Bootstrap stories and Kendra Scott case study

Leon Brujis, Partner and Co-Head of U.S. at 65 Equity Partners

Leon Brujis shares how his firm is redefining private equity through non-control investments in founder-led businesses. In this conversation, Leon breaks down why the best companies are never for sale, how immigrant adaptability translates to investing success, and why boring, disciplined deal-making consistently outperforms flashy transactions. He also walks through his framework for negotiating term sheets and building relationships that span years before cutting checks north of $200 million.

Things You'll Learn

• Why non-control "partnership capital" allows PE firms to capture the alpha of founder-led companies that outperform by 3x
• How to structure competitive fundraising processes that balance relationship-building with deal tension—without talking to 60 firms
• The five-point framework for negotiating term sheets: value, structure, governance, strategy alignment, and exit planning

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This episode is brought to you by S&P Global.

Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence. If you're in corp dev or PE, you know the pain — good private company data is hard to come by. Everyone's still chasing clean, reliable, up-to-date data. I started out using CapIQ Pro for public comps, but didn't realize until recently how deep their private company coverage has gotten. Over 58 million private companies, global reach, and actually usable for real deal work. This isn't surface-level. You get real metrics — ownership, financials, funding rounds, even asset-level insights. So if you're still toggling between a dozen tools trying to piece together the picture, maybe it's time to stop guessing and start sourcing better.

Learn More Here: https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/solutions/products/private-company-data?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=MAScienceH225

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Episode Chapters

[00:01:00] From Engineering to Wall Street – How Leon's immigrant journey led him from Lehman Brothers to 20+ years in private equity

[00:05:30] The Immigrant Advantage – Why cultural adaptability creates flexibility in deal-making and relationship management

[00:10:00] The 65 Equity Model – Non-control investments in founder-led businesses generating $20-100M EBITDA

[00:16:00] Pull vs. Push Value Creation – Why partnership capital relies on influence, not mandates

[00:24:00] Underwriting Relationships First – Spending 1-2 years building conviction before writing $200M+ checks

[00:33:00] Crisis of Comfort – Getting comfortable being uncomfortable as the key to growth in business and life

[00:43:00] Making M&A Boring – Why consistency and discipline beat motivation and excitement every time

[00:48:00] Term Sheet Negotiation Framework – The five buckets that matter: value, structure, governance, strategy, and exit

[00:56:30] Running a Competitive Process – How to balance broad outreach with targeted relationship-building

[01:01:00] The Craziest Thing in M&A – When deal fever overtakes discipline and creates the next crisis

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Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.