Private Equity Executive Coaching
For a Investment Professional play the game smarter
YOU'VE HIT A SPEED BUMP AT WORK
You've always been able to figure it out, but you don't see a clear path forward, and it's unsettling.
I help highly successful achievers like you shift back into gear and move forward.
I HELP YOU LEVEL UP
You’re an investment professional at a Private Equity or Growth Equity firm looking to maximize the value of your seat, and do it with less stress, more confidence and clarity. Perhaps you’ve just been promoted to Partner or lateraled to a new firm and want to ensure you come out of the gate strong.
Alternatively you didn’t get the nod. Instead you feel anxious, unheard, and frustrated. Sure, you’re doing fine, but you have high standards and know you could be doing more.
You’re stuck in a cycle of reacting, putting out fires and second guessing your instincts, instead of trusting your intuition, intentionally using your time and maximizing your impact.
When everything is going right, you see flashes of your own brilliance, when it’s not, it’s hard to quiet your mind, and react without emotion. I help you, move past your ego, and make space to tune into your brilliance on demand.
You’re getting results, but you know you could be doing more, and making more.
Your time in the seat is ticking away, but you never have a moment to zoom out and create a business plan to develop a thriving franchise. You’re ready to take stock, and become the producer and leader you expect of yourself.
You want to be the leader of the pack, not just near the top. You’d like to take this opportunity to re-underwrite your business and emerge as the dealmaker you know you could be.
You want to get the most out of your seat, but you feel like you don’t have a clear game plan.
The execution skills that got you here have little to do with your new job as producer. It’s not your fault. Until now your value has come from your precision and perfection. You’re suddenly an entrepreneur and sales person, but no one trained you for this and there’s little guidance from your firm.
You don’t want to waste your opportunity.
As a (rising) Partner, your value-add is all about deploying capital with strong risk-adjusted returns. If you’re not putting money to work, your enterprise is not generating value to the owners (GPs) or shareholders (LPs). If you’re not putting money to work, you’re not part of the conversation. If you aren’t part of the conversation, you are irrelevant.
That said, it’s hard to find great deals when you’re caught on the hamster wheels of reacting to inbound calls and CIMs. Maybe you’re killing deals too quickly, or not showing enough conviction in front of the IC.
I speak your language. I get your day-to-day, and I can help. You have a choice: be a thriving entrepreneur or a frustrated order taker. I will help you shift from a status quo grinder to a visionary deal maker.
You’ve worked so hard to get here. The choice to level up is yours.
I help you do it in a fraction of the time and effort.
What Happens during our Weekly Session?
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Who is a Typical Client?
PARTNER, Middle Market Private Equity: Recently promoted Partner at a MM PE firm. Feeling positive. But no meaningful progress on deal origination over the past year. Fear if no progress, then will be pushed out / demoted / have to find another seat. Grinded so hard to get here; frustrated sourcing wasn’t coming more naturally.
PARTNER, Private Equity: Partner at PE firm successfully sourcing and originating deals, but having trouble navigating dynamics between long standing co-founders in their final years at the helm. Looking to better advocate for his economics / make more money and get deals through with more ease.
PARTNER, Real Estate Private Equity: global firm shuttered US Acquisitions and offered him role in Europe which he didn’t want. Boss critical of his working style. Needed to mend perception issues with boss, angle for a new position internally, while considering whether he’d outgrown the firm.
PARTNER, Private Equity: Astounding track record of origination and investing, but founder felt client overthought things. Founder wanted client to succeed him, but told him he had to change the way he came across. He felt a lot of the founder’s perception was unfair and carried over from his junior behavior a decade ago. Needed help becoming aware of any limiting behaviors and shifting perception at the same time.
Executive Coaching:
Practical, Actionable Coaching Topics
Create Recurring Deal Sourcing Process: as a deal captain, you were focused on making sure everything about the deal was perfect. You didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about sourcing. Now, it’s the only thing that matters.
Sourcing Deals Your IC Will Fund: sick of bringing deals to the table that get shot down at the initial screen, or IOI / LOI stage. Your perfectly analyzed deals don’t matter if you can’t get your IC to wave them in.
Effective IC Presentation & Management: obsessed with being perfect, or anxious about the intelligent management of the IC members. There is an art to standing up to skepticism. Learn to have conviction around a deal and enlisting the collective mindshare of your IC, all while not being derailed by the holes they inevitably highlight.
How To Win Over Management Teams: the only blueprint you’ve ever seen executed is the tradition of boring them to death with the history of your firm. Don’t be boring. You’re not wikipedia. Learn how to more dynamically understand management’s desire in a potential transaction.
