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The Venture Codex

The Stephens Group

100 River Bluff Drive, Suite 500, Little Rock, AR, 72202, United States

Overview

The Stephens Group has partnered with entrepreneurs and management teams, building exceptional businesses long-term.

Total investments
14
Lead investments
5
Investments · 12mo
1
Active investors
8

Sector focus

  • Digital Media
  • Journalism
  • Venture Capital
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Investment portfolio

  • Quantifind

    Participated · Equity · Jun 2026

    Quantifind develops the Graphyte AI-native Risk Intelligence platform, which unifies internal, third-party, and open-source data and applies advanced entity resolution, Name Science™, dynamic risk typologies, and real-time network graph intelligence. It also offers Graphyte Agentic Middleware to help operationalize agentic AI within risk workflows while preserving explainability, auditability, and human oversight. The company serves a global customer base, including six of the world's top 10 Tier 1 financial institutions, and its platform supports tens of thousands of financial crime, compliance, and national security professionals. An independent Celent economic analysis cited in the announcement estimated Tier 1 banks deploying Graphyte across KYC and sanctions screening could reduce annual alert-processing costs by up to $177.9 million. Quantifind says it has generated rapid, profitable growth. The company plans to use the new capital to expand internationally across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas and to strengthen regional partnerships and regulatory alignment.

  • Ledgebrook

    Led · Series C · Jun 2025

    Ledgebrook is an Excess and Surplus Lines (E+S) insurtech platform that serves wholesale brokers. Its platform pairs insurance expertise and technology to support wholesale distribution and to bring new insurance products to market. The company says it will use proceeds from an oversubscribed $65m Series C to hire talent, enhance its client-service-led approach to wholesale brokers, expand product offerings on the platform, and retain more insurance risk alongside carrier partners. Management and employees will remain the largest shareholders, and the company says the round recognizes momentum in its business. Ryan Morrow of Stephens Group will join Ledgebrook’s board, deepening that investor partnership. Ledgebrook operates from Needham, Massachusetts and Little Rock, Arkansas. Ledgebrook is an insurtech focused on redefining the insurance experience through technology and customer service, with a platform aimed at the Excess and Surplus (E&S) market and its brokers. The company is positioning its core product to help brokers place difficult risks that require better technology. Ledgebrook plans to use recent capital to accelerate expansion of current operations and to embark on new, innovative projects. Financially, the company completed a $17M Series B in September 2024 following a $24M Series A in March 2024. The firm also announced the appointment of Anthony Segal-Knowles as CFO; he joins from Lazard and has prior senior-level experience at the British Treasury and the International Monetary Fund. With new investors and an experienced CFO, Ledgebrook says it is well positioned to accelerate growth and pursue its strategic goals. Ledgebrook operates as a managing general agent (MGA) focused on excess-and-surplus (E&S) insurance and wholesale distribution. The company emphasizes deploying technology and underwriting discipline to meet wholesale distribution needs and accelerate premium growth. Leadership includes CEO Gage Caligaris, FCAS. Ledgebrook plans to use new capital to launch additional products, add talent, and fund a captive to retain a portion of its business and better align with reinsurers. The firm announced the funding and management discussed its plans in an interview shared on its LinkedIn and website. The company frames the raise as support for E&S expansion and continued momentum in premium growth. Ledgebrook is a tech-enabled excess & surplus (E&S) managing general agent that aims to provide a streamlined quoting experience to wholesale brokers while delivering pricing and risk selection via its tech stack. The company was founded in March 2022 by CEO Gage Caligaris and is based in Boston, MA. Ledgebrook plans to begin by launching an E&S general liability (GL) product with supported excess to establish its value proposition to wholesale brokers. It intends to expand via multiple additional product launches in 2023. The company raised $4.6M to build out the team, technology, and operational infrastructure to launch its first product. Investors in the round included Brand Foundry Ventures, American Family Ventures, and 15 angel investors. Ledgebrook is a Boston, MA-based insurtech startup operating as a tech-enabled E&S MGA that aims to provide wholesale brokers with a fast and easy quoting experience. The company uses a next-generation tech stack to deliver pricing and risk selection. It plans to launch its first product in Q4 2022, initially offering a broad-appetite E&S general liability product with supported excess. Ledgebrook intends to expand via multiple additional product launches in 2023. The startup raised a $4.2M seed round to build out its team, technology, and operational infrastructure to support the product launch. Leadership includes founder and CEO Gage Caligaris, underwriting led by Steve Mills, and operations led by COO Paul Velekei.

  • SchooLinks

    Participated · Series B · Oct 2024

    SchooLinks offers a modern college and career readiness (CCR) platform that combines engaging assessments, gamified lessons (including financial literacy), scholarship application tools, interactive video, and individualized roadmaps for students and families. The product also streamlines district back-office workflows such as individual career and academic plans, CTE pathway and endorsement tracking so counselors and CTE teachers can manage large caseloads more effectively. SchooLinks has added workforce solutions and is positioning its ecosystem to connect K-12, higher education, and employers. The company says it operates across 40 states and that its platform now serves 15× the number of districts and 10× the number of students since its Series A. SchooLinks was founded in 2015 by Katie Fang and emphasizes democratizing access to CCR resources nationwide. The recent financing is intended to accelerate product expansion and the company’s evolving employer and workforce-focused offerings. SchooLinks provides a modern college and career readiness platform that supports districts and students through all aspects of post‑secondary planning, from career interest inventories to academic plans aligned with student goals. At the district level the platform streamlines back‑office logistics including individual career and academic plans (ICAPs, PGPs, ILPs), course planning, CTE pathway and endorsement tracking so counselors can manage large caseloads and spend more meaningful in‑person time with students. The product also enhances early‑warning systems and aims to boost post‑secondary outcomes to meet district goals. SchooLinks was founded in 2015 and is led by CEO Katie Fang. The company serves customers nationwide, including Dallas ISD, Greenville County Schools and San Antonio ISD. It recently raised Series A capital and intends to use the funds to expand the team, advance product development and integrations, and build new partnerships.

