Bain 2024 PE Report
From Bain’s 2024 Private Equity Report webinar: • 2023: Fundraising, exits, dealmaking, and capital velocity were strongly affected by rapidly
M&A
301 posts
Don't anchor
According to my professor at b-school, the first person to throw out a number loses. Not in my experience.
Conviction + Hustle
“But how do you get deals under LOI when you don’t have committed capital?” This is the most common
Financial Times: Deal-by-deal PE
Deal-by-deal private equity is in the wind. The space is maturing in the US, but it is in
Diligence vs. Fundraising
There is an inevitable conflict of interest between (1) diligencing & negotiating a deal and (2) raising capital for it.
Google Doc for Q&A w/ Seller
When dealing with sellers, create a Google Doc with a Q&A (your questions & their answers). I use
HR in 4 parts
HR consists of 4 parts: Administration, Recruiting, Training, Retention. From left to right, tactical/reactive to strategic/proactive. Sadly, most
Get in upfront
Major recaps aside - it’s just about impossible to buy into an SMB. Every now and then I’ll ask
Acquiring Minds (June 2023)
I met Will Smith, who later became my business partner at Minds Capital, when I joined him on his podcast,
Kids blow up deals
Kids can blow up deals. I’ve been at the altar before, only to experience that the kid won’t
Training = Vertical integration
Training is actually vertical integration. One often hears about how companies use M&A to vertically integrate as a
Move on w/o DD
If a deal doesn’t feel right, more due diligence will typically not make it feel better. Move on.
People vs. Profitability
It took me a while to understand the link between people and profitability. I routinely ask our management team how
