Partners forthe hard part.
We help founders build, prove, and sell software in new and regulated markets. Three partners cover technology, product, and go-to-market, so you get a senior leadership team before you can hire one.
Start a conversationFounders building
for more than return
We work with early stage founders who are hands-on and genuinely invested in getting it right. Founders who are building something that has to prove social or environmental value alongside commercial success, because both actually matter. Founders pioneering in regulated, traditional, or brand-new markets where buyers move carefully and the rules are still being written.
When to call us
Find the moment that sounds like yours, then pick the service it sits under.Pick a service to see when it fits and what you leave with.
| Moment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| When you're raising | An investor's diligence team asks to see your architecture, security, and code. | You're preparing to raise, but your investor deck hinges on claims you can't yet prove. | An investor or board member asks who owns technology or go-to-market. |
| When you're selling | Your first enterprise or regulated buyer sends a security questionnaire (or asks about SOC 2). | A buyer likes the product but can't get the price past their CFO. | You need a CTO's, CPO's, or CCO's judgment but can't justify (or find) a full-time hire yet. |
| When you're growing | The proof of concept works, and you need to know whether it holds at ten times the users. | Your product creates value nobody has priced before (social impact included), and you have to explain it to a board. | The founders are stretched across build, sell, and raise, and something has started to slip. |
| What we do | Review architecture, security, data handling, and code the way a diligence team or enterprise buyer will. | Pressure-test pricing and ROI, the financial model, and the investor story. | A partner joins your leadership team for half a day to two days a week. |
| What you leave with | Each gap, how much it matters, and what it takes to close. | Pricing, ROI, and a story a buyer, a board, or an investor will sign off on. | Senior judgment now, and a clear job description when you're ready to hire full-time. |
| If it needs hands on keyboard | We build it with you. | The review can extend into hands-on work. | The partner does the work alongside your team. |
| First step | A fixed-scope review, priced up front. | A fixed-scope review, priced up front. | A monthly retainer, sized to the days you need. |
Three partners, one team
We're Dory Weiss, Mike Bonner, and Kendra Tolley. We've built products together at companies like nCino and Athian, in markets where the buyer is careful and the stakes are regulated.
Dory Weiss
Product lead · LinkedIn
Teaching and software pulled me in for the same reason: both are about building something that lets people do more together than any of them could alone. I've worked on everything from custom ERP and secure messaging systems for the University of Texas at Austin to methane-tracking tools for Athian's dairy farmers. I led engineering at nCino from Series A through successful IPO as the team grew from dozens in a single office to hundreds across the globe.
Mike Bonner
Technical lead · LinkedIn
I've spent more than twenty years building software and the teams behind it, most recently as Chief Technology Officer at Athian. Before that, I worked my way up from senior developer to Executive Director of Engineering at nCino. I love the early, messy stage where a good idea needs the right technology and the right team behind it, and I'm excited to help founders go from first build to funding to real scale.
Kendra Tolley
Go-to-market and commercialization lead · LinkedIn
I've sat on every side of a regulated software sale: as a bank's Chief Credit Officer deciding whether to buy, as a consulting director at McGladrey advising on fit, and as the product leader building what gets sold. At nCino I ran retail product through IPO. Athian came next: I built a first-of-its-kind emissions marketplace, with no market benchmarks to draw from, so I anchored pricing to what buyers valued and what producers needed for the change to pay off.
- Wilmington, North Carolina
- Founded October 2026
- hello@dramtreepartners.com
How we work
Every engagement starts with understanding your business and where you're stuck. We put as much weight on resilience as on the next milestone, because the goal is a company that lasts, not one that raises and folds. Our fees are flat or retainer-based (never a cut of your round), so our advice doesn't depend on whether you raise.
Why the name
The Old Dram Tree was a gnarled cypress that stood in the Cape Fear River for hundreds of years. It reached out from the river near what's now the Port of Wilmington, and for sailors in the old days, passing the tree meant it was time for a dram of rum. The tree marked the start of a great journey or the promise of a safe return—either way, it was a moment that deserved a toast.
Dram Tree Partners is dedicated to supporting the long-term viability of the Cape Fear region as a tech hub, so we named our studio after a symbol that gave travelers a grounding sense of this region. Wherever you are in the journey, we're here to help you figure out the next move.
Tell us where you're stuck.
One of the partners will reply within one business day, with a straight answer on whether we're the right fit.