Invest Like The Best
Episode 291 Investing in Enterprise Software
Invest Like The Best

Episode 291: Investing in Enterprise Software

Invest Like The Best

Episode 291

Investing in Enterprise Software

Robert Smith is the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. We cover what makes a business an ideal fit for Vista, the importance of capital cycles on price and sentiment, and what he's learned from building an iconic investing franchise.

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[00:02:34] - [First question] - What the enterprise software market looks and feels like to him

[00:05:52] - Whether or not software is becoming a saturated market and what will drive demand over the coming decades

[00:09:42] - Bringing an engineering mindset to enterprise software investing and culture

[00:12:36] - A single change he made to a business that stands out most in memory

[00:14:33] - Qualities that are most critical in defining a good enterprise software company

[00:18:07] - How the profile of companies he’s bought has changed over the years

[00:20:33] - Categories of software he tends to gravitate towards 

[00:23:56] - Evolving his model for considering what multiple to pay for a business and thinking about price revenue growth multiples 

[00:27:17] - Lessons learned about customer churn over his twenty two year career

[00:29:44] - Capital cycles and how much they truly impact the software world 

[00:31:53] - What elements of building Vista have most appealed to him over the years  

[00:34:31] - Changing their investment strategy as the world continues to change

[00:38:06] - The war for talent and his senior team would debate most 

[00:40:01] - Biggest mistakes Vista has made and what they taught him

[00:41:09] - What has him most insecure or paranoid about the platform he’s built

[00:43:10] - The advice he’d give on having good relationships with LPs

[00:44:57] - The largest risk he or Vista has ever intentionally taken 

[00:46:15] - What he’s learned about having a winning negotiations and sales approach

[00:49:27] - Who he’d give all of his capital to that has nothing to do with Vista

[00:50:06] - How he arrived at the themes he tends to be philanthropic towards

[00:53:08] - The work he does in the foster world

[00:54:49] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

Investing in Enterprise Software

Introduction

Patrick My guest today is Robert Smith, the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. An engineer by training, Robert started Vista at the turn of the millennium and built it into one of the world's most successful software focused investment firms. We discussed the white space left in enterprise software investing, the importance of capital cycles, and what he's learned building an iconic investing franchise. Please enjoy my discussion with Robert Smith.

Guiding Principles For Software Investing

So Robert, I was toying with where to begin our discussion. And because we're in such an interesting market for software companies, let's say, if you just looked at public equities where multiples have come way down, my first question is one of perspective. You've been investing in software, maybe more specifically enterprise software, for a very long time. I think if you have to find the right pond to fish in, you found this pond earlier than most. Maybe just lend some perspective to us on what this market looks and feels like to you versus your long history backing these sorts of businesses.

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