The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection

Brendan Anderson on microcap private equity investing and driving value creation

Alex Rawlings

Introducing Brendan Anderson

Brendan Anderson is the Founder and Managing Partner of ScaleCo Capital, a lower middle market private equity firm focusing on control-oriented leveraged buyouts and growth equity investments in fast-growing companies. Scalable partners with companies to bring operational expertise and strategic resources to scale a business's growth potential and build long-term value.

 

What You Will Learn:

Why Speed and Change is the New Superpower in Private Equity

How to Grow and Scale a Profitable Portfolio Company

The Benefits of Investing in Small, High Gross Margin Companies

 

Breakdown:

[00:00] Introduction

[02:15] The Mistakes PE Firms Make with Their Portfolio Companies

[04:20] The Sub 5 Million EBITDA Bussines Model

[06:46] How Brendan and His Team Drive Value Creation

[09:56] The Biggest Benefit of Investing in Small Profitable Companies

[11:14] The Most Effective Way to Run a Portfolio Company

[12:37] Processes and Systems For Effective Fund Management 

[14:36] What Brendan Likes and Dislikes About Private Equity

[16:20] What Brendan Watches, Reads, and Listens To 

[17:24] Parting Thoughts

 

Speed and