
Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business
Private equity insights for and with top business builders, including investors, operators, executives and industry thought leaders. The Karma School of Business Podcast goes behind the scenes of PE, talking about business best practices and real-time industry trends. You'll learn from leading professionals and visionary business executives who will help you take action and enhance your life, whether you’re at a PE firm, a portco or a private or public company.
BluWave Founder & CEO Sean Mooney hosts the Private Equity Karma School of Business Podcast. BluWave is the business builders’ network for private equity grade due diligence and value creation needs.
To learn more, visit: https://bit.ly/3oPBjs8
Latest episodes

Sep 6, 2023 • 51min
Scott Becker, McGuireWoods | The Window of Opportunity: Healthcare and PE Insights
The Karma School of Business is joined by a recognizable name in both the private equity and healthcare communities. Scott Becker, founder of Becker's Healthcare and Partner at McGuireWoods shares valuable insight to business owners and PE professionals: 2:09 - Scott's background in PE and founding Becker's Healthcare 6:14 - The origin story of Becker's Healthcare and the window of opportunity 13:29 - Top healthcare trends for PE and business executives 19:27 - How machine learning and AI factor into the healthcare ecosystem 22:26 - Governmental regulations around investing in healthcare for PE 29:30 - Private equity bringing healthcare to underserved populations 32:09 - Experience with getting investment from a PE firm 41:33 - Scott's book recommendations To learn more about Becker's Healthcare, go to https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/ To learn more about McGuireWoods, go to https://www.mcguirewoods.com/ To learn more about BluWave and this podcast, go to https://www.bluwave.net/podcast/

Aug 31, 2023 • 43min
Gabe Mesanza, Huron Capital | An Expert Perspective on Culture, Growth and Cash Flow in Private Equity
A Partner and Resource Group Lead from Huron Capital, Gabe Mesanza, joins the Karma School of Business to discuss a wide variety of tactics for business leaders and private equity professionals. In this episode, we discuss: 1:20 - Gabe's path to private equity and engineering mindset 9:58 - The traits of a great business: people and culture 17:27 - Perspective into the evolution of value creation in the PE industry 25:42 - Growing through uncertain economies 33:10 - Gabe's advice to his younger self 38:58 - A life hack for handwritten note takers For more information on Huron Capital, go to https://www.huroncapital.com/ For more information on BluWave and this podcast, go to https://www.bluwave.net/podcast

Aug 24, 2023 • 39min
John Kirk, Tuckerman Capital | The Key to Modern Private Equity and Business Growth: People
The Karma School of Business is joined by John Kirk, a Deal Partner and Operating Advisor at Tuckerman Capital. John shares his unique perspective on people, business growth, and perseverance. We discuss: 1:20 - John's path to private equity 6:04 - Hiking the Appalachian Trail and a lesson in perseverance 11:32 - Finding a great business: growth mindset 13:31 - Finding a great business: alignment to secular trends 14:30 - Finding a great business: identifiable differentiation 18:18 - The modern private equity process: managing the motion offense 25:28 - The differentiators between businesses that are successful and those that aren't 29:55 - How the best business builders in the world act in times of uncertainty 34:01 - John's book recommendation For more information on Tuckerman Capital, go to www.tuckermancapital.com For more information on BluWave and this podcast, go to www.bluwave.net/podcast

Aug 17, 2023 • 32min
Scott Phillips, Orix Capital Partners | How to Focus on the Things That Matter in Private Equity
Scott Phillips, a Managing Director at Orix Capital Partners, joins the Karma School of Business podcast to discuss key data monitoring and choosing the key KPIs that really help companies grow. In this episode we discuss: 0:53 - Scott's path to private equity (including a background in industrial modeling) 6:22 - Identifying businesses that could or will be great 14:01 - The trend towards value creation and a unique approach 22:38 - Working with portfolio companies to find opportunities in uncertain times 27:58 - Scott's advice to his younger self: resilience For more information on Orix Capital Partners, go to www.orixcapitalpartners.com For more information on BluWave and this podcast, go to www.bluwave.net/podcast

Aug 8, 2023 • 48min
Paul Stansik, ParkerGale Capital | The Sales Metric Playbook: A Private Equity Guide to Measuring Sales Growth
The Karma School of Business podcast is joined by Paul Stansik, an Operating Partner at ParkerGale Capital, to discuss his Sales Metric Playbook and overall approach to growth within portfolio companies. In the episode, we discuss: 2:06 - Paul's origin story and path to private equity 8:01 - The Sales Metrics Playbook and the importance of clean data 15:42 - What to do after you've got clean data 20:08 - Analyzing specific cohorts of revenue 30:04 - Managing long-term revenue goals versus short-term 36:42 - What benefits the key questions in the Sales Metric Playbook have in portcos 40:17 - Prioritizing sales opportunities 44:20 - The importance of marketing To get in touch with Paul and ParkerGale, go to parkergale.com. To get on the list for the weekly Sales Metric Playbook, go to parkergale.com/weekly-sales-metrics. For more information on BluWave and this podcast, go to bluwave.net/podcast.

