the direction. Be direct about expectations. Give good people room to lead and make sure everyone knows what they own.
05
Get into the details.
Strategy has to hold up in the product, the process, and the customer experience. I want to know where the plan meets reality.
06
Keep your word.
Follow through. Have the difficult conversation early. Build relationships that can withstand both a good quarter and a hard one.
06 /LEADERSHIP, THROUGH OTHER EYES
Reputation is built
in the work.
From the people who’ve led alongside me, reported to me, and helped bring the work to life.
Read the recommendations on LinkedInVISION & ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
“RJ is not afraid to challenge the status quo. He is a big picture thinker with a true entrepreneurial spirit…”
BUILDING TEAMS
“He recruited a phenomenal team, drafted a strategic growth strategy, and led the troops into battle.”
LEADERSHIP THAT ELEVATES OTHERS
“Everyone on your team will be better with RJ’s involvement, diligence and leadership at the helm.”
STRATEGY INTO EXECUTION
“He approaches challenges with strategic thinking, adeptly dissecting complex issues and delivering actionable insights that propel projects forward.”
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & TRUST
“RJ is a creative and diligent entrepreneur and leader in whatever field he enters.”
Selected excerpts from LinkedIn recommendations.
LET’S CONNECT
Something worth
building together?
A thoughtful opportunity. A useful introduction. A conversation about what comes next.
Connect on LinkedIn