Minds Capital Podcast The 3-5-7x MOIC Underwriting Framework
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Aug 27, 2025 Rick Apple, founder of Upside Growth Partners and a Princeton grad, shares his journey of scaling 12 platforms while raising five kids. He discusses the delicate balance of entrepreneurship and family life, emphasizing smart sourcing and deliberate underwriting. The conversation dives into private equity insights, the importance of accurate data for deal valuation, and evolving investment strategies from high-risk startups to established acquisitions. Rick also highlights the challenges of entrepreneurship, branding, and building investor networks, while sharing personal anecdotes and advice.
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Maturation Drives Strategy Shift
- Upside evolved from hands-on micro-investing to larger independent sponsor deals as founders sought scale and repeatability.
- Moving up allows bigger checks, better hires, and clearer playbooks to drive returns.
Beaufort Bonnet Seeded The Model
- Rick and Eric invested personal time and money into Beaufort Bonnet and leaned in operationally to grow it.
- That hands-on effort led to a sale to a public company and seeded Upside's future model.
Set A Clear Financial Buy Box
- Target businesses with ≥$10M revenue or ≥$2M EBITDA to afford better talent and infrastructure quickly.
- Allocate $10–30M equity per deal to scale platforms without overextending time and resources.