@zacariah88 I was at S&PGlobal running a unit there (~$300M CAD revenue) and left at age 33 in 2015 to first be chief commercial officer of a B2B data biz focused on making the leisure industry more efficient (350 employees and private capital backed). Four months in I was put in as CEO. Did this 2 years then left (age 36, Nov 2016). Then bought my first company April 2016 when 36. Turning 40 next year.
For my private stuff I used BDC for most of the $ in deal 1. Deal 2 was me / couple friends. I was 65% of the equity cheque for my main private. The balance was 35% constituting one ex-hedge fund manager and buddy (14%), best man at my wedding (10%) and a longtime mentor (5%).
I know a lot of the private equity shops in town because when I was at S&P I helped build their Canadian presence and most clients were PE, ibanking, active $ managers, etc. The issue is they jump in and want returns outmatched versus their skill or contribution (usually). Take lifespeak - what a joke. The guys worked for years on it then a few jokers buy in last second and make bank. When I do a larger deal l get private capital. But I’m actually avoiding active deals now. And usually the guys are losers and ex i bankers without experience. There is endless capital, but when you can easily raise $$ why bother with these wannabe ex bankers without actual hands on experience 1/2 the time?
