The New Era of PE: The GTM & Operating Alpha Imperative

PE Returns to First Principles: The Operating Alpha Imperative The old PE playbook is dead (especially from the 2010-2022 era).  Over that period, roughly two-thirds of PE value creation came from leverage and multiple expansion. That’s not alpha. That’s beta dressed up in carry. With rates normalized, the math no longer…  Read More >

The Future of SaaS in the AI Era

In the age of AI, traditional Software/SaaS are at risk and many experts are suggesting that many traditional SaaS companies will die.  However, I don’t think that SaaS is going to get fully replaced by AI agents and AI workflows. There will be a transformation and an evolution of what…  Read More >

How AI Will Reshape Tech-Enabled Business Services

In the next 2-5 years, AI will materially change how tech-enabled business services are delivered, priced, and scaled. The category will not disappear, but value will shift away from labor and toward firms that own processes, accountability, and trust. What Changes Labor cost will decline for routine work Delivery shifts…  Read More >

PE – Investment Rationale (Where I Focus)

PE Investment Rationale – My List Since the time I was on the investment team and recently in the PE operating partner role, here are some of my Investment Rationale areas I focus on. It’s a structured framework for evaluating software and tech-enabled businesses in private equity, designed to identify the…  Read More >

PE – Tech Investing Criteria

  PE Tech Investing Criteria PE investors look for more than just growth – they look for durability, scalability, and resilience. The best firms apply a consistent framework across markets, products, customers, GTM, and financials to separate true compounders from hype-driven plays. Below is a distilled set of criteria drawn…  Read More >

PE Value Creation – Driving GTM/Commercial Excellence Portfolio-Wide

Here are some of the areas that the GTM Operating Partner drives: Institutionalize commercial excellence frameworks, playbooks, and KPIs across the portfolio Accelerate revenue growth and margin expansion through scalable GTM execution Strengthen commercial engines to enhance exit readiness and maximize equity value Partner with portfolio companies to refine strategy…  Read More >

PE Portfolio Company Turnaround Playbook (GTM/Commercial Focus)

  My notes on a practical PE Operator’s Turnaround Playbook for a portfolio company that’s underperforming (was healthy before, now slipping). This assumes the core product/market fit is intact, but commercial execution and cost discipline have weakened. This isn’t slash-and-burn. It’s about rebuilding commercial discipline: the right leader in the…  Read More >

Key insights – The Future of Private Equity Investing is all about PAOVA (Post-Acquisition Operational Value Add)

Key insights from the Partners Capital whitepaper on The Future of Private Equity Investing is all about PAOVA     Post-Acquisition Operational Value Add (PAOVA) is becoming the critical differentiator between alpha-generating and alpha-detracting sponsors Past PE returns were boosted largely by falling rates, leverage, and multiple expansion rather than…  Read More >

The Simplest Initial Diagnosis of a PE Portfolio Company’s Sales Performance

If a portfolio company has stalled growth, a simple initial (Phase 1) data-driven diagnosis of plateauing or declining sales at a middle-market PE backed portfolio company begins by breaking sales bookings into its fundamental equation and isolating which inputs have shifted relative to history and benchmarks. By tracing each variable…  Read More >