Our series profiling CVCA’s new members continues, providing insight into the organizations in our community.
We’re thrilled to profile a new CVCA member, Laulima Consulting.
Tell Us About Laulima’s History and What Makes You Different.
Laulima is a Canadian-based human capital consulting firm founded in 2024. Our name – Laulima, meaning “cooperation” in Hawaiian – reflects our collaborative approach to partnering with clients to achieve their goals. We believe there is no one-size-fits-all human capital strategy; it must evolve with the pace and ambition of growth-minded companies.
We work with both investors and leadership teams to bring structure to high-stakes people decisions, particularly around aligning pay and performance, incentive design, ownership opportunities, succession planning, and during special situations (e.g. M&A, IPO, leadership transition or other liquidity events).
What sets us apart is our ability to help bridge the gap between ‘doing the right thing’ for the business while paying attention to what is happening in the market. Additionally, we understand the importance of balancing the priorities of investors and aligning those with management teams and key talent. As a fast-growing firm ourselves, we have firsthand insight into the trade-offs, risk tolerance, and bold thinking required to scale with purpose.
Why Does the Laulima Team Enjoy Working With the VC / PE Space?
As an employee-owned firm, we are investors and employees ourselves, so we understand the importance of balancing investor and employee perspectives. This also allows us to relate deeply to the pace, challenges and ambition of our clients.
Each engagement is shaped by different investor goals, talent needs, and growth timelines, giving us the opportunity to think creatively, stay pragmatic, and have a direct impact. We especially enjoy bridging the gap between investors and operators to ensure people strategy, compensation and governance move in sync.
What Are Some of the Biggest Opportunities and Challenges Related to People and Compensation in the VC / PE Space?
Talent is often the difference-maker in achieving successful outcomes. Thoughtful human capital decisions lay the foundation for a strong leadership team and organizational structure, fostering a culture that retains, engages and aligns employees – critical to delivering sustained results.
Compensation is a powerful lever – not only for attracting and retaining top talent, but for aligning management and stakeholder interests. The most effective programs empower employees to think like owners, offer meaningful opportunities to build wealth, facilitate succession planning, and enable employees to stay engaged for the long term. Ultimately, well-designed compensation supports business strategy and drives sustainable value creation.
The challenge lies in doing all this while carefully managing risk: balancing fairness between legacy and new team members, navigating equity dilution, upholding strong governance practices and maintaining clarity, especially during periods of rapid growth or transition.
If You Were to Give Three Pieces of Human Capital-Related Advice to Our Readers, What Would They Be?
- Align early – Misalignment between investors and management on roles, expectations or incentives only gets harder to fix later.
- Govern proactively – Strong companies don’t wait for problems to emerge; they implement structure and guardrails from the start.
- Compensate with purpose – Don’t just copy what others are doing. Design a strategy that supports your growth, is tailored to your team and reflects your risk appetite.
What Are the Most Pressing People Trends in the VC / PE Space Today?
Human capital is increasingly recognized as a key driver of value creation in both VC- and PE-backed portfolio companies. Firms are prioritizing early talent assessments and retention strategies to mitigate people-related risks that can threaten growth and returns.
In VC-backed companies, compensation is often heavily equity-based. However, prolonged exits and liquidity constraints are putting pressure on these models, prompting a rethink of how to sustain retention and alignment when the payoff is delayed or uncertain.
In PE-backed companies, where true equity may be limited or unavailable, there is a growing focus on creating alternative structures that foster ownership thinking, align employees with value creation, and provide meaningful upside for key talent.
With leaner teams and increasing investor expectations, a strong, engaged leadership team and effective succession planning is now more critical than ever.
Who Are the Key Team Members That Support Laulima’s VC / PE Clients?
Four senior members of the Laulima team advise a range of VC and PE investors, as well as their portfolio companies: Kenneth Yung (Founder & Partner), Matthew Wong (Principal), Luc Lapalme (Principal), and Francoise Lyon (Senior Strategic Advisor).
Kenneth Yung, CFA, brings over 20 years of experience advising on human capital strategy. He has led engagements with a wide range of organizations—from large multinationals to small and mid-sized enterprises, across both public and private markets.
Matthew Wong, CFA, has worked with a broad range of pension funds and investment firms, advising at both the fund level and with their portfolio companies. Prior to joining Laulima, Matt led corporate strategy for a consumer services business backed by a leading infrastructure fund.
Luc Lapalme advises a diverse set of portfolio companies and management teams, spanning across industries and ownership models. He specializes in building market-aligned, strategically grounded compensation frameworks that drive business performance and meet governance expectations.
Francoise Lyon is a seasoned investment and wealth management executive with over 30 years of leadership experience. She advises tech founders, family offices, C-suite leaders, and investment funds on strategy, growth, and impact. With 25 years of board experience across finance, tech, arts, and non-profits, she brings deep expertise in governance, strategic planning, and stakeholder alignment.
To learn more about Laulima’s perspective on human capital, check out our insights or reach out to [email protected].
