David Rye

With the influx of AI-powered technology in organizations of all industries, here's a timely reminder for all business leaders: Prioritizing AI literacy and change management is key to unlocking the true potential of technology investments, AI or not. Chief Financial Officers have a unique role in ensuring employees are using AI to increase efficiency and productivity, with responsibility and compliance top of mind. Seismic's Kerry Ryan elaborates on this in CFO Dive. Read more:

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If you enjoyed our first blog on the metrics that matter for Verticalized SaaS then don't miss on the Part II of the series where my colleagues Devraj Hom Roy and Matt Schaar discuss the strategic and operational choices to improve these operational indicators. https://lnkd.in/g5QkCrcH

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We see this very often in deals, the request of a staple, but I personally think there are ways to navigate this, with everything being above board , both for the selling LP, buyer and the GP. We have had situations where the GP preferred buyer who could also do a staple, actually price the fund better... because they want to strengthen that relationship, and ultimately of course have had situations where the GP preferred buyer is the bad actor in the equation, leveraging their preferred position to down play price for the seller... it's all part of the negotiation process. #secondaries #setterstrong

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As a PE deal partner / operating partner, you have decide: Is your job to lead from the front on defining a port-co's vision and strategy... ...or hire a great CEO who can define the vision and strategy (and bring you into alignment)? #PrivateEquity #OperatingPartner

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At TechNexus Venture Collaborative, one of the most common questions we receive from our corporate partners is "How can we measure success?" Corporations track metrics, OKRs, and KPIs across all business lines, and corporate venture capital and innovation need not be an exception. If you're interested in learning more about strategic and financial returns in corporate venture capital, read the latest in our series below!

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Not So Private Equity  Season 2 Episode 13: Where PE-Backed GTM Meets AI Russell Findlay, Operating Partner & Marketing Executive, joins us to share his insights on the evolution of the Operating Partner Role, AI as a Growth Multiplier and common pitfalls CEOs in PE-backed companies should avoid.  Listen to the podcast here: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3DcRsSQ Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4guzxoT #ai #gtm #operatingpartner #privateequity #notsoprivateequity #nspe #peportfolio #peportco #middlemarketpe #eca 

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The Information has breaking news of Amazon Web Services (AWS) mirroring Microsoft‘s #AI #Licensing deal with Adept. Could this be the second of many more to come as acquiring companies try to avoid the complexity and regulatory risk of Department of Justice review whilie still providing investors and employees upside and an off ramp as the cost of scaling these #AI #Unicorns really hits home? What do you think? #management #venturecapital #capitalmarkets #aifunding #privateequity https://lnkd.in/gyrQndYr

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Frustrated with data quality issues? An MDM tool could be the missing link in your data strategy.    Holland Mountain's ATLAS MDM automates data mapping across multiple sources, ensuring your data warehouse receives high-quality, consolidated data. With ATLAS MDM, firms can: 🔷 Connect to any source systems, leveraging our 40+ pre-built connectors 🔷 Handle large data volumes through automated mastering  🔷 Keep data accurate and consistent with robust data validation rules 🔷 Integrate with any data warehouse infrastructure, including Snowflake and Azure 🔷 Empower end-users to take control of their own data and data flows    Discover what Holland Mountain's ATLAS MDM can do for you. 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3_ge-gu Holland Mountain | PE Stack by Holland Mountain #privateequity #privatemarkets

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Series A or B wondering when to bring in a VP of Finance or CFO? It’s a crucial decision that can shape the future of your company. At this stage, financial leadership is not just about managing numbers but also scaling processes, securing funding, and driving strategic growth. My colleague Paul breaks down key signs that it’s time to hire and indicators for choosing between VP of Finance and a CFO #FinanceLeadership #CFO #StartupGrowth #SeriesA #SeriesB #NextGenLeadership

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Last week, we shared the first part (1/2) of our perspectives on vertical SaaS (vSaaS), more specifically on which metrics define the performance of vSaaS businesses and outlining the benchmarks for each of these metrics. If you have not yet read the piece, give it a read here - https://lnkd.in/d94n2bgN This week we published the second part (2/2) where we call out certain strategies deployed by successful vSaaS companies like Procore Technologies Toast ServiceNow Zenoti and others that can be used to improve the metrics that matter. Read on to layer the numbers with the strats- https://lnkd.in/dPkmWFax Do reach out if you are building in the space or want to exchange notes / feedback on the perspectives. #fintech #verticaSaaS #embeddedfinance #investments

