How a Tough PE Market & AI are Changing Exec Search (w/ Nick Cromydas of Hunt Club)
Private Equity FunCast
The deep Rolodex model for headhunters doesn't cut it anymore. PE’s cookie-cutter hiring scorecards now miss the best candidates in a complex world. And more and more funds are hiring internal teams to source CEOs. The executive search business is under pressure and has to adapt to survive. In this episode, Devin sits down with Nick Cromydas, to answer the question: how does executive search stay relevant? Nick is the co-founder and CEO of , an AI-enabled search firm that pairs a GLG-style expert network with first-party data from countless executive searches. His team has...
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Financial Modeling Will Never be the Same (w/ Tarun Amasa of Endex)
Private Equity FunCast
In the past year, Excel AI plugins have become increasingly powerful, raising the question: Are Analysts and Associates about to become obsolete, or are we entering the age of the 10x modeler? On this episode, Devin and Caroline Phipps, a ParkerGale VP, go deep on AI and how it’s changing the game. They’re joined by Tarun Amasa, Founder & CEO of Endex, an OpenAI-backed startup automating modeling for private equity and investment banks. We discuss building models from scratch, automating workflows, and auditing it all so you don’t look bad in the IC. Learn about our use cases for...
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Private Equity is Coming For Your 401(k) (w/ PitchBook’s Nizar Tarhuni)
Private Equity FunCast
Your 401(k) is about to get access to private equity, but how, in what form, and at what price are all still TBD. Which is kind of a problem for such a big change. The pitch for putting private markets in retirement accounts is all about fairness: regular people got locked out of the hottest private companies, such as SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Stripe. But the products actually getting built are something else entirely. They are semi-liquid, evergreen, with various fee wrappers, and most of what you'll be offered is actually private credit rather than private equity or venture capital....
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Will AI Kill Consulting? (w/ IGS CEO Matt Umscheid)
Private Equity FunCast
AI is reshaping the consulting industry faster than the internet or remote work ever did. Some say the industry’s days are numbered. So why are Anthropic and OpenAI building PE-backed consulting firms of their own? And how will private equity firms and the companies they own feel the change? We get into what AI is actually doing to the consulting industry, why it’s hitting faster than any tech shift before it, and how consulting firms are using AI to transform themselves to stay ahead of their clients. If you’re an investor, an operator, a consultant, or just trying to figure out where...
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How Private Equity Is Rethinking AI & Tech Due Diligence (According to Code & Co.)
Private Equity FunCast
Artificial intelligence is changing the rules of software investing, forcing private equity firms to adapt quickly and carefully. In this episode, we’re joined by the team from Code & Co., one of the leading AI and tech due diligence firms serving private equity investors, to discuss how AI is transforming the way software companies are evaluated before a deal closes. Jim sits down with Code & Co. Managing Partners Dan Bender and Lukas Ingelheim along with Head of North America Kirby Montgomery to explain why tech due diligence is no longer just a checkbox exercise. Dan, Lukas and...
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What’s Working NOW At Private Equity Owned Companies
Private Equity FunCast
It‘s hard to execute today. Growth has slowed, and costs are up. If you own, advise, or operate a PE-backed company, this episode offers a behind the scenes look at some plays you can run to execute your way through the chop. Paul Stansik and Jim Milbery cover sales training, customer support data, weekly go-to-market reporting, speed-to-lead, AI-assisted engineering, video marketing, release velocity, and other practical moves that are improving execution. These are all moves you can make that we've seen make a difference. Try some out yourself and let us know how it goes. Private Equity...
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Inside Private Equity’s AI-led Transformation (w/ Kyle Roemer of Accordion)
Private Equity FunCast
Everyone says they are one-shotting workflows with AI. We brought on the guy who can tell us what's actually happening in middle-market private equity companies. Kyle Roemer, Head of Data & AI at Accordion, has a unique view because his firm advises over 350+ private equity clients. He can see what's real and what's hype, and Accordion has the Ramp data to tell the difference. Kyle walks Devin through the rapid changes over the past year, function by function, so you can decide if you’re ahead or behind. One prediction: the Office of the CFO will go through the biggest revolution over...
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How We Broke Into Private Equity
Private Equity FunCast
How do you make the leap from the college quad to private equity? Associates Liz Xu and Niko Ivanisevic share their unexpected journey to the offices of ParkerGale. They get honest about imposter syndrome, the myth of the "perfect path," building a personal story beyond your resume, and why you should never chew gum in a job interview. Whether you're an undergrad planning your career or a junior banker wondering what's next, this episode is full of practical advice for how to break into the industry.
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The Secret Formula to Drive Your Company’s Growth
Private Equity FunCast
Most B2B software companies have more growth left in what they already sell. This framework shows exactly where to find it — and where to stop looking. Jim Milbery and Paul Stansik walk through the Ansoff Matrix, a simple four-quadrant tool for organizing every growth conversation a software company will ever have. New market or existing market? New product or current product? Sounds obvious, but it's an argument that can derail board meetings, kill roadmaps, and send sales teams down blind alleys. What if chasing new markets and new products is actually the thing slowing you down? Jim and...
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The Right Way to Hire Salespeople
Private Equity FunCast
Most B2B sales reps are professionally trained to make you like them in 30 minutes. But when you’re recruiting salespeople, likability doesn’t guarantee success. Make the wrong hire and you can lose two years and a chunk of your growth plan. In this episode, Devin and Paul walk through the five qualities ParkerGale tests for (customer focus, structure, accountability, problem-solving, drive), the specific questions we ask in a panel interview, and the trick question that breaks through every rapport-building defense salespeople can muster.
info_outlineJim welcomes old friend and colleague, Jeremy Burton, CEO of Observe, to the podcast. They discuss the importance of observability in modern software development, the evolution of observability, the challenges of distributed applications, and how advancements in data technology and AI are shaping modern software development and troubleshooting.