Today’s guest is, yes, another fabulous woman—but this one is extra fabulous.

Melissa Widner is the CEO of Lighter Capital, and before that, she led NAB Ventures. We met a decade ago when she was on the institutional side of the table, and now she’s back in the trenches—leading one of her former portfolio companies.

This conversation is packed with insights:
→ On the evolution of VC and private credit
→ Why non-dilutive capital isn’t just a bootstrapped founder’s dream
→ How institutional capital is shifting
→ And the leadership lessons that take a decade (or two) to really land.

Let’s dive in.

👋 A Boomerang Career: From Entrepreneur to VC… and Back Again

Melissa started her first software company in business school (no big deal) and sold it to Concur. After that, she spent two decades in VC, including her role leading NAB Ventures in Australia.

But when COVID hit and Lighter Capital—one of her portfolio companies—needed a CEO, she made the rare move from investor to operator.

Why the switch?
Because she loved the model:

No pitch decks
No “artful” VC screening
Just data, efficiency, and transparent decision-making
Oh, and 15-minute applications if you're a slow typer

And for someone who always identified as an entrepreneur? It just made sense.

📈 The Lighter Capital Model: Fast, Transparent, Non-Dilutive

Lighter Capital pioneered revenue-based financing for SaaS companies. They’ve done 1,200+ deals and work with both VC-backed startups and bootstrapped businesses.

Key stats:

75% of companies they finance never raise VC—and never intend to
25% are on the VC path and use Lighter to bridge between rounds
Funding decisions are made through a simple, data-driven process
No equity. No board seats. No drama.

It’s capital aligned with your growth—not your pitch.

💥 The VC Trap: Growth ≠ Health

Melissa made a point that every founder should tattoo on their pitch deck:

“Sometimes what you need to do to raise your next round is not aligned with what you need to do to build a great company.”

In other words, chasing up-rounds can distract from building sustainable, customer-focused businesses.

Enter: Lighter Capital
Their model supports companies focused on cash flow, unit economics, and long-term growth—not just growth-at-all-costs.

💸 Why Founders Are Re-Thinking Equity

A few years ago, raising a huge VC round meant you were winning.
Today? Not so much.

Melissa sees more founders realizing that:

Dilution hurts long-term value
Massive rounds don’t guarantee success
Non-dilutive debt (especially data-driven) is a powerful tool

And it’s not either/or. Many companies blend Lighter’s funding with equity, using it as a flexible complement—not a replacement.

🏦 Behind the Curtain: How Lighter Funds the Capital

How do you fund founders without raising equity yourself?
Lighter Capital uses a mix of warehouse facilities and is now launching a private credit fund to support high-growth companies that outgrow the $4M ceiling in their current facility.

Key structure details:

$100M facility in the U.S.
$30M in Australia
Capital is deployed and repaid monthly
A new fund will include warrants for venture-like upside

It's essentially: monthly distributions + a side of growth equity optionality. Sophisticated LPs, take note.

💰 Private Credit: It’s Having a Moment

Melissa described the appetite from family offices and LPs as strong—and growing.

Why?

Venture has been in a distribution drought since 2018 vintages
Private equity exits are slow
Everyone wants yield
Everyone’s a bit tired of waiting

Private credit delivers:

Predictable income
Shorter timeframes
Venture-like upside (if structured with warrants)

A lot of LPs aren’t shifting out of venture—they’re diversifying into more liquid alternatives.

🎯 The Ideal Founder for Lighter Capital

There’s no single profile, but patterns do emerge:

Most common use cases:

Hiring sales or product teams
Investing in growth with clear ROI
Strategic acquisitions
Buying out a co-founder
Avoiding personal guarantees or asset-backed bank loans

Companies range from $200K ARR to $70M+ in revenue. The sweet spot? SaaS companies with real traction, a clear growth strategy, and founders who want to stay in control.

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🧠 Leadership Lessons: What Melissa Would Tell Her Younger Self

This part hit home.

Melissa’s reflections:

You don’t have to work 24/7 to be effective
Downtime and reflection actually make you a better leader
Build your network early—and intentionally
Seek mentorship, but don’t underestimate the power of peer relationships
Relationships and trust are everything in business

And for those of us trying to do it all:

“The company had a great exit. But I would’ve been a better leader if I had taken a few vacations.”

Noted.

📞 Want to Reach Melissa?

If you’re a founder curious about non-dilutive capital—or an LP interested in Lighter’s private credit fund—you can find her on LinkedIn or at melissa@lightercapital.com.

Just make sure you're accredited if you're looking to invest.

💬 Final Thoughts

I loved this conversation. Melissa’s journey is rare and instructive—proving that capital can be smarter, faster, and more founder-friendly.

It’s also a reminder that the old playbooks aren’t sacred anymore.

Not all good companies raise VC.
Not all great funds take 20 years to return capital.
Not all CEOs need to be burned out to succeed.

Peggy Van de Plassche is an Operating Partner in Private Equity with over 20 years of experience across financial services, healthcare, and technology. She partners with investment firms, boards, and portfolio company leadership to accelerate performance, drive operational transformation, and unlock long-term value.

Peggy specializes in executing complex value creation plans—from capital allocation and digital enablement to transaction advisory and leadership alignment. Her work bridges strategy and implementation, helping investors and operators boost EBITDA and maximize enterprise value.

A founding board member of Invest in Canada, Peggy also brings deep expertise in institutional capital deployment and public-private partnerships—critical levers for competitive advantage in today’s global landscape.

Her clients have included BMO, CI Financial, HOOPP, OMERS, GreenShield Canada, Nicola Wealth, and Power Financial.
Learn more at peggyvandeplassche.com.

🚀 From VC to CEO: Melissa Widner on Building Smarter Capital