Private Equity Value Creation Podcast

Shiv interviews Brad Armstrong, Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners (LMP). In this episode, Shiv and Brad talk about LMP’s approach to supporting their portfolio companies with a robust operating partner bench, as well as how to prioritize where to allocate budget, resources, and advisors when making value creation plans. Learn about weaponizing the value creation team and other benefits outside of the initial capital investment, and how to get your advisors’ support before the deal is done.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Shiv interviews Stephen Marks, Managing Director, Emmersion Capital.In this episode, Shiv and Stephen discuss the benefits and challenges of nearshoring, including the economies of scaling your workforce in Latin America, onboarding and company culture, as well as macroeconomic risks and political challenges. Learn about labor arbitrage opportunities, the complexities of dealing with foreign taxes and legal systems, and more.

Shiv interviews Diamond Innabi, Principal at Software Equity Group. In this episode, Diamond shares how investment banks can help founders position their companies to increase the likelihood of transactions. Learn how successful founders think about the process of exiting, as well as how to maximize the valuation of a transaction and ensure the interests of founders and investment banks are aligned. 

Shiv Narayanan, Founder and CEO at How To SaaS, shares his presentation from Silicon Y’All 2024. Learn about the nine critical marketing problems most companies face, from poor gross revenue and net retention problems to not generating enough traffic or leads. Shiv also shares the five most common value creation scenarios and the four major marketing mistakes companies make.

Shiv interviews John Bailey, Co-founder of OneFund Investments, known for his expertise in tech-enabled fund management. They dive into how to effectively vet private equity firms and the critical role operating teams play in investment success. John discusses different models for these teams and the significance of maintaining a lean, impactful structure. He also emphasizes the importance of thorough due diligence and strategic assessments to uncover growth opportunities, ultimately showcasing how integrated operations can drive value in investments.

This episode is sponsored by scaleMatters. In this episode, Shiv Narayanan interviews Scott Stouffer, CEO and Founder at scaleMatters, to talk all about data – data hygiene, data infrastructure, and the insights that come from data to make those important value creation decisions. Learn how scaleMatters – a firm that specializes in go-to-market analytics – reviews and audits client data, why it’s important for companies and PE firms to take on this work, how to establish the metrics you need in your dashboards, and more.  The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Shiv interviews Sean Cantwell, Managing Partner at Volition Capital.  In this episode, Sean shares how Volition Capital’s  operations teams support their portcos with the resources, tools, and frameworks they need to grow. Learn about  best practices including portfolio summits, internal resource portals, and training. Hear about when it makes sense to work with generalists vs specialists, how Volition Capital helps portcos build the right team of executives, and what entrepreneurs should focus on in the current period of market correction. The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Shiv interviews Jordon Kruse, Managing Director and Co-Portfolio Manager, and Matt Wilson, Managing Director and Co-Portfolio Manager, at Oaktree Capital. In this episode, Matt and Jordon explain their approach to special situations investing, including rescue financing transactions where they restructure the debt and balance sheet of companies. They share how they create the most value for their LPs, how they’re protecting themselves from risk, and how a company’s cash flow might be impacted by debt service in the current market. Learn about different financing options and the current realities of today’s market for PE firms. The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Shiv interviews Krista Skalde, Chief Talent Officer Partner at Inovia Capital, Meryl Almeida, Director of Corporate Development at Inovia Capital, and Kory Jeffrey, Principal & VP, Technology at Inovia Capital. In this episode, Krista, Meryl, and Kory share how they evaluate acquisitions, how to create value from a corp dev perspective, and how to merge corporate cultures. Learn about how Inovia Capital decides if they should build, buy, or partner with companies and what data points they look for to inform their decisions. The panel discusses the analyses you can do to validate acquisitions, how to make capital allocation decisions, and what it takes to integrate companies once they’ve been acquired. The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Shiv interviews Aldy Keene, CEO at Loyalty Research Center. In this episode, Aldy shares how to evaluate the quality of relationships to understand how loyal a company’s customer base really is, and how both founders and investors can use that data to create value. Learn why companies should spend more time analyzing their customer base, how to find which segments are truly their best-fit customers, and why expanding their market can stall company growth. The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.