Aug 3, 2023 • 53min
AI Roundtable: Tangible Takeaways to Help Leverage Artificial Intelligence
In this special episode, we have exclusive audio from our recent webinar: Activating AI: Empowering Your Business for Success. The panel of experts from this webinar includes: Alex Castrounis, Founder and CEO, Why of AI Nik Kapauan, Principal, Access Holdings Ken McLaren, Partner, AI, Frazier Healthcare Partners Keith Thomas, National Practice Lead, Security Operations, AT&T The panel, moderated by Karma School of Business host, Sean Mooney, includes the following topics: 4:40 - What pre-cursor activities to perform before diving in to AI 10:20 - Things that companies should keep in mind to remain secure 13:50 - Expert opinions on best in class tools 27:23 - Most addressable use cases for everyday companies 34:07 - Considerations that companies should take when implementing tools off the shelf 39:03 - Things that may take shape in the near future 46:55 - Answering FAQs To view the on-demand webinar, go to www.bluwave.net/demystifying-ai-webinar-registration/. For more information on this podcast, go to www.bluwave.net/podcast. www.whyofai.com www.accessholdings.com www.frazierhealthcare.com www.att.com

Jul 25, 2023 • 41min
Brit Yonge, Corsair Capital | An Expert Perspective on Strategy and Resilience in Private Equity
Join us for an in-depth conversation with Brit Yonge, an Operating Partner at Corsair Capital, to hear his expert perspective: 1:29 - Brit's path to private equity 6:23 - How Brit formed his values from serving the US Military 13:45 - Characteristics for evaluating a great company 21:56 - Working with management teams to build great companies 25:44 - Persevering through an uncertain economy 32:15 - Personal/professional growth books and topics from Brit For more information on Corsair Capital, go to www.corsair-capital.com. For more information on this podcast, go to www.bluwave.net/podcast.

Jul 18, 2023 • 9min
Q2 Snapshot: Key Findings from BluWave's Private Equity Insights Report
Listen as Sean Mooney discusses private equity findings from the Q2 2023 BluWave Insights Report. The report uncovers how private equity firms are taking action, securing safety and finding success. In this episode, Sean discusses: 1:02 - Why value creation is surging 3:33 - Cooling activity on human capital 4:32 - Growing activity across other value creation sectors 5:12 - The trend toward data and AI 6:30 - An update on 2023 predictions To download the full report, go to www.bluwave.net/insights-report/.

Jul 13, 2023 • 33min
Cici Zheng, ParkerGale Capital | Private Equity Advice on Pricing, Human Capital and More
We're joined by Cici Zheng, a Partner from ParkerGale Capital to give her operations-focused perspective on many different private equity topics. Listen to the conversation as we discuss: 2:30 - Cici's path to private equity 8:19 - What traits show a company has potential 13:06 - Focusing on all facets of a company 17:18 - The strategy behind working with portco management teams 20:31 - Navigating uncertain economies 24:05 - Getting buy-in from portco sales teams on pricing changes 27:31 - Cici's advice to her younger self To learn more about ParkerGale Capital, go to www.parkergale.com. To learn more about BluWave and this podcast, go to www.bluwave.net/podcast.

Jun 29, 2023 • 37min
David Hellier, Bertram Capital | Harnessing Data to Innovate, Differentiate and Evolve
We're joined by David Hellier, a partner at Bertram Capital, to discuss: 1:31 - His background and what brought him to private equity 5:40 - How private equity is evolving 9:18 - David's story about throwing out the first pitch 11:09 - Overcoming adversity and being differentiated 16:23 - Running private equity like a business 22:37 - How data and AI will impact productivity 27:50 - Finding opportunity admidst uncertainty 34:08 - David's life hack For more information on Bertram Capital, go to their website: bertramcapital.com For more information about this podcast, go to bluwave.net/podcast