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About Dakota  ·  Est. 2006  ·  Bryn Mawr, PA

Performance
& Kindness.
Proof You Don't
Have to Choose.

The hardest-charging culture in financial services, built on treating each other well.

Join Our Team Meet the Team
20 yrs
Building Dakota
5,000+
Customers worldwide
90+
Team members
$40B+
Raised personally since 2006
Dakota team
Dakota team members
Dakota team
“
Our Founding Belief

"Our mission has always been simple: help others get what they want out of life. Our team comes first, valued, inspired, and empowered to serve our clients and partners with the highest dedication. Everything we do is driven by kindness and the commitment to support others."

20 Years
Building from a boutique fundraising firm into a leading data and intelligence platform
5,000+
Customers across fundraising, deal, and investment teams worldwide
90+
Team members in Bryn Mawr, PA, with a culture more alive than ever
$40B+
Raised personally in investment sales since 2006 by Gui Costin
01
How Dakota Started

Built by fundraisers.
For fundraisers.

Dakota was founded in 2006 as a boutique investment management fundraising firm in Philadelphia. We were out there doing the work, raising capital for investment managers, and we quickly discovered a gap. The data, the contacts, the intelligence that investment sales professionals needed simply didn't exist in a form that was accurate, actionable, and built for the way they actually worked.

So we built it ourselves, starting with Dakota Marketplace, the database our own team used every day. That origin matters. Dakota Marketplace wasn't designed by engineers guessing at what salespeople need. It was built by fundraisers, people who lived the problem, and that's why it works the way it does.

Today, Dakota is one of the most respected data and intelligence platforms in private markets, serving thousands of fundraising, deal, and investment teams worldwide.

GC
Gui Costin
Founder & CEO, Dakota

Gui has spent nearly 20 years building Dakota from a boutique fundraising firm into one of the most respected data and intelligence platforms in private markets.

$40B+ raised personally in investment sales since 2006
Author of The Dakota Way and Be Kind
Host of the Dakota Way Sales Coaching program
Host of the Emerging Manager Growth Show
Builder of a 90+ person team in Bryn Mawr, PA

Nearly 20 years of
building something that works.

 
2006
Dakota Founded

Boutique investment management fundraising firm in Philadelphia. Mission: help investment managers raise capital.

 
2010s
Dakota Marketplace Launched

The LP/GP database our own team built to fill the intelligence gap we experienced every day in the field.

 
2020s
Platform Expansion

GP data, portfolio company intelligence, international coverage, AI-powered search, and integrations with every major CRM.

 
2026
5,000+ Customers

Across fundraising, deal, and investment teams worldwide, with 90+ team members and a culture more alive than ever.

Our Mission

Help others get what they want out of life.

That's it. Whether it's a fundraiser closing a $50M allocation, a portfolio manager finding the right data, or a team member growing into the best version of their professional self, Dakota's job is to help people win.

Our Team
Comes first. Always. Valued, inspired, and invested in.
Our Clients
Served with the highest dedication and genuine care for their success.
Our Community
Supported through Dakota Gives and a commitment to local, micro impact.
“

You can run the hardest-charging team in your industry and treat each other with genuine kindness every single day. We've spent 20 years proving it. The two things are not in conflict, they're the same thing done right.

Gui Costin  ·  Founder & CEO, Dakota  ·  Author of Be Kind
What Our Culture Actually Looks Like

Six ways the kindness-performance
belief shows up every day.

Culture isn't declared, it's demonstrated. Here's what makes Dakota's culture tangible, not just aspirational.

01
Honest, Direct Feedback, Given With Care

We don't sugarcoat, and we don't wound. Feedback at Dakota is direct because we respect each other enough to tell the truth, and it's delivered with care because we actually want people to grow.

02
We Celebrate Each Other, Loudly

When someone on the team wins, we make noise about it. Recognition isn't an afterthought, it's built into how we operate. Because the best teams know that celebrating each other is a performance multiplier.

03
Walk the 8 Feet, Always

One of our foundational Dakota-isms. When you need help, you get up and ask. When someone else needs help, you give it freely. Hoarding knowledge or going cowboy isn't part of how we work.

04
High Standards, Zero Tolerance for Unkindness

We hold each other to a very high bar on work quality and professionalism, and we hold the same bar on how we treat each other. Neither slides. Both matter equally.

05
Dakota Gives, Community Is Culture

Our community outreach program isn't a PR exercise, it's an expression of who we are. Ninety people showing up to pack backpacks on a Saturday is one of the truest pictures of Dakota's culture you'll ever see.

06
Have Fun, Non-Negotiable

The 11th Dakota-ism. If you're not having fun doing work this good, alongside people this great, in service of a mission this clear, something's wrong. We take our work seriously and each other lightly.

Dakota team at Dakota Gives volunteer event
Dakota Gives
Team volunteering in the community
Dakota Gives community event
Community
Giving back through local programs and nonprofits

Come work with us.
Or work with us as a client.

Whether you're looking to join the team or build a better investment sales operation, this is where both paths start.

View Open Roles
Careers at Dakota → Meet the Team → Our Core Principles → Dakota Gives → Explore Dakota Marketplace →

Address

925 West Lancaster Ave
Suite 220
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Tel: (610) 642-1481 

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