Private Equity Funcast

A follow-up conversation with the Mad Scotsman, Alan Williamson.  This time we're talking about the technology section of the 2018 Stack Overflow developer survey.   It's Java vs. C#, MariaDB vs. Oracle, AWS vs. Azure and much, much more.   

The Mad Scotsman, Alan Williamson, returns to the funcast for a lively discussion of Stack Overflow's 2018 Developer survey.  We talk about all things development, backend vs frontend vs. full stack -- and the myth of the high school dropout programming genius.

Jay Bartlett from Parthenon is back on the funcast to talk about the evolving role of the operating partner in private equity.   The EY-Parthenon team has been delving deep on this topic with limited partners and portfolio company executives.    Come have a listen to the latest insights.

Jim and Devin talk about the one or two characteristics that can blow an otherwise terrific executive out of the water.  It's Bill Simmons' 90/10 rule -- only better!

Our day jobs have been getting in the way of our podcasting ... but the long wait is over, we are back in the saddle with our annual March Madness Episode.  This year we cover the technologies that are having the biggest impact on our portfolio - it's Amazon vs. Google, Netsuite vs. Salesforce.com, C# vs Python, PostgreSQL vs. MySQL ... and more!

Jim and Devin walk through the list of technology companies where Jim has worked over the years. We talk about the lessons learned as they apply to PE-owned tech companies in the middle market. We cover decades of computing from Digital Equipment Corporation to Oracle and beyond. Bonus content includes a Rupert Pupkin shoutout and a Regis Philbin impression.

Devin and Jim kick-off their collaboration with PitchBook, the leading private equity and private company database now owned by Morningstar. Nizar and Dylan from PitchBook's research team discuss their recent report on first-time private equity funds -- the fundraising stats, the increasing demand and the unique challenges new funds face.

Devin and Jim talk about the major macroeconomic factors that affect Private Equity.     Here's a hint -- it's mostly a robust economy and lower interest rates.

Devin and Jim talk about the four basic Halloween villains -- Vampires, Frankenstein, Werewolves and Mummies -- and how PE deals often end up as one of these monsters. Plus, we do a fast review of the BEST Halloween candies and our most popular costumes when we were kids.

Devin & Jim welcome ParkerGale’s newest teammate to the FunCast. Cici joined us from Bain & Co to manage our go-to-market activities across the portfolio. Cici talks about her not-so-straight path to private equity, what her day to day job is like and modestly chalking up her career success to luck.

Devin and his daughter Quinn spend an hour with high school English teacher Nathaniel Small on exploring the challenges of teaching people. We talk about why it is so hard for an expert to teach a novice. How teaching in an academic setting can help you improve your teaching in a business setting? And why, in the end, it all comes back to Empathy, Storytelling, and Autobiography.

Listener Request! Devin & Jim take a look at private equity deals from the sellers' side of the table and cover questions such as: How do you select a PE buyer? What questions should you ask prospective buyers? What's negotiable and what's not? And all kinds of useful tips and tricks.

Talking with Anthony Onesto of the Konrad Group about "Digital Strategy". It means different things to different people and we make an attempt to define the basics. This is a big topic -- covering everything from websites, email, SEO/SCM to Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. This is part one of several episodes that we will dedicate to this broad-ranging topic -- comparing digital strategy to an orchestra. Plus the usual side trips into pop culture including the Michael Fassbender's Steve Jobs movie and Benjamin and Rosamund Zander's "The Art of Possibility".

Devin and Jim sit down with NextGen Growth Partners founder Brian O'Connor to discuss search funds, pledge funds, traditional funds and all the similarities and differences among them. They go deep into backing entrepreneurs to create an investment thesis that leads to buying a company. NextGen has a unique model that we think the FunCast army will find interesting.

Devin and Jim take a random walk down their reading list of favorite business and research books.  We mention some old favorites and some hidden gems and talk about ParkerGale's official reading club's August selection.

Devin (and Jim from behind the sound board) welcomes back Cass and Ben for a mad-cap review of all the confusing terms and phrases thrown around the typical private equity shop. We give you the shortcut to understanding WACC, TTM, ICs, TAMs and LPACs. Now, doesn't that sound exciting!

Devin and Jim break down the what, how, why and when of the often maligned, but rarely explained, process of PE funds taking money out of companies before the exit.  Plus: shout outs to some PE Funcast fans and a smattering of 80s music.

Devin and Jim go deep on their process for developing investment theses. They cover: where to start, tools to hone your thesis, how to fight confirmation bias, when to give up and when to stick with it.

Devin and Jim were inspired to delve into the "Ship of Theseus" story in the first episode from season two of Gladwell's "Revisionist History".  If we change out every "board" (no pun intended) in our companies over our ownership period -- is it the same company/ship when we exit?   

Rebroadcast of Brian Walker from AE Marketing Group interviewing partner Kristina Heinze-- talking about leadership, women in private equity and branding.