Private Equity Funcast

Jimmy is joined by Tim Schumm, CEO of Lucas James Talent Partners to discuss The Great Resignation. Just about everyone has been impacted by this personally or professionally in some capacity, but mid market businesses can feel this even more acutely. They discuss the macro trends that are driving this phenomenon and then share what the most create mid-market companies are doing to win the war for talent.

We’re hiring! ParkerGale VPs Ben and Nori join Jimmy to discuss the Investment Associate role at ParkerGale. They discuss Associate responsibilities, core values, and what makes the job unique (including, but not limited to, great office snacks). Please share with interested friends or colleagues.

Jimmy is joined by Eric Green, co-founder of WPD Management, a Chicago-based real-estate and property management company, to discuss the recent transformation that Eric guided WPD Management through. They discuss Eric's founder's story and how he built the business, the realization that he needed to extract himself from the day-to-day operations, and how over a 18-month period, he deployed the ParkerGale People Ops playbook, empowered his team, and transformed his business. Jim joins in on the fun to frame the dialogue with Jimmy.

Jimmy is joined by Amanda Lannert, much lauded CEO of Chicago-based Jellyvision, to discuss how Jellyvision is transforming their culture as we emerge from the grips of the pandemic. They discuss how COVID impacted Jellyvision's business, how she has embraced the mantra "purpose, and not presence," how they are re-thinking company communication, and what her team is now doing to invest in meaningful relationships.

ParkerGale Operating Principal Paul Stansik is joined by Zorian Rotenberg, former head of Sales, CRO, and now a PE growth advisor. Zorian and Paul share their approach to diagnosing and addressing typical growth problems, how sales teams can use simple math to set better pipeline targets, and what sets great CROs apart.

Jimmy Holloran and Paul Stansik share the lessons they’ve learned inside the portfolio from the last 2+ years working on teams, talent, and culture. They cover how to get the most out of your next team offsite, what great management training has in common, how to make hiring and performance management more human, and how ParkerGale thinks about fostering cultures that last.

Ryan Milligan discusses the state of the Canadian M&A market with Pierre Chamberland, founder of NetGovern. Pierre describes his roughly 20-year journey from entrepreneur to selling to private equity, followed by a discussion on the state of investing and M&A in Canada and differences with the US market.

Inspired by their friend Dave Kellogg, Devin & Jim discuss the questions Limited Partners (and prospective Limited Partners) ask that you should always know off the top of your head. These are the questions that responding with "let me get back to you on that" will make you look bad, unprepared, or just plain out of touch.

Devin and Cici sit down to discuss how we do commercial due diligence at ParkerGale. You know, all the market sizing, customer calls, surveys, competitive analysis you do after LOI but before you close the deal. We have two eras here at PG -- the way we did commercial diligence before Cici joined us and the way we do it now. Lots of good stuff to learn before you dive into your next transaction. Learn from the best and take notes. We promise it's going to help.

ParkerGale's newly promoted Senior Associate Dean Olson sits down with Devin to talk about his path from Indiana University to working in the private equity industry. Like the interviews we've done in the past with other PG-ers, you'll learn about the career choices made early in your 20s and how Dean thought about his different choices in consulting at Bain & Company to his work at ParkerGale. He reflects on what he's learning and where he's headed next. If you are early in your career or know someone looking to get into PE after college, Dean has a lot of great advice.

Devin sits down with BluWave founder Sean Mooney to discuss how his firm helps PE funds run diligence better and post-closing operations faster. BluWave provides services to 500 PE funds and countless service providers so you can find the right resource at the right time with the right skills for the job at hand -- commercial diligence, sales effectiveness, interim executives, and plenty more. Sean has a unique perspective on PE having worked in the industry prior to founding BluWave in 2016.

Devin is back with Ben Falloon and Cass Ziebel to talk about software buyout lingo. The trio revisits past popular episodes with all new "lingo" updates. Sit back and enjoy, and there just might even be a lesson or two to learn in between all the laughing (or is that crying?).

Jim and Devin are back together on this latest episode, talking about Exits for portfolio companies.  How do we time our exits? Do we get unsolicited offers or do we take them to market? When does management get involved? These are just a few of the questions that we answer on this latest episode.   

Another conversation with Jason Heltzer, Managing Partner at Origin Ventures and a Chicago Booth professor in the second of a three-part series on Board Meetings. In part two we talk about ideal board members -- and the not-so-ideal board members.

Partner Kristine Heinze talks with Kelly Cornelis, Partner and COO of LaSalle Capital, a long time friend of ParkerGale. Kelly talks about her journey clawing her way into Private Equity, and her experiences as a founding member of Chicago Women in Private Equity.

Devin sits down with Christoph Jost and Peter Waleczek, the founders of Berlin-based software buyout fund Flex Capital. Christoph and Peter started as tech entrepreneurs prior to founding Flex and they discuss their process of raising their first fund, what they look for in a deal, how they source companies, and what they do with them after the acquisition. They also talk about the similarities and differences between the US and German tech buyout market.

The ultimate question: “On a scale of 0-10, with 10 being very likely, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” Operating Principal Cici Zheng talks with Jessica Pfeifer, General Manager and Co-Founder of Wootric, an InMoment Company about Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and why it’s the ultimate question to help measure customer loyalty. In this episode, we cover what NPS is, the benchmarks for a good NPS score, and most importantly, why we think it’s important from both the portfolio company and private equity firm perspective. We discuss how ParkerGale uses NPS throughout the lifecycle of an investment, from due diligence, during our hold period, and prior to the sale of a company. We also share some of the key takeaways that our portfolio companies have learned when it comes to implementing a program, whether it’s learning how to close the loop on the customer feedback or how it can help prioritize decision making across all functional areas.  

Devin sits down with Jordan Brugg, the Head of Private Equity at SpencerStuart to discuss his research on whether repeat or first-time CEOs outperform over the long-term. You might be surprised with the findings. Devin and Jordan dive deep into the study, talk about CEO assessment, and offer some tips for people looking for their first CEO job running a PE-backed company.  

Jimmy is joined by Dave Kellogg, Board Member of a couple ParkerGale companies and writer of the Kellblog. The two discuss a classic post from Dave's Kellblog - A Missive To Human Resources, where Dave argues that HR exists to "Help Managers Manage." The two dissect the pithy purpose, discuss common pitfalls People Ops leaders fall into, and share examples when People Ops leaders really shine.

Our newest portfolio company CEO, Todd Dauchy, sits down with Principal Kevin Fitzgerald to talk about his journey from being CTO to the CEO seat.