Creating Effective Working Relationships With Port Co CEOs: you’re 20 years younger than the CEO, + the owner of their company. Don’t get in a pissing match. Learn how to prevent role reversal, establish yourself as the boss while allowing the CEO to maintain their dignity, and autonomy.
Leadership & Self-Mastery: feedback about your interpersonal style states that you’re too aggressive, or too quiet. Whatever it is. You’re too much of something. You need to get your teams buy in, and fast… but how? Stop trying to change the people around you. Become aware of your presentation and change the way you show up.
Time Management: Clients often send me a screenshot of their calendar for the week. It’s one meeting after the next. With zoom, it’s become a week of never ending meetings. How do you better manage your week, to get more of what matters (deal sourcing) done, and actually have some time for a life outside work.
Delegation: You feel like you still have to do everything, or senior Partners are still treating you like an execution VP. How do you get all the non-senior busywork off your plate?
Internal Politics: If you tell me you hate politics, I’ll tell you that you are likely underperforming at your job. Learn how to view your bosses and LPs as your “shareholders.” Create an IR department and spend time treating them like the very important clients they are. You can grind out the work, but these stakeholders determine your trading multiple.
Case Study 1: Principal Direct Lending
Principal being overlooked by CIO of direct lending shop. Frustrated at inability to be promoted to client deal sourcer. Feeling trapped in junior role, stuck in unhealthy pattern with boss.
“I was able to use the coaching sessions to get past my emotions and focus my energy on getting what I wanted.”
The Coaching Process:
Tactically attempted to mend relations with boss; de-escalated hostility; got some room to grow
Upon seeing boss was stubborn and played favorites, negotiated a “friendly” exit without offending boss
Took role with promotion at new firm; quickly became head of direct lending industry sector by producing
Learned to set up his own business, serve sponsor clients, win marketshare
Coaching Results
Generated >$500mm direct loans in first 18 months
Got promoted to MD
Created repeatable, sustainable lending franchise at major PE firm
He is now appreciated for his ability to generate enterprise value for his current firm; and being economically awarded
Client Testimonial
When I reached out to JD, I had just received an unfair EOY review and lack of promotion. While I didn’t agree with my boss, I knew I had to take action – I’m not someone who takes things lying down. JD helped me assess the situation, spoke to my boss, and helped me decide to sever the relationship. While I was pretty angry at the injustice, I was able to use the coaching sessions to get past my emotions and focus my energy on getting what I wanted. I gracefully exited a toxic work situation which in hindsight could have kept me stuck in a subpar role. Fastforward, I found a fantastic new role, have ascended to head of my group, been able to perform at a higher level and am loving it. I’ve also learned how to “build” a book of business, and am creating a “flywheel” with my sponsor clients which will generate value for my firm and me personally for years to come. Absolute no brainer to get coaching, and a fantastic weekly refocus of my brain three years into our coaching relationship. Staggering ROI.
Case Study 2: New Partner MM PE Firm
Recently promoted Partner at a MM PE firm. Feeling positive. But no meaningful progress on deal origination over the past year. Fear if no progress, then will be pushed out / demoted / have to find another seat. Grinded so hard to get here; frustrated sourcing wasn’t coming more naturally.
“It’s the ultimate advantage in this world where so much is at stake. An hour a week is giving me an unfair advantage over my peers who are toiling with no plan.”
The Coaching Process:
Reoriented 80% of time to top-of-funnel “sourcing”
Got him out of being his mentors gopher on portco add-ons; restructured relationship to drive junior requests to juniors
Developed “deal archetype” of what types of deals his firm historically elected to invested in (back into what might work)
Communicated deal archetype to bankers and BD lead to clarify what deals to send his way
Developed strategies to get conviction in deal; navigate deal through IC to funding
Coaching Results
Sourcing up 10x YoY as measurable through ERP database
Submitted 3 of 10 LOIs (at 5 partner firm) this year
Funded first deal
Client Testimonial
When I googled and found JD, the clock was ticking – I had been a partner for a year, my firm really liked me, but I was nowhere on deal origination. A year had passed, and I was still doing VP/Principal work. I had no plan for how I was going to change this dynamic. I also knew that I can execute on anything when I do have a plan. What I needed was a secret mentor who could help me reorient my time and thinking. JD has helped countless guys like me make this exact transition, so we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. With laser-like focus, he quickly showed me the root of my inability to create a plan. Then we created a plan and as I started to execute, I stopped doing the junior stuff, and found myself at the center of banker conversations, leading management presentations, and convincing my IC as to the merits of deals. A year later, I am one of the most productive Deal Partners at my firm and am confident I have the process to sustain this in the years to come. I show up to coaching each week – because why wouldn’t I? It’s the ultimate advantage in this world where so much is at stake. An hour a week is giving me an unfair advantage over my peers who are toiling with no plan.
