Private Equity Value Creation Podcast
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Get behind-the-scenes access to the minds shaping the world of Private Equity, hear captivating stories about transactions and investments, and learn about the innovative approaches leading investors, operators, advisors and bankers employ to drive sustainable growth and create enterprise value.
https://www.howtosaas.com/pevaluecreation
https://www.howtosaas.com/pevaluecreation
114 Episodes
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On this episode Shiv interviews Gus Araya, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Cordillera Investment Partners, to discuss how PE firms can generate alpha by investing in alternative assets like marinas, music royalties, and spirits.Gus shares Cordillera’s approach to targeting niche, less correlated markets, using a repeatable process to source, diligence, and professionalize non-traditional assets. He explains how their flexible toolkit and operator partnerships create enterprise value.He also covers how to convince LPs to back unconventional strategies and why avoiding crowded sectors unlocks unique opportunities in private equity.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
On this episode, Anastasia Kovaleva, Partner at Pollen Street Capital shares how sector focus informs value creation across financial services and how her team approaches scaling mid-market businesses across Europe. Hear how specialist playbooks differ across software, services and regulated models, how investors can partner with management to professionalize go-to-market and M&A capabilities, and how to apply automation and AI to improve efficiency, integration and growth in complex financial services environments.
On this episode, Matthew Wiener, Co-Head of Aon Transaction Solutions, shares how private equity firms can use insurance to manage the risks that diligence can’t fully eliminate. You’ll learn where post-close issues most often arise, how insured structures change buyer–seller negotiations and why even infrequent losses can have an outsized impact on fund-level returns.Hear how transaction risk insurance can be used in continuation funds, secondaries and GP stakes transactions to support liquidity, protect value and reduce friction—as well as what these policies will and won’t cover in today’s market.
On this episode, Scott Adams, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Soul Street Asset Management, discusses the value operators bring to portfolio companies through real boots-on-the-ground experience. Scott shares his expertise on the execution gaps that show up repeatedly in growing companies—from bloated teams to unclear priorities—and how to scale businesses in a capital-efficient way.Learn how to make better decisions by understanding where revenue actually originates, how to apply data with discipline and how businesses can stand out in an increasingly AI-driven environment.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
On this episode, Amyn Hassanally, Partner and Global Head of Private Equity Secondaries at Pantheon, explains the role secondaries play as a core portfolio management tool, rather than a source of distressed liquidity, and offers practical insight into how investors can use secondaries to manage timing, concentration and cash flow as exits slow.Learn how experienced investors diligence and assess value in secondaries, how motivation and repeatability are underwritten in practice, and why portfolio management and alignment are so essential in these types of deals.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
Alan Taetle, General Partner at Noro-Moseley Partners, draws on decades of investing experience to share what makes portfolios and PE firms successful, including differentiated expertise and an aligned sense of purpose.Learn how to create long-term value through apprenticeship cultures, incentive and carry design, and thoughtful founder ownership structures. The episode explores what alignment looks like in practice, why playbooks fall short, and how collaboration and incentives influence outcomes long after the deal closes.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
Jonathan Drillings, Partner at Riverside Acceleration Capital, discusses how B2B software companies can bridge the gap between early traction and scalable growth. Jonathan explains RAC’s sister fund model—how growth lending and growth equity are deployed at different moments, what each is designed to achieve and how the two work together as companies mature. Learn how investors assess durability before scale, and how AI is reshaping both risk and opportunity for growth-stage software companies, without changing the importance of fundamentals like retention and focus.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
On this episode, John Messer, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Copilot Capital, breaks down how value is built in scaling European B2B software businesses—including how to professionalise go-to-market, sharpen customer segmentation and pricing and use M&A as a focused growth lever. Get practical guidance on sequencing international expansion, maintaining clarity as teams grow from 50 to 200 people, and applying AI in ways that genuinely improve products and internal efficiency rather than creating distraction. The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
