Private Equity Value Creation Podcast

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 in...

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...

Alan Taetle, General Partner at Noro-Mosley 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 loo...

On this episode, Amyn Hassanally, Partner and Global Head of Private Equity Secondaries at Pantheon, explains why secondaries are better understood as a core portfolio management tool, rather than a source of distressed liquidity, offering practical insight into how investors Learn how to assess GP-led deals and continuation vehicles, how durable value creation is identified, what repeatability re...

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 b...

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...

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 adv...

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 the...

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...

Caroline Tarpey, Managing Director of 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 t...

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 o...

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. Pl...

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, an...

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 the...

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 d...

On this episode Shiv interviews Jeremy Schein, Partner and Member of the Buyouts Investment Committee at Corsair Capital, to discuss how private equity firms can drive enterprise value in financial services through collaborative operating expertise. Jeremy shares Corsair’s approach to partnering with management teams in fintech, payments, and adjacent sectors, emphasizing the importance of alignin...

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...

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...

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...

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 th...

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 acr...

In this solo episode of the Private Equity Value Creation Podcast, Shiv Narayanan breaks down the challenges facing portfolio companies in today’s market—and shares a clear roadmap for investors, CEOs, and revenue leaders to drive growth. From slowing sales pipelines to rising competitive pressures and the impact of AI, many companies are underperforming compared to previous years. Shiv outlines a...

On this episode Shiv Narayanan interviews Craig Jones of TPE Boulder to discuss value creation in lower middle market private equity, focusing on smaller companies with $2-5 million in EBITDA.Craig shares TPE Boulder’s approach to scaling businesses through organic growth, emphasizing diversification by location and provider, strengthening management teams, and addressing technology deficits. He e...

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 as...

On this episode, Shiv Narayanan interviews Andy Lund, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of the Private Funds Group at Houlihan Lokey, to discuss strategies for private equity firms navigating today's challenging fundraising and liquidity environment. Andy shares insights on how GPs can differentiate themselves in a crowded market, leveraging tools like secondary transactions, continuation vehic...