About our Firm

Headquartered in Laguna Niguel California, Arroyo Ventures is focused on advancing high- growth companies, particularly women-owned organizations.  By connecting investors with business leaders, Arroyo Ventures helps to grow businesses, create jobs, and enhance local economies.  The strategy of Arroyo Ventures is to connect resources to clients in all facets of their business by providing access to capital, connections, and services.

About our Team

Arroyo Ventures is comprised of an elite group of professionals from various industries dedicated to helping business leaders obtain access to capital and grow their businesses.

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Kimberly Kovacs, Managing Director

Kimberly Kovacs was the founder and CEO of OptionEase, a leading network connector for complex equity compliance applications delivered on-demand via software-as-a-service (SaaS) which was purchased by Solium Capital (SUM.TXU) in November 2012.  

Prior to the acquisition in 2012, and for the second year in a row, OptionEase was honored by INC Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. Orange County Business Journal also honored OptionEase as one of its Fastest Growing Companies in Orange County and B2B CFO named OptionEase a winner in its Smart 25 Awards, because of its strong and sustainable growth and commitment to innovation. 

Ms. Kovacs has had a distinguished career in executive leadership and finance spanning over 20 years with dozens of successful startup ventures.  In addition to raising over $100M in equity capital for these entities, she secured over $50M in funding from HUD to preserve low income housing as Chairman of Alpha Project in San Diego. Another noted accomplishment was as co-founder and CFO of ORXYE Energy she, along with leaders of the EPA and major oil testified in Congress that ultimately resulted in Ms. Hillary Clinton’s involvement and final adoption of revised Clean Energy laws in the U.S that brought in new conservation and renewable fuel standards.

Board Activity:

OCTANe - Board Member for pro-bono accelerator for start-ups in Orange County

Los Angeles Venture Association – the goto organization for raising capital

National Center for Employee Ownership – not for profit, Equity Compensation Committee

Association for Women in Technology – not for profit women's leadership program

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Samantha Saarm, Advisor

Samantha Saarm brings more than 20 years of corporate, Fortune 500, not-for-profit and government experience to organizations.  She is a visionary and goal-oriented executive with demonstrated experience during periods of both declining sales and rapid growth.  A successful entrepreneur with a proven track record of developing creative solutions that improve organizational efficiency and drive results.  Samantha is accomplished at designing and implementing business initiatives to help organizations scale, stay competitive, win new markets and increase value.  Her engagements improve performance, enhance the customer experience, and accelerate organizations through change.  Some of her career highlights include:

  • Successfully launched and grown five companies.

  • Increased sales and revenue by 250% which led to being named by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in the country.

  • Grew staff by over 400% to meet increased customer demand and market requirements.

  • Developed robust business development and sales strategies.  Grew one client account from an initial sale of $60,000 to over $1.4 million.

  • Re-designed the customer experience models to support changes in market focus.

  • Managed the development of company software products including SaaS and mobile offerings, and ensured delivery was on-time and within budget.

  • Designed and launched PR and Marketing campaigns to increase customer awareness and user adoption.

  • Successfully re-designed organizations ranging in size from 250 – 10,000 employees.

  • Led culture change initiatives to increase employee morale and efficiency as well as better align to customer expectations.

Samantha holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She also serves as a guest lecturer at Alliant International University and presents at various conferences and to client work groups engaged in strategic growth efforts.