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 >

In the age of AI, traditional Software/SaaS are at risk and some 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 >

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 – 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 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 >

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 >

  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 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 >

If you aiming to build a “sales machine” that generates repeatable, predictable, scalable and sustainable revenue and growth, you need to first systematize your sales – i.e. you have to develop a System for yourself. Such system, just like coaches develop for their professional sports teams, in turn comprises several sub-systems and…  Read More >

The book “Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell” by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle was one of the best books on management and leadership that I’ve read in the past decade. Bill Campbell was the coach to some of the best CEOs in high tech…  Read More >