On this episode, Andrejka Bernatova, Founder and CEO of Dynamix Corporation, shares how investors can evaluate mission-critical energy and infrastructure businesses by focusing on fundamentals such as contract quality, customer durability and operating reality, rather than market sentiment or emerging-tech narratives. Learn about approaches to public-market pathways, including when SPACs offer advantages, what truly makes a company public-ready and the operational value-creation levers that matter most in capital-intensive sectors.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
On this episode, Dave Lambert of Right Side Capital Management shares what thousands of early-stage investments reveal about how pre-VC companies actually grow. Get clarity on how to evaluate early traction, set realistic fundraising paths and use capital efficiency to extend runway long enough for product-market fit to emerge.Tune in to hear how founders can avoid common mistakes in defining their ICP, structure rounds that keep exit options open and use real market data to understand what later-stage investors are looking for. The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
In this episode, Giacomo Sonnino, Advisory Director and Operating Partner at Charlesbank Capital Partners, shares how top PE firms connect diligence, underwriting and value creation to shape the first 12–24 months of an investment. This discussion highlights how to identify and prioritize the value levers that matter most in services businesses—from upgrading sales engines to designing cross-sell motions that are genuinely executable. Learn how AI is redefining services today, with modernized offerings, targeted use cases and the build-vs-buy decisions that keep firms ahead of market shifts. The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
Caroline Tarpey, Managing Director at Lead Edge Capital, outlines a practical approach to AI adoption in PE-backed companies—grounded in trust, clear goals and disciplined execution. She explains why most AI initiatives fall short and where teams can quickly unlock better decision-making and operational efficiency.You’ll learn how AI is transforming go-to-market, from shifting buyer behavior to the rising importance of authority-driven content and deeper voice-of-customer insights. Tune in to hear how SaaS companies can stay competitive by leveraging proprietary data and refining their strategy for an AI-first buying journey.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.
Shiv sits down with Vik Thapar, Managing Director at Cypress Growth Capital, to explore how royalty-based growth capital helps bootstrapped B2B companies scale without dilution. Vik breaks down when this structure works best, how repayment is designed to support continued growth and why many founders use it to double down on proven sales and marketing motions.The discussion also delves into the operational side—how a team of former operators supports founders day-to-day—and the patterns Cypress sees as these companies mature toward growth equity or strategic outcomes.
On this episode, Shiv is joined by Rafael Telahun, Managing Director at Altaline Capital Management, to discuss value creation that is built on strategy, rather than just institutionalization. Rafael breaks down how to meaningfully rerate a business by getting hands-on to make improvements like increasing mission criticality, making strategic pricing changes and raising gross and net retention. Plus, learn how why creativity, customer discovery and humility matter more than rigid playbooks. Tune in as Rafael breaks down how to execute these approaches in practice—including pre-close planning to 80%+ detail, turning vertical focus into competitive advantage and knowing when to make people changes immediately post-close.
Josh Christensen, Director at Mercato Partners, shares how minority growth investors can turn ecosystem-building into a true competitive advantage—without taking control or over-engineering outcomes. Drawing on his experience scaling Mercato’s playbook across non-coastal markets, Josh breaks down what it takes to embed sales, marketing, and human capital excellence from first touch through IPO, and how to focus resources where they actually accelerate 100%+ growth.Learn why authentic relationship-building drives stronger deal flow and portfolio performance, how community initiatives can surface the best opportunities ahead of a fundraise, and what it takes to measure value creation beyond capital returns.
Riccardo Basile, Operating Partner, Head of Value Creation at Permira, shares how firms can turn value creation into a true competitive advantage—without overcomplicating the model. Drawing on his experience building and scaling Permira’s 24-person value creation team, Riccardo breaks down what it takes to embed operating excellence from diligence through exit, and how to focus resources where they actually drive growth.Tune in to learn how to balance in-house and external expertise, measure impact credibly for LPs, and make emerging tools like GenAI deliver commercial results today. Whether you’re refining your operating model or building one from scratch, Riccardo’s perspective offers a playbook for making value creation more strategic, measurable and fund-defining.
