NATHAN CRYDER

MANAGING PARTNER

Nathan Cryder has a broad range of executive and leadership experience in the business, government, non-profit, and education sectors.

In business, he is a founder or co-founder of several companies including Breakout, the world’s largest escape room company, headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky with over 1,000 employees and 45 locations throughout the U.S. and one in South Africa. Nathan is also the co-founder and former CEO of Sig Luscher Brewery, a Frankfort, Kentucky-based brewery with the tenth oldest legacy of any operational brewery in the U.S. (founded in 1866 and reopened in 2018). 

In the non-profit sector, he was the acting Director of the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation-U.S., founded by 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi, who has dedicated his life to ensuring children’s rights in India and globally since 1981. Nathan continues to serve on a pro-bono basis as an advisor to Mr. Satyarthi and his son, Bhuwan Ribhu, the founder and director of India Child Protection Fund. 

In government, Nathan was Senior Advisor and Policy Director to Edelen Ventures founder, Adam Edelen, when he was the Kentucky State Auditor, and in education, he has taught high school and college courses in economics, history, sociology, psychology, history, web design, graphic design, and video editing.

Nathan holds dual masters in diplomacy and sociology from the University of Kentucky and a B.A. in sociology from Miami (OH) University. He has a daughter and a son, and enjoys his free time traveling, reading, and writing.

FEATURED CLIENTS

Lexington-based Breakout grew rapidly from a small, family-owned business founded by Senior Partner, Nathan Cryder, and six others in December of 2015, to the world’s largest escape room company with over 1,000 employees just two years later. With 44 locations across the U.S. and one in South Africa, Nathan was a founding board member during Breakout’s most rapid period of growth and was responsible for overseeing the construction phase of new locations. 

Specializing in the breeding and training of Colombian show horses, Criadero Lusitania was looking to expand into thoroughbreds in the “Horse Capital of the World”. Managing Partner, Nathan Cryder, was able to help them navigate the difficult business terrain and connect them to some of the region’s leading experts in breeding and training to guide them through this often opaque and idiosyncratic industry.

Enhancing Life

This Lexington-based gym had no interest in being your run-of-the-mill gym based on a model of low-monthly membership fees. The owners, Lucy Hendricks and Dave Wilton, were nationally respected fitness experts who wanted to build a community of people tied together by their commitment to wellness based on the pillars of practicing mindfulness, developing healthy sleep patterns, physical training, healthy eating, and connection to nature. While most gyms were in dire straits when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Edelen Ventures helped Enhancing Life convert the crisis into an opportunity. Their holistic model paid off in spades, as they were able to create an online training platform to grow and strengthen their community during a time when human connection is more important than ever. 

satyarthi

Founded by Indian child rights activist, Kailash Satyarthi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his struggle against the suppression of children, Senior Partner, Nathan Cryder, was hired as the acting U.S. Director in 2015, and since joining Edelen Ventures, has remained an active advisor on a pro-bono basis. Since 1981, Mr. Satyarthi’s organizations have directly rescued over 90,000 children from slavery and have tirelessly advocated around the world for the right to a quality education for all children. Among other things, Nathan’s advisory role has included the editing of Mr. Satyarthi’s speeches, including his TED talk, as well as his memoirs. He was also an advisor to Oscar award-winning filmmaker, Davis Guggenheim, producer, Sara Anthony, and director, Derek Doneen during their filming of The Price of Free.