The Art of Software Buyouts

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[00:02:36] - [First question] - His belief about an opportunity/capital mismatch in private equity

[00:04:26] - Adjusting his own approach to take advantage of seemingly niche opportunities

[00:06:13] - Differences between software businesses they invest in versus traditional ones

[00:08:25] - Outline of how he runs their four-hour portfolio meetings

[00:09:53] - Overview of the very first deal he ever made in the software sector

[00:14:01] - The dissonance between the average SaaS company and the ones they try to manage

[00:18:22] - Major contributors that allow for their higher margins

[00:20:16] - Common mistakes of companies that mis-invest capital for growth only

[00:22:28] - Defining what market leader means writ large

[00:23:45] - Why the subsector of cyber security is such a good opportunity set

[00:26:25] - The evolving nature of the private equity world in general

[00:28:41] - Where returns will come from going forward

[00:31:47] - How good is the opportunity for returns in this style of investing today

[00:35:32] - Lessons learned on knowing when to exit or sell a position

[00:37:59] - How short their holding periods can be and how much influence they can have in such a short time

[00:40:04] - Surprising things about deal-making that he’s learned over his career

[00:41:20] - Difficulties and points of frictions in deals that still exist for him today

[00:43:11] - What part of the deal-making process he loves the most

[00:44:30] - If your job title has a C in it you’re not allowed to complain about it

[00:46:27] - Deeply held beliefs about operating excellence

[00:47:33] - What the word service means to him given everything we’ve talked about 

[00:50:27] - How we do a better job of inviting talent into this space

[00:52:51] - How decentralization will define the 2020s and beyond

[00:55:48] - What is most interesting about Web3 that might affect cyber security

[00:57:42] - Where there is a lack in innovation in private equity today

[01:00:45] - Advice for young talent for building their careers

[01:03:16] - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for him