Founded on experience across the table.

BlackOak Partners was founded by Liam Reilly, former investment principal and general counsel at a multi-fund venture firm with over $100M in AUM deployed. He oversaw more than 20 investments, sat in the board meetings, and worked directly with founders and CEOs across 50+ portfolio companies.

That background, operating simultaneously as investor, general counsel, and board advisor, shapes how we approach every engagement. Founders shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel on the things we’ve seen dozens of times. The best practices are already there. We bring them in, apply them where they fit, and save the hard thinking for the decisions that are actually new.

Most of our clients are raising, scaling, or doing both at the same time. We work with them at the moments where the decisions get consequential: on capital, positioning, legal infrastructure, and what comes next.