Note: insights synthesized from KKR & Bain Mid-Year Reports, and PitchBook   Key Macro Implications for PE Rate Regime Reset: The “4% world” is here to stay—meaning higher baseline rates for Fed Funds, inflation, and bond yields. There’s no going back to ZIRP. As a result, capital has a real…  Read More >

Over the past two decades, operational improvements have become a well-trodden path. Many PE firms—especially in the upper middle market—have built internal teams to drive cost takeout, system upgrades, and operational rigor. While still important, this playbook is no longer differentiated. What remains rare, and increasingly valuable, is true go-to-market…  Read More >

PE Winning Formula is both: a) GTM Excellence + b) Operational Discipline To succeed, PE firms must now differentiate through genuine value creation, as they face intense competition, longer holding periods, and high-interest rates that limit leverage. Firms must focus on both GTM improvements and operational improvements within portfolio companies…  Read More >

Top PE firms that consistently deliver strong returns are disciplined, data-driven, and adaptable, but there is more to sustainable/durable success. Understanding what top investors prioritize can provide a competitive edge. Here are ten key insights that define their approach: 1. Firm Culture, Leadership Alignment, and Decision-Making Cultural fit and leadership…  Read More >

A few ideas for 2025 – to become the best in the industry, PE firms & teams have to the following approaches and insights from the sources: Focus on specific expertise and market segments Specialize: Hone in on specific areas like tech & be good at profitable revenue growth (aka…  Read More >

10 Strategies for Maximizing Value Creation in Private Equity The private equity industry has increasingly shifted from traditional financial engineering toward operational value creation as a primary driver of returns. Firms that consistently outperform do so by applying structured, repeatable playbooks that improve EBITDA, drive revenue expansion, and enhance operational…  Read More >

Private equity has expanded significantly over the past three decades, with fund counts and AUM reaching record levels. As competition increases and financing costs rise, PE firms must rely more on GTM Improvements (Profitable Revenue Growth Acceleration) combined with Operational Improvements to generate returns. Number of PE Funds up 5x…  Read More >

Here’s the core purpose of the GTM Operating Partner role in PE: Mission of the Role Own GTM value creation: Lead all commercial excellence aspects of Value Creation Plans (VCPs) from diligence through exit Support deal teams: Surface hidden GTM value opportunities in diligence, shape VCPs, and own execution post-close,…  Read More >

When we hire CEOs in PE, culture fit is one of the most underestimated challenges in. Even if the CEO has the right PE grade “functional skills” and operational expertise, if they clash with the company’s culture or fail to align with the team’s dynamics, it’s a recipe for disaster.…  Read More >

Scalability – Assessing a Ptential Investment’s Scalability During Diligence (for Middle Market Companies)   In software (for Tech PE buyouts), the margin between success and mediocrity hinges on accurately assessing scalability before writing the check. While revenue growth captures headlines, PE investors know that sustainable unit economics, operational leverage, and…  Read More >

“One Team” Strategy in PE: How the Investment Team & Operating Partners Work Together as a “Deal Team” by Stage of the PE Deal Process     1. PE Firm Receives Teaser (then CIM) Investment Team Initial screen for investment alignment (sector, growth, profitability, valuation) Preliminary internal discussion on deal…  Read More >

We are in the new era of “PE Value Creation” that we can affectionately refer to as 2.0.  Now it’s much more about better diligence & ownership than ever before. In the far more competitive world of PE, achieving superior risk-adjusted returns hinges on better diligence (which is surprisingly possible)…  Read More >

Just wanted to reflect on this year – here’s a concise overview of the private equity (PE) landscape and strategic insights for navigating it: The resilience of the PE industry, even amid a slowdown, underscores the critical role of value creation and revenue growth for investment success. To stimulate deal…  Read More >

Creating value in PE requires more than just GTM Improvements or Operational Improvements. It demands a systematic and scalable value creation process that can be applied across the portfolio. This approach is not about ad hoc interventions or one-off solutions but about designing a structured framework that enables consistent, repeatable,…  Read More >

I was at a PE Conference and someone asked me what the GP should look for in hiring a GTM & Revenue Growth / Commercial expert to help create value for their Investment Team and for Portfolio Companies. While on a train for a few hours, I jotted down just…  Read More >

(WIP – Draft) Here is a summary / short list…   From Operators to PE Investors: David Rubenstein – Carlyle Group (was a policy advisor to the White House) Scott Sperling – from Aeneas Group to TH Lee Carl Eschenbach – from VMware to Sequoia (Growth PE Investing) Greg Brenneman…  Read More >

This is how Top-Line Growth or Revenue Growth is the primary Value Creation driver for Tech PE portfolio companies. In PE, focusing on increasing revenue and profitable revenue growth initiates a cascade of beneficial downstream effects: – Increasing Revenue and Profitable Revenue Growth (Capital-Efficiently) Initiating with a strategic emphasis on…  Read More >

By actively engaging across each phase of the private equity investment lifecycle, Value Creation Teams (Operating Partners) ensure a tangible outcome, enhancing both portfolio equity value creation (EVC) and investor returns.   Sourcing & Deal Origination – Identifying potential investment opportunities through proprietary networks, investment banks, and industry relationships. Operating…  Read More >

