Operators at heart

We admire the courage it takes to build something customers will love

Redbud Trail Group backs cyber and AI-minded founders at the moment the work gets more complex: product-market fit is real, customers are counting on the company, and the next stage demands judgment under pressure

Ready Before the Term Sheet

When we are in, we are in. We do our diligence ahead, so when you sign a term sheet with your lead, we are ready to go

In Austin. Global Reach

Our focus is on the best in cyber, with an open mandate to invest globally, filling out your series A to C, up to $25M per investment

Built for Cyber and AI

We are obsessed with helping cyber and AI-minded founders turn technical advantage into durable companies

Partners

Jason Luce Jason Luce Partner Founder, operator, investment banker, and corporate attorney with deep experience across cybersecurity, infrastructure software, capital markets, strategic M&A, and company building Read full bio

Jason Luce is a Partner at Redbud Trail Group, where he brings a multifaceted background as a founder, operator, investment banker, and corporate attorney to his work with high-growth technology companies. He works closely with founders and management teams of cyber startups, helping them move from product-market fit into category-defining, durable enterprises. His experience is rooted in cybersecurity, infrastructure software, corporate strategy, and transaction execution.

Most recently, Jason served as Managing Director and Head of Cyber and Infrastructure Software Investment Banking at Citizens JMP. In that role, he advised leading technology companies on strategic mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises, bringing market insight and transaction execution experience to late-stage private and public software businesses.

Jason's operating experience includes multiple CEO roles, including co-founding ScaleFT, a pioneering cybersecurity company focused on Zero Trust architecture and BeyondCorp-inspired access management. He led the company from its founding in 2015, through seed funding from Rackspace and top venture capital firms, to its strategic acquisition by Okta in 2018. Following the acquisition, Jason joined Okta to manage the strategic transition and integration, helping position Okta's enterprise footprint to address the multi-billion-dollar VPN market.

Earlier in his career, Jason spent seven years at Rackspace Hosting in finance and investor relations. During his tenure, he helped shape the company's financial strategy, supported Rackspace through its public offering, and managed financial integrations for key strategic acquisitions.

Jason began his career as an attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he advised corporate clients and financial institutions on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, and corporate governance matters. That work established a foundation in deal structuring and corporate law that continues to inform his work with founders.

Jason holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center and earned his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin. He is based in Austin, Texas.

Bret Piatt Bret Piatt Partner Operator, investor, board member, and corporate M&A professional with more than 20 years across cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI, and managed network services Read full bio

Bret Piatt is a Partner at Redbud Trail Group, where he brings more than 20 years of experience as an operator, investor, and board member across SaaS, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and managed services. He partners with founders and management teams on corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, product development, cybersecurity, compliance, and the operating disciplines required to build durable, profitable growth.

Most recently, Bret served as President, CEO, and CISO of CyberFortress from 2016 to 2024. Under his leadership, the company consistently delivered results above the SaaS Rule of 40. From 2016 through 2021, he improved gross margins by 15 points and raised Net Promoter Score from 4 to 44. In 2021, he led the acquisition of J2 Global's data protection division, providing liquidity to existing investors at above a 3x MOIC before integrating those assets into the CyberFortress brand and platform.

At CyberFortress, Bret also executed strategic debt refinancings in 2020 and 2024, reducing interest expense and improving flexibility for growth. Operationally, he launched the CyberFortress Edge Cloud Platform, built a global ISO 27001 compliance program, and managed three years of post-merger integration without security incidents or unplanned outages. He holds multiple issued and pending U.S. patents in data security and AI.

Before CyberFortress, Bret spent nine years at Rackspace Hosting. His tenure concluded as General Manager of a SaaS business portfolio, where he oversaw more than 300 global employees, managed well above $100 million in annual revenue, and served more than 90,000 customers. As a corporate development and strategy leader, he was part of the team that acquired nearly a dozen startups, including YC-backed Cloudkick and Mailgun, which became foundations for a strategic practice-area initiative that drove much of Rackspace's growth by early 2015. He also partnered with Credit Suisse on major divestitures.

Bret was elected by the Rackspace Board as Chairperson of the Intellectual Property Management Committee and served as one of five core team members developing the OpenStack strategic plan. That work helped establish an open source project and foundation that grew faster than Linux during its first decade.

Earlier in his career, Bret spent seven years at AT&T, culminating in his role as a Security Product Leader. He managed a global security portfolio, served on the business product integration team for the $22 billion SBC-AT&T merger, and led the modernization that elevated AT&T's Global Firewall Services from Challengers to Leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant.

Bret holds an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology, studied Computer Science at California State University, Chico, and has held technology certifications including CISSP, CISA, CCNP, and RHCE. He serves as a Director of The Texas Lyceum, where he is President-elect for 2027, and previously served on the Andreessen Horowitz Technology Advisory Board. Bret has spoken at Black Hat, SXSW, Velocity, and Oracle OpenWorld, hosted Cyber Talk Radio, and written for CSO Online and Forbes.

Desmond Henry Desmond Henry Partner Private equity investor, capital allocator, and investment banker with deep experience across technology, business services, consumer, healthcare, industrials, and complex transactions Read full bio

Desmond Henry is a Partner at Redbud Trail Group, where he brings a deep background in private equity, capital allocation, and investment banking to his work with high-growth companies. He partners with founders and management teams on corporate strategy, complex transactions, and durable growth across a diverse range of sectors.

Most recently, Desmond was the Founder of DBHCAP LLC. Before that, he served as a Managing Director at Trive Capital, where he sourced and executed strategic investments across TMT, automotive, building products, consumer, and industrial services.

Prior to Trive Capital, Desmond was a Managing Director at Black Canyon Capital, a Los Angeles-based $500 million private capital fund. In that role, he focused on structuring and making equity and debt investments across business services, consumer, healthcare, and industrial companies.

Earlier in his career, Desmond built a foundation in transaction execution and financial advisory at Merrill Lynch. He served as a Vice President in the firm's European M&A Group in London, where he executed complex transactions for clients across chemicals, financial institutions, general industries, media, and real estate.

Before relocating to London in 1999, Desmond was a member of Merrill Lynch's Technology M&A Group in San Francisco. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Southern California.