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PE - Capital-efficient Revenue Growth in Tech PE using Lean Thinking Revenue Growth in PE portfolio context should be capital efficient and profitable. One idea is to consider the best practices of Lean Thinking in Tech PE - how portfolio companies can streamline their Revenue Growth strategies, optimize their sales processes, improve execution, and reduce inefficiencies across operations - examples include: - Sales & Marketing: Focusing on high-impact activities that drive revenue, such as targeting the most profitable customer segments and eliminating redundant actions - Operations: Simplifying workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and reducing overhead to enhance operational efficiency and scalability - Resource Allocation: invest resources where they create the most value, such as prioritizing key growth initiatives over less impactful ones - Continuous Improvement: ongoing tracking and assessment & refinement of all processes are regularly evaluated and improved for better results PE firms can help their portfolio companies grow faster, operate more efficiently, and achieve higher growth with Lean execution in GTM. FYI: Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Company #pe #privateequity #investing #finance #saas #growth

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Too many small and mid-sized businesses struggle with capital constraints out of fear and misunderstanding. Sourcing the capital required to remove those constraints is key to unlocking the value creation potential of these companies. https://lnkd.in/gRYTKEmN #smallbusiness #businesstransformation

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🚨Big Idea Alert: Lina Khan- FTC Chair and antitrust warrior- was named one of the ten most #innovative people of the decade by Fast Company. This may be a contrarian take bc my day job is finding and funding tech #startups that can scale to dominate a market segment, ie become the target of FTC antitrust activity. But I actually identify strongly with her perspectives and see multiple points of alignment with our own world view that drives the Aperture® Venture Capital fund thesis: 💡 In a truly competitive ecosystem price(or other financial stats) are not the only thing that matters. Ms. Khan is focused on defending the availability of consumer and small business choice in the marketplace. Like all fund managers, we are laser focused on alpha. But were also optimizing for diversity- of race, gender, geography, and cap table. 💡Khan believes it’s important to defend the interests of the little guy whenever (s)he is being mistreated by a dominant corporation. In horizontal tech areas like #AI, we look for startups building solutions that make corporations more reliable and trustworthy in the eyes of all stakeholders esp. customers. 💡Khan prioritizes enforcement activity that has the greatest impact on people’s daily lives. We invest in companies like Alaffia Health , Goodfynd , Azimuth and GreenLyne because of the positive impact on people’s health costs, household savings and access to wealth building opportunities.

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PE insights - from the latest episode of "Behind the Deal" with Orlando Bravo & Carl Thoma at Thoma Bravo. Great lessons from Orlando Bravo who discusses losing money and making many mistakes early in his career, Carl Thoma (Orlando's mentor): On People: - "PE is a people business." - "Deal-making is such a people business. It's not like you can sell the stock if you don't like it, you're stuck with your partners. " (Good point - unlike public equities investors, you are in it for the long-term, with your team, partners, and your portfolio companies - it's a people business). ------ On Making Mistakes: - “Mistakes are meant to be stepping stones to success - not stepping stones to ultimate failure.” - "People learn from their mistakes." - "Mistakes early on make great investors but you have to make sure you don't make so many mistakes that you lose confidence... and just don't make the same mistakes again". - "When you make mistakes, you have to capitalize on that." ------ On losing money (Orlando asked whether Carl was going to fire him): - "I've sunk $50 million of experience into you, so you are a star now and you've got a lot of good, expensive training." - "I'm not sure you could have been as successful without stumbling a little bit early on." - "You had pride in your work and drive that it didn't put you in a stumper and didn't leave the industry. I think 1 + 1 = 10, drive and some failures are good experience." ------ On Teamwork: - "Just like in sports, today you just cannot have individual players that are brilliant but not working as a team. We got away with that for 25-30 years of private equity, but now it's become too competitive. We've got to function as a team." ------ On communication: - "You can resolve so many issues if you just communicate." ------ Sources: https://lnkd.in/eVk_Wxwq https://lnkd.in/eem_DquZ ------ #pe #privateequity #business #leadership

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#ObsessivelyEnthusiasticInvestor #UnreasonablyEnthusiasticInvestor #IrrationallyEnthusiasticInvestor at REFASHIOND Ventures: The Industrial Transformation Fund. We look for the people we believe are doing the best work in Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology; Attempting the impossible. Then we go all-in on them. With obsessive, unreasonable, and irrational enthusiasm. We back them with evangelical zeal. Join us. #IndustrialTransformation #SupplyChain #Innovation #Technology #Startups #VentureCapital #DemandTheImpossible #UnreasonableEnthusiasm #ObsessiveEnthusiasm #IrrationalEnthusiasm

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Are you curious how Cloud CFO can transform your startup's financial situation? 🚀 Watch the full interview with our founder, Elan, who is talking with Elliot Spiegel of Inhouse Ventures for insights into Cloud CFO's collaborative approach and the value we bring to our client's businesses. FULL INTERVIEW: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gsjYPaRa #CloudCFO #CFO #VirtualCFO #VCFO #startup #startups #startupaus

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