Blue Heeler Capital Partners was founded in 2025 by veteran private equity executive Dan Stankey, whose 20+ years of PE experience include nine years as Group CFO of the Riverside Micro-Cap Fund; five years as CFO for two PE portfolio companies; and founder of his own PE-focused consultancy, where he and his partner network implemented operational improvements at client companies before selling after five years at 8x EBITDA exit value. (You can read a bit more about the unique origins of the company’s name at the bottom of the page.)

Our name, Blue Heeler Capital Partners, got its start one early morning in the remote pocket of Michigan woodlands we call home. At roughly 5am that particular morning, our two dogs inside the house began excitedly barking at something resting on the home’s front porch.

One glance out the window suggested we had a coyote, and as anyone in my neck of the woods knows, where there is one coyote there are often many. But after initially chasing it off, its peculiar look and movements led me to realize it was actually a dog.

After luring it back, I further discovered it was an emaciated and terribly dirty Blue Heeler (also known as an Australian cattle dog) that had either gotten itself lost or been abandoned in the woods (a sadly not uncommon occurrence in deeply rural areas).

The look and smell of the animal told me it had been subsisting on roadkill and whatever else it could scrounge in our local forest.

“You don’t train a Blue Heeler; you negotiate with a furry, four-legged genius.”

After giving him some food we took him to the local animal shelter in hopes he’d simply gotten separated from his owner who no doubt was searching for him. But just in case, we also placed our name at the top of the adoption list should no owner be found.

After the usual probationary period, we got a call that the dog was ours if we still wanted him. We did.

Since then, the dog has been christened with more than a few names – Bluey, Mr. Blue, Dbag, and Eddie (after Eddie Haskell from Leave it to Beaver fame). As you might imagine, those many names (and some I can’t share here) are reflections of the dog’s big personality.

Ultimately we settled on Blue, who has become an integral part of our family.

Well, truth be told, our other dogs have mostly learned to tolerate him and his maddening efforts to herd them.

“They live to work, they work to live. That’s the Heeler way.”

Blue’s herding instincts also play out with my wife and I, our kids, and grandkids. If we’ve learned anything about Blue, it’s that his OCD-level need for order and harmony need to be channeled and so, for the most part, we play along.

Which brings me back to the company name. I’ve learned a lot about Blue, including the fact that he and I both share a lot of work habits. Meaning, if you met Blue, you’d find in him precisely the same mindset and working traits you’ll find in Blue Heeler Capital Partners. Among them a:

• Passion for the work we love
• Knack for recognizing opportunities and challenges
• Single-minded focus on achieving goals
• Dogged (pun intended), tireless work ethic
• Capacity to marshal the right resources for the job

Looking back, I can’t help but think Blue arrived at the perfect time and was instrumental in ‘herding’ me toward this exciting new venture.

– Dan Stankey