I'm Chris Petkas, a general partner at Contrarian Thinking Capital, an early-stage VC and Main Street investment holdco in Austin, Texas. Before that I spent a decade as a U.S. Navy SEAL. Here's what has my attention right now.
We invest in the businesses that keep the lights on, move the freight, defend our shores, and maintain the infrastructure. Construction and the skilled trades. Industrial automation. The software that finally replaces a spreadsheet at a company that builds, fixes, or maintains something physical. It isn't the obvious place to look, which is most of the reason I like it. The longer version of that argument is in Why we invest in the Dumb, Dull, Dirty & Dangerous at CT Capital.
We're adding two roles, both full-time and in the office in Austin.
An Investment Principal to own the deal end to end: sourcing it, underwriting it, writing the memo that decides it, and staying useful to the founder long after the wire clears. It's a partner-track seat, and there's no pedigree requirement. What I care about is whether you've built or operated something yourself.
A Head of Investor Relations to own the capital side: the LP pipeline from first contact to signed subscription docs, the communications that keep our partners genuinely well served, and the fund operations that keep all of it audit-ready.
If you'd rather be right than consensus, and sectors like waste management, HVAC and metal fabrication interest you rather than bore you, come find us. Everything else we have open is on the CT Capital careers page.
I also serve as an advisor on AI and security to private firms and to the U.S. Department of Defense. Most of that work is bridging a gap: Silicon Valley builds the technology, the defense side owns the problem, and the two rarely describe the same need in the same language. My focus is on getting AI actually deployed against security problems rather than demonstrated at them.
I keep writing about what I'm learning as I go, on the skilled labor shortage, on why durable companies avoid the AI label, and on what military decision-making does and doesn't transfer to business. It's all in the articles.
Ten years on active duty as a U.S. Navy SEAL taught me how institutions work, how power moves, and how to operate when the stakes are real. I went to Stanford Graduate School of Business afterwards for the MBA, mostly to translate military leadership into business strategy. Both still show up in how I underwrite a company.
Want to compare notes, or pitch me on something unglamorous? You can connect with me on LinkedIn or X.
Last updated August 2026.