Private Equity Value Creation Podcast

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 motions that are genuinely executable. Learn how AI is redefining services today, with modernized offerings, targeted use cases and the build-vs-buy decisions that keep firms ahead of market shifts. The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Caroline Tarpey, Managing Director at 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 the rising importance of authority-driven content and deeper voice-of-customer insights. Tune in to hear how SaaS companies can stay competitive by leveraging proprietary data and refining their strategy for an AI-first buying journey.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

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 operational side—how a team of former operators supports founders day-to-day—and the patterns Cypress sees as these companies mature toward growth equity or strategic outcomes.

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. Plus, learn how why creativity, customer discovery and humility matter more than rigid playbooks. Tune in as Rafael breaks down how to execute these approaches in practice—including pre-close planning to 80%+ detail, turning vertical focus into competitive advantage and knowing when to make people changes immediately post-close.

In this engaging conversation, Josh Christensen, Director at Mercato Partners, discusses the unique advantages of minority growth investing and ecosystem building. With a wealth of experience in scaling companies, he reveals strategies for embedding sales and marketing expertise to drive substantial growth. Josh emphasizes the importance of founder commitment while navigating investments outside coastal hubs. He shares insights on community events that create genuine deal flow and the significance of relationship-building in achieving measurable value creation.

Riccardo Basile, Operating Partner at Permira, specializes in commercial transformation and has built a dynamic 24-person value creation team. He shares insights on making value creation a competitive advantage by embedding operational excellence throughout the investment cycle. Riccardo emphasizes balancing in-house expertise with external resources and highlights the role of GenAI in enhancing portfolio performance. His strategies provide a blueprint for firms looking to refine their operating models and drive measurable results.

Rita Ferrandino, Co-founder of Arc Capital Development, specializes in propelling growth for education companies and advising on AI-driven transformations. In this conversation, she reveals a playbook for navigating economic downturns, emphasizing the importance of risk assessment and financial health. Rita warns against superficial AI applications and advises companies to solidify existing customer relationships and build top-tier teams before integrating new technologies. She highlights unique challenges posed by AI in today's market and the necessity for strategic pre-planning.

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 aligning on value creation strategies early. He explores how their operating partner model leverages technical expertise in human capital, product technology, and go-to-market strategies to transform portfolio companies.He also dives into navigating the complexities of AI integration, balancing short-term priorities with long-term investments like rebranding, and ensuring management teams are equipped to execute on ambitious growth plans.

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 equity, emphasizing sustainable growth over high-risk VC funding. Key topics include the downsides of VC (such as portfolio theory encouraging all-or-nothing scaling), the benefits of bootstrapping or using debt for most software businesses, avoiding premature scaling, prioritizing customer-funded growth, and Scaleworks' approach to acquiring and accelerating 5-10M revenue SaaS companies by building go-to-market teams in-house, bringing in new CEOs, and focusing on levers like pricing, category specialization, and dispassionate product decisions. Ed also covers deal structures, value creation through centralization in San Antonio, resistance to playbooks, and aiming for acquisitions driven by inbound interest rather than fixed timelines.

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 they identify and support first-time CEOs, often straight out of business school, to acquire and scale small to mid-sized businesses. She details what Pacific Lake looks for in potential searchers—from “followership” and “figure-it-out-ness” to true commitment to the ETA path—and how their team of experts guides these entrepreneurs through diligence, acquisition, and operational scaling.The conversation also covers how Pacific Lake structures incentives and equity for searchers, maintains a 70%+ acquisition rate, and leverages a dedicated value creation team to help new CEOs build leadership capacity, professionalize go-to-market and operations, and pursue add-on acquisitions. Lindsay also discusses their long-term hold strategy, designed to give successful CEOs liquidity while continuing to compound value in the firm’s strongest companies.This episode offers a deep look at how Pacific Lake has helped shape the ETA ecosystem, supporting over 300 search funds and more than 150 acquisitions, and the lessons they’ve learned about people, prioritization, and partnership as the foundation of value creation.