PE – Assessing Success Factors Before Acquiring a Company When evaluating a potential investment, I focus on businesses with strong fundamentals, clear value-creation levers, and predictable, sustainable growth. These are the key criteria that make an acquisition attractive: Strong Leadership or Replaceable Gaps Evaluating whether the management team is strong…  Read More >

Reflecting on the last several years in PE , I’ve been contemplating what I genuinely like about the job. This is primarily for my personal reflections and to articulate my thoughts more clearly but it genuinely starts with a true privilege and a tremendous responsibility to be in PE. Similarity…  Read More >

Pricing Assessment for Private Equity Portfolio Companies: A Framework for Value Creation Pricing optimization is a key driver of revenue growth, margin expansion, and overall enterprise value for private equity-backed companies. A well-structured pricing strategy enhances customer acquisition efficiency, strengthens retention, and increases expansion revenue. This framework prioritizes the most…  Read More >

How PE Can Unlock Equity Value Through Strategic Pricing Optimization Pricing is one of the most powerful levers for value creation. Monetization improvements for PE-backed companies, a disciplined, data-driven approach to pricing can unlock significant equity value by improving unit economics, accelerating growth, and expanding EBITDA margins. Pricing as a Direct…  Read More >

Many middle-market PE portfolio companies leave money on the table due to misaligned pricing models, value leakage, or friction in customer acquisition and retention. A structured approach to pricing optimization helps identify gaps, refine packaging, and maximize revenue potential. This framework ensures pricing captures the full value delivered while maintaining…  Read More >

In the role as a PE Operating Partner, your primary responsibilities involve not only helping the Investment Team with diligence in the process of add-on mergers and acquisitions for our anchor portfolio companies, but also ensuring the seamless integration and enhancement of these new additions (ex: GTM  team and process…  Read More >

Just sharing ideas, thoughts and notes I’ve collected on the principles for successful leadership in PE – PE firm success requires a blend of strategic vision, adaptability, and leading the way for disciplined execution at portfolio companies. But the most effective leaders excel by mastering these core principles that drive…  Read More >

As the simplest level, here are the fundamental KPIs every Chief Revenue Officer should focus on in Growth PE.   New Logo Sales  / New Customer Acquisition Note: these should be measured per segment / per team / per territory, etc. # of New Business (aka New Logo) Opportunities in…  Read More >

Retaining customers is more cost-efficient than acquiring new ones. Once a customer is acquired, focusing on repeat business is crucial due to the higher cost of acquisition. Customer retention is more cost-effective than acquisition, which can be three to six times more expensive. Balancing acquisition and retention strategies is essential…  Read More >

What is signaling to be the *Biggest* impact on SaaS Sales & GTM in the next 5 years? This is not a prediction – it’s something anyone can hear directly from Chris Degnan the CRO at Snowflake. 1. In a discussion with Sam Jacobs (CEO of Revenue Collective/Pavillion) with Chris…  Read More >

Growing Your New Logo Sales The blueprint below is meant to be strategic and is focused on driving growth at PE-Backed companies beyond an average benchmarked industry organic sales growth. Assumptions: Consistent Sales Pillars across Every B2B Company (especially software/SaaS) every B2B SaaS company has many “commonalities” – i.e. Sales Pillars…  Read More >

Every successful fast-growing B2B SaaS company has to have a large TAM (Total Addressable Market) and lots of greenfield upside in that TAM. But there is more to the best of Growth-stage SaaS – based on what I’ve seen of the best companies where I’ve been on the executive teams…  Read More >

Assessing Your Sales Force Strength to Identify Upside for Growth As a CRO, you need to know how to audit/assess your overall B2B Sales & Revenue Growth capability and team strength. Typically I start with my simple “People / Pipeline / Process / Performance / Plan” approach. But for a…  Read More >

A couple of years ago I presented at the annual Sales Acceleration Summit about “The Science of Sales” (InsideSales.com posted the presentation on Slideshare). This relates primarily to New Logo / New Customer Acquisition – the The Magic Sales Formula is the “SaaS New Logo Sales Growth Formula”:   Here…  Read More >

In the past, I discussed what companies should include in their “Strategic Plan” which focuses on the “Corporate Strategy“. Of course, the right sequence requires the executives to craft their Corporate Strategy first (i.e. should be planned and finalized first before any other business functions craft their strategy) – it…  Read More >

Here is what great PE professionals have that I’ve observed in the past several years but also going all the way back to my days in Investment Banking working with some investors we represented, to the days in VC and learning from our team as well as many other investors…  Read More >

The Blueprint for Scaling Your Sales I want to share a blueprint for how to think about scaling.  Scaling means that you are looking for “disproportionate growth results”.  This post is not meant to be tactical and it doesn’t cover any techniques but is primarily a general blueprint for going…  Read More >

In a nutshell – a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is responsible for figuring out how to grow sales revenue at the company.  Thus, a CRO is the “CEO” of the entire “Revenue Engine” of the company that they must lead in a profitable and economical way. The CRO runs the…  Read More >