Case Study 3: Principal, Growth Equity
Anxiety about being overlooked for partnership. Fighting “perception” of not bringing the firm / having the personality to lead a deal. Higher quality of work than peers, but not widely recognized by partner group due to mild manner. Can’t seem to get out from under VP/assistant requests.
“The best part is the enjoyment I experience running my own deals: negotiating with management / seller / bankers, syndicating to co-investors, communicating with committee – I’m quarterbacking as I was always meant to.”
The Coaching Process
Reoriented his work away from perfection to focusing on big picture: sourcing proprietary deals and getting in front of committee
Helped him stop killing deals that weren’t perfect; instead learning to bring deals more frequently to IC, show them the qualities of the deals he was looking at, let them be included in his decisions
Helped him refine his industry focus, and think creatively to carve out a new niche coverage
Results
Increased visibility with partnership group; got him recognized for his talent as deal maker
Promoted to Partner
Led first deal in new sector
Using his time on Partner level issues; delegating and dumping stuff to VPs… doing what it took to get junior resources
Helped him create new investment area, spin off to head his own group more inline with the firm’s philosophy
Client Testimonial
I felt up against a wall and no longer in control of my destiny. I had worked to become a partner at one of the most successful firms in the world, and suddenly it felt as if the opportunity was slipping out of my hands. After increasing emotional anguish, consulting a lot of b-school buddies, one friend made me aware of coaching. I found in JD someone with uniquely specialized knowledge of the GE/PE buyside world. Having spent 15 years in the industry, he understands the subtlety, personalities and how to play the game. Very quickly I went from my feeling of anguish, to having a plan to advocate for myself, get noticed by IC, and actually print my own deal. Work turned from an energy of “why is this happening to me” to taking the bull by the horns and going after what I wanted. Fastforward 15 months, I’m now a partner, I’ve put points on the board, and I’m executing a plan to source and fund deals for years to come. I’ve reduced the noise in my life, delegated, recruited more junior support and managed a lot of tricky relationships at the firm. Probably the best part is the enjoyment I experience running my own deals: negotiating with management / seller / bankers, syndicating to co-investors, communicating with committee – I’m quarterbacking as I was always meant to. It’s crazy to think 18 months ago I was having fears of going un-noticed. Given my points and earnings as Partner at stake, the coaching result to solidify my place in the partnership has been my best investment in my career.
Case Study 4: Partner, Private Equity
Partner at PE firm successfully sourcing and originating deals, but having trouble navigating dynamics between long standing co-founders in their final years at the helm. Looking to better advocate for his economics / make more money and get deals through with more ease.
“While I feel like we started in a psychological blender, I now spend my days very clearly focused on value creation as a team member of a stable and established organization. Life is good.”
The Coaching Process
Outside perspective helped confirm behavior of senior partners was off market
Devised strategy to confront them alone, and with other junior partner
Navigated months of threats and unpleasant interactions with partnership groupHelped him realize his own market worth through meeting with some other firms
Helped him get out of the madness at current firm, and better understand economic opportunity elsewhere
Results
50% increase in carry retroactively in current fund; 2x carry in next fund
Simplified IC process to remove surprises from older partners
Increased harmony and effectiveness of PortCo CEO communications
Ultimately acknowledged the limitations of the founding partners; landed role at much larger firm with greater opportunity
Testimonial
I was skeptical of coaching but thought JD might be able to help having worked at a number of world class buyside institutions. I had just received another shot across the bow from my senior partner – alleging that while I was a productive deal partner, he didn’t like my “communication style” – a seemingly veiled threat to change or else he’d fire me. I was pretty freaked out – we had never had the most harmonious bond, but we got the work done. As I was nearing success on several recent deals, it was fishy that he was becoming more irritated with me. JD immediately helped me get my head straight and see I was dealing with an older man in his decline who was threatened by my aggressive deal-making style and ambitions. All the while, he pained in making decisions and had executed very few deals over the same time period. JD helped me calm tensions with him, have the drama stop wasting my time and energy, and we refocused my time on maximizing personal enterprise value. I successfully negotiated meaningful step-ups in firm economics to align with my contributions, and reduced the friction with IC in making new investments through more strategic communication. Ultimately I recognized my ability to produce had outgrown my current firm, and with JD’s confidence, found a much larger role at a leading PE firm. While I feel like we started in a psychological blender, I now spend my days very clearly focused on value creation as a team member of a stable and established organization. Life is good.