On this episode Shiv interviews Rita Fiorentino, Co-Founder of Arc Capital Development, to unpack a battle-tested playbook for steering portfolio companies through economic downturns—especially when AI disruption, political volatility, and geopolitical shocks are compressing growth.Rita lays out a disciplined sequence that starts with risk assessment and financial hygiene, then moves to locking down customers, building an all-A-player team, and only then deploying AI for process efficiency and product innovation. She warns against the common trap of slapping “AI” on legacy products or slashing headcount too soon, and shares real-world examples of how companies that follow the right order emerge stronger.She also covers why this downturn is categorically different, how to educate boards and investors, and why skating to where the puck is going—not where it’s been—is the ultimate survival edge.
On this episode Shiv Narayanan interviews Ed Byrne, co-founder of Scaleworks, a venture equity firm based in San Antonio. Ed shares his background as a software entrepreneur and the lessons learned from his experiences that led to founding Scaleworks ten years ago with partner Lou Moorman. The discussion explores the concept of "venture equity" as a hybrid model between traditional VC and private equity, emphasizing sustainable growth over high-risk VC funding. Key topics include the downsides of VC (such as portfolio theory encouraging all-or-nothing scaling), the benefits of bootstrapping or using debt for most software businesses, avoiding premature scaling, prioritizing customer-funded growth, and Scaleworks' approach to acquiring and accelerating 5-10M revenue SaaS companies by building go-to-market teams in-house, bringing in new CEOs, and focusing on levers like pricing, category specialization, and dispassionate product decisions. Ed also covers deal structures, value creation through centralization in San Antonio, resistance to playbooks, and aiming for acquisitions driven by inbound interest rather than fixed timelines.
On this episode Shiv interviews Lindsay Gray, Partner at Pacific Lake, to explore how the firm backs entrepreneurs through the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) or search fund model—an approach that turns traditional private equity on its head by starting with the entrepreneur before the company.Lindsay walks through Pacific Lake’s industry thesis–driven search process, explaining how they identify and support first-time CEOs, often straight out of business school, to acquire and scale small to mid-sized businesses. She details what Pacific Lake looks for in potential searchers—from “followership” and “figure-it-out-ness” to true commitment to the ETA path—and how their team of experts guides these entrepreneurs through diligence, acquisition, and operational scaling.The conversation also covers how Pacific Lake structures incentives and equity for searchers, maintains a 70%+ acquisition rate, and leverages a dedicated value creation team to help new CEOs build leadership capacity, professionalize go-to-market and operations, and pursue add-on acquisitions. Lindsay also discusses their long-term hold strategy, designed to give successful CEOs liquidity while continuing to compound value in the firm’s strongest companies.This episode offers a deep look at how Pacific Lake has helped shape the ETA ecosystem, supporting over 300 search funds and more than 150 acquisitions, and the lessons they’ve learned about people, prioritization, and partnership as the foundation of value creation.
On this episode, Shiv interviews Kelly Ford Buckley, General Partner at Edison Partners, a growth equity firm with over 39 years of experience investing in high-growth software companies in secondary markets. Kelly dives into Edison's hands-on approach to value creation, emphasizing their preference for taking on execution risk over product or market risk, and how they use maturity assessments across five centers of excellence—like go-to-market, product, and finance—to identify and prioritize opportunities for portfolio companies.She shares real-world examples of transforming pricing models, aligning sales and marketing for faster growth, and building operational muscle to scale without paralysis, while stressing the importance of capital efficiency in today's macro environment. Kelly also discusses the role of AI as an efficiency tool rather than a distraction, the advantages of focusing on secondary markets for more grounded founders, and how Edison's domain expertise in verticals like fintech and healthcare IT drives repeatable success. This episode offers actionable insights for investors and operators looking to maximize enterprise value through focused, low-risk execution.
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