Ten years ago, bored by the repetitive nature of his work as a private-equity analyst, Ryan Caldbeck began to think that the job could be done as well by software. Today, he’s the co-founder and chief executive of CircleUp, an online crowdfunding platform specializing in consumer-goods companies—think food, cosmetics and chain restaurants. Mr. Caldbeck’s firm has built software that he says does more or less what he once found so stultifying.
