Private Equity Value Creation Podcast

Hosted by How To SaaS

Business Investing

Website RSS feed

Episodes

132

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

EN-CA

About the show

Get behind-the-scenes access to the minds shaping the world of Private Equity, hear captivating stories about transactions and investments, and learn about the innovative approaches leading investors, operators, advisors and bankers employ to drive sustainable growth and create enterprise value. https://www.howtosaas.com/pevaluecreation

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 16, 2026Episode 2842 min

Ep. 133: Michelle Noon, Clearhaven Partners | Partnership-Driven Software Investing in the AI Era

On this episode, Michelle Noon, Managing Partner and Founder of Clearhaven Partners, joins Shiv Narayanan to break down how investors and operators build enterprise value in software companies through true partnership, concentrated bets and operational depth. You'll learn why running fewer deals per fund changes the math on time, attention and alignment with management teams, and why intentionally entering investments with lower leverage keeps the latitude needed to operate.You'll also hear a candid view of how AI is reshaping software investing—the case for building an internal Claude skills marketplace, the mental model of pairing incumbency advantage with an AI-first mindset and how to re-imagine functions like sales from a blank sheet without ignoring the realities of change management.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

June 4, 2026Episode 2739 min

Ep. 132: Eugene Polevoy, Blue C Capital | The Independent Sponsor Model and Alignment-First Deals

On this episode, Eugene Polevoy, Founder and Managing Partner at Blue C Capital, joins the show to unpack the independent sponsor model—how the firm closes nine-figure deals without raising a committed fund and structures economics around carry instead of management fees.Learn why the bottleneck inside a portfolio company shifts quarter to quarter, and why knowing when to exit is more art than science. Plus, learn how AI now lets a lean firm analyze working capital, benchmark cost per lead and pressure-test value creation plans in minutes.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

May 29, 2026Episode 2639 min

Ep. 131: Matt Amico, Turn/River Capital | Growth Engineering and the FVCP Framework

On this episode, Matt Amico, Partner and Co-head of the Investment Team at Turn/River Capital, walks through the growth engineering playbook his firm uses to drive returns across its software portfolio. Learn why software investing has moved past financial engineering and cost engineering—and what it takes to apply a more systematic approach to revenue today.Hear how the FVCP framework—funnels, volume, conversion and pricing—breaks revenue into discrete funnels, identifies opportunities to scale lead volume, surfaces the micro-conversion gaps worth shrinking and exposes the pricing structures that quietly leak growth. Plus, learn how to sequence investment from the easiest dollar to the hardest—from renewals and expansion to inbound, channel and outbound—and how activity-based KPIs link precursor work to the pipeline targets a team needs to hit.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

May 21, 2026Episode 2541 min

Ep. 130: Bobby Ocampo, Blueprint Equity | The Missing Middle and Hands-On Value Creation

On this episode, Bobby Ocampo, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Blueprint Equity, discusses how to identify whether a bootstrapped business has what it takes to scale, and what it takes to build the go-to-market infrastructure that gets it there.Bobby walks through the three signals he looks for when assessing a company's growth potential, why resisting pressure to raise a larger fund can help firms stay competitive in the 'missing middle', and how an embedded operating team—funded out of management fees rather than charged to portcos—changes the nature of the investor-founder relationship.

May 19, 2026Episode 2434 min

Ep. 129: Arjan Hannink, Keensight Capital | Building an Embedded Value Creation Team at Scale

On this episode, Arjan Hannink, Partner at Keensight Capital, explains how their growth buyout firm structures hands-on value creation support across a portfolio of B2B software and IT services companies. Learn why Keensight built an internal team of close to 40 value creation professionals—including in-house CPO, CTO, CMO and CRO functions—and how that team operates alongside management rather than above it.Hear about an approach to prioritizing growth initiatives when there is always more to do than bandwidth allows, why an all-you-can-eat resourcing model avoids the wrong incentives and how embedding value creation expertise into the deal process leads to faster execution post-close.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