  • DISCO

    Participated · Equity · Dec 2020

    DISCO builds AI-powered legal technology and a cloud platform used for e-discovery, case management, compliance, disputes, and investigations. Its product suite includes DISCO Ediscovery, DISCO Case Builder, and DISCO Managed Review, alongside a cloud technology platform. More than 700 corporations, law firms, and government agencies use DISCO’s solutions. The company says it will continue investing in AI-driven products that address the entire litigation lifecycle and is expanding sales and marketing in North America while growing presence in EMEA and APAC. DISCO is also building a strategic channel program and deepening engagement with global service providers. The company has received recognition on the 2020 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and the Forbes Cloud 100. DISCO builds a cloud eDiscovery platform that applies artificial intelligence and cloud computing to help legal teams improve outcomes in compliance, disputes, and investigations. The company positions itself as the leading cloud ediscovery platform and says customers use its products for compliance, disputes, and investigations. DISCO will use the new investment to accelerate growth in the $12.5 billion ediscovery market and to build products that transform other areas of legal practice across a $437 billion legal market. The company plans to rapidly scale U.S. operations and pursue aggressive international expansion, having opened a London office in October 2018 and planning offices in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America. Financially, DISCO announced an $83 million investment that brings total capital raised to $135 million—more than any other enterprise legaltech company. Tyson Baber of Georgian Partners joined DISCO’s board following the investment; existing backers participated alongside the new lead investor. CS Disco offers the DISCO cloud e-discovery platform, including DISCO Review and DISCO managed review powered by DISCO AI. The company sells to litigation boutiques, the AmLaw 200, and corporate legal departments, and supports plaintiff-side practices. In 2017 DISCO grew revenue 2.7x overall and 3.3x in the AmLaw 200 segment. More than 400 law firms, including over 75 of the AmLaw 200, use DISCO. In 2018 the company planned to more than double its engineering and product team, expand the platform beyond e-discovery, scale U.S. go-to-market teams, and launch operations in Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America. DISCO positions itself as a modern alternative to legacy e-discovery technology. DISCO provides a next-generation SaaS ediscovery platform that has been adopted by litigation boutiques and the AmLaw 200. The company says it has been embraced by more than 400 law firms, including 50 of the AmLaw 200. Revenue grew 145% year over year between June 2015 and June 2016. DISCO plans to use new funding to accelerate release of features, including the DISCO machine learning platform, and to expand its complementary professional services. The company will also grow its sales presence in major U.S. cities and has created a new sales team focused on corporate legal departments. Leadership frames DISCO’s mission as using technology to improve legal outcomes and the experience of practicing law. CS Disco develops a software-as-a-service ediscovery product called Disco that the company says lets lawyers find evidence up to 10x faster, even on multi-terabyte datasets. The product is positioned as an all-inclusive replacement for siloed litigation-support tools and third-party services, with a focus on ease-of-use for lawyers rather than IT staff. Since its March 2013 launch, more than 300 law firms, corporations, and government entities — including 40 of the AmLaw 200 — have used Disco in major cases and investigations. The company reported 20% month-over-month revenue growth in 2014 and said revenues and customer count grew close to 5x in the roughly 10 months since LiveOak's investment. Leadership emphasizes combining engineering with legal domain expertise and a vision of enabling lawyers to reclaim control of discovery. Customer investors and rapid commercial adoption are highlighted as validation of the product and go-to-market approach.

  • TierPoint

    Participated · Preferred · Apr 2020

    TierPoint is a St. Louis-based provider of secure, connected data center and cloud solutions at the edge of the internet. Its product portfolio includes private, multitenant, managed hyperscale and hybrid cloud, plus colocation, disaster recovery, security, and other managed IT services. The company operates one of the largest and most geographically diversified U.S. footprints, with over 40 data centers in 20 markets and eight multitenant cloud pods connected by a coast-to-coast network. TierPoint serves thousands of clients across public and private sectors, from small businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises. Net proceeds from the recent transaction will be used to provide partial liquidity to other investors and to continue investing in the company’s network to fuel growth. The company is led by Chairman and CEO Jerry Kent. TierPoint is a St. Louis-based provider of secure, connected data center and cloud solutions at the edge of the internet. The company operates one of the largest customer bases in the industry, serving thousands of clients from the public and private sectors, including small businesses and Fortune 500 enterprises. TierPoint maintains a geographically diversified footprint of over 40 data centers in 20 markets and 8 multitenant cloud pods, connected by a coast-to-coast network. Its IT professionals offer a comprehensive portfolio including private, multitenant, managed hyperscale and hybrid cloud, colocation, disaster recovery, security, and other managed IT services. The company plans to use equity proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet and fund growth initiatives. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.

Team

  • Witt Stephens

    Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman

    LinkedIn
  • Elizabeth S. Campbell

    Co-Founder and Co-Chairman

  • Tom Hedrick

    Operating Partner

    LinkedIn
  • Mark Steenhoek

    Operating Partner and Principal of Operations

    LinkedIn