r/private_equity

How many of you received reference checks on your current or previous PE/PC roles? (Back channeling included and HR BGC doesn’t count) And how many of you do not?

Save your lectures elsewhere. Also no students thanks.

We should all have a place to talk about stuffs like this

Curious what VPs / Principals are having to commit to new funds at LMM and MM firms.

There's a structural shift happening in private equity fund administration that I think is underdiscussed in this sub, especially given how much of our operational infrastructure runs on the assumption it'll keep working the way it did five years ago.

Two camps are forming. On one side, the platform admins (Carta and Sydecar being the most visible) are doubling down on software, automating workflows, layering AI on customer service, and aiming for a SaaS-like margin profile. On the other side, smaller human-led admins are growing partly by absorbing clients who left the platform admins after K-1 delivery failures or unresponsive support. Both camps have real customers, both have real complaints. The question is which model holds up at scale when a fund manager actually needs something handled urgently and correctly.

My read after talking to maybe 15 other GPs over the past year is that the platform admins are winning on price and onboarding speed, but losing on every operational moment that matters most. When K-1s slip in March. When a wire needs to go out same-day. When an LP audit query comes in. When you need someone who knows your fund well enough to answer without having to re-explain the structure. The human-led admins are winning those moments. Trade-off is they cost more and onboard slower. So the real strategic question for the next 24 months isn't "which one is better." It's "which type of client survives best with which model." Smaller emerging managers running 1-2 SPVs probably do fine on the platform side. Anyone running multi-vehicle structures, fund-of-funds, or anything with complex LP reporting is materially better off on the human-led side, and the cost difference is small relative to the operational risk.

What I haven't figured out yet is whether the platform admins can rebuild the human layer fast enough before the high-margin clients churn out. My guess is they can't, because the unit economics that justify their valuations require AI-first support, which is the exact thing the high-margin clients are leaving over. Anyone working inside one of these firms have a different take?

Tried to leverage previous posts but didn't come up with much. Firm is closing a new fund and I am joining at the mid-level with allocated carry, co-invest, etc. Any specific strategies/structure folks have landed on to increase personal tax efficiency of those respective income streams?

Edit: based in the US

Question 1: I'm considering selling my web hosting business. The potential buyer is offering 50% down and 50% seller financing over 36 months. 0% interest. However, the buyout offer is pretty good. $110k over their cash offer.

Question 2: Does anyone know of any PE firms that buy web hosting businesses on the smaller side? Doing about 400k in revenue with 180k SDE.

I am on lexapro 10mg for anxiety, and have been on it for 3 years. Graduated college in 2024 and worked in F&B operations for some prestigious orgs. I recently got the opportunity to join a PE fund in the EU.

I'm considering going off of the lexapro. It has had its pros and cons, but I'm not sure how helpful it will be for me to stay on it long-term.

Would love to hear from others who have navigated their careers while taking an SSRI, especially those with 10+ years experience:

1. has being on an SSRI impacted your performance, motivation, or long-term success?

2. Am I wrong to think that taking lexapro could limit how successful I can be?

Would appreciate any thoughts here, especially from people who have sustained demanding careers while on or after coming off of SSRIs.

Anyone here been at or heard* of a PE firm that effectively stopped/slowed fundraising or was in wind-down mode? Curious how firms handled employee incentives/retention in practice

Edit: this has been really insightful and helpful context for a situation that I unfortunately expect will become more common throughout the industry. Thank you all!

Working in infrastructure for private equity company. Will be eligible to participate in carried interest & Co-Invest scheme soon. Believe need to invest in Co-Invest to be eligible for carry. Still relatively new to PE, but have you seen carry pay off, ie is it worth sticking with one company for 5-7 years to earn potential said return? Any other tips, any specific sectors that do better in this than others etc

I'm interested to learn how much weight does PE funds put on Financial Due Diligence services from an advisor (Big4 or mid-market).

1. Has the current advancements changed any workflow? Have you been able to automate any part of M&A FDD inhouse or pushed advisors to lower fees?

2. What is the primary reason of outsourcing the due diligence process to an external advisor?

3. Going forward, if frontier labs (Claude/ChatGPT) is able to execute FDD, would you execute it inhouse? Would you consider an AI-native service firm for such services?

Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks!

I apologise in advance if this violates any sub rules. Mods and other users, please tell me and I'll edit my post.

Background: I'm fairly new. I have 25 years of work experience: co-founded tech startup in early 2000s, various tech and blue-collar jobs, middle management in corporate and government. Experienced in earned value but this is the first time looking at companies from PE perspective.

All I can say is: OH. MY. GOD!!!

I mean, how do you deal with some of these deluded CEOs? Generally their companies are struggling really badly on the verge of bankruptcy, but their CEOs remain steadfast with their "standard commercial motions".

Dude, you're burning cash like crazy, but they all want $100 million valuations. Like, seriously.

Maybe I'm naive and inexperienced, but how in the hell do investors not pull out from these crazy companies?

Some horror stories in my reply comment below.

Hi everyone, I'm new to the advisory side of the industry.

My firm is currently getting in touch with a few private equity firms, and I've been tasked with doing comprehensive background research on them before we engage further.

I found that most standard Google searches only give me a surface-level understanding of these firms and cannot satisfy my needs. For those of you on the inside, how do you usually conduct research on private equity firms?

I know of some databases like PitchBook, but they are way too expensive for me to pay for by myself. Are there any other go-to sources for understanding a firm's actual reputation and track record?

Would really appreciate your help, Thank you!

I'm a strategy consulting at a t2 firm specializing in PE value creation for portcos and DD's think of (EYP, AlixP, OW, S&, A&M PEPI) and wondering the best way to break into the LMM/MM buyout investing side as an associate for 2027, have around a year of exp rn. Seems that the traction with HH isn't the best simply because they target more bankers and MBB consultants.

Wondering if anyone has any advice or leads to break into the buyside. Also don't really have a preference for location next year as long as it's a large city in the US and by industry it's anything but energy/industrials.

I know it's very hard to break in but putting everything I have into the prepping process and have been cranking out technicals and LBOs.

Thanks!

I am applying for a VP PE ops role. I have consulting experience but the last few years I work in the industry with PnL ownership. What type of questions will they ask. I do not have finance background, I am in retail and cpg. I​ currently a vp in marketing and sales.

I am currently working in my 3rd Portco sales related role with ~20 years of overall sales experience. Currently a VP of sales, responsible for the growth of my region and the only leader in this region. I’m good at understanding PMF, setting up best practice, aligning sales and marketing, setting up teams, and executing in field. Been here 2 years and had good success (set up a good team across multiple functions, led two acquisition commercial integration streams, grown the business ~2-3x yoy). I am very happy but thinking I may want to move towards a more consulting-focused career when I leave here in a few years and I expect that to do so, I need to start preparing today so wanted to ask this group - what things should I be doing now to set up for this in the future (and is this even attainable)?

How can I go from a large LP to the GP side from a non target? I have co-investment experience and I’m younger for context. Most realistic way. MBA from a top 20 program? Just try to network my way/ use my LP network? I’m more specifically focused on Infra PE