May 14, 2026Episode 2340 min

Ep. 128: Amy Kramer, Level Equity | Go-To-Market Benchmarks, Outbound Efficiency and AI Visibility

On this episode, Amy Kramer, Head of the Go-To-Market Operating Group at Level Equity, shares findings from their 2026 Go-To-Market Insights Report—a benchmark study covering sales efficiency, marketing spend, headcount, compensation and AI adoption across their portfolio companies.Amy and Shiv dig into what the data shows: why SDRs are having to reach out to more prospects to book the same number of meetings, how the best-performing teams are breaking through the noise with smarter targeting and more direct outreach, and why companies are shifting more budget toward brand and top-of-funnel. They also cover the rise of AI visibility as a pipeline driver, how teams are restructuring around rev ops and product marketing, and what the shift in go-to-market rhythm means for how companies hire and retain customers.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

May 8, 2026Episode 2237 min

Ep. 127: Jim Ferry, Volition Capital | Moats, Defensibility and Investing in the Age of AI

On this episode, Jim Ferry, Partner at Volition Capital, shares how AI is reshaping the growth-stage investment landscape and what it means for the companies they back.Jim covers why employee count is no longer a reliable signal of company maturity, where real defensibility comes from when code itself is becoming a commodity, and what moats still hold up — from first-party data and proprietary integrations to network effects and systems of record. He also covers how founders can demonstrate AI fluency to investors and when to expect margin expansion from AI adoption.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

May 1, 2026Episode 2136 min

Ep. 126: Joe Mancini, Front Porch Venture Partners | The Hybrid Fund Model and Building Software Moats

On this episode, Joe Mancini, Co-Founder and Partner at Front Porch Venture Partners, explains how a hybrid fund-of-funds model works in practice—deploying capital both into early-stage venture funds as an LP and directly into seed and Series A companies, with a deliberate focus on the Southeast.Learn why the most defensible moats in software today are being built around go-to-market and purpose-built vertical features rather than technology alone, and how the falling cost of code is compressing roadmap timelines from quarters to weeks. Plus, get a practical framework for deciding where to deploy human capital versus AI agents.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

April 23, 2026Episode 2040 min

Ep. 125: Arvindh Kumar, EQT | Pairing Defensive Assets with AI-Forward Leadership to Drive Returns

On this episode, Arvindh Kumar, Partner and Co-Head of EQT's Global Technology Sector Team, explains how private equity firms can turn AI laggard companies into AI winners — and why getting that transformation right starts with the CEO.Arvindh walks through the defensive attributes he looks for when underwriting software investments, including proprietary data, embedded workflows and network effects, and explains how those characteristics determine whether AI acts as an amplifier or a threat. Learn how one of the biggest PE firms in the world prioritizes AI initiatives across engineering, product and sales; how portfolio companies have put AI to work in tangible ways; and why the firms seeing the fastest results are using access, positive peer pressure and clear business KPIs rather than wholesale team replacement to drive adoption.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

April 21, 2026Episode 2151 min

Ep. 124: Shiv Narayanan of How To SaaS | The 7-Step AI Marketing Blueprint

On this episode adapted from a recent webinar, Shiv Narayanan, CEO and Founder of How To SaaS and bestselling author of AI Marketing Blueprint, explains how companies can adapt their go-to-market and thrive in an AI-first world.Companies everywhere are missing their revenue targets, and the old playbook is breaking down. Inbound is getting more expensive, more competitive, and less effective.Why? Because, in an AI-first world, most of a buyer journey is invisible. What once required research, website visits, and sales conversations can now happen in seconds — without ever engaging your business.Companies need to rethink their go-to-market and focus on increasing visibility and authority to reduce the risk of AI disruption. In this episode, you'll get a practical, evergreen framework that outlines the 7 new rules CEOs, investors, and revenue leaders need to focus on to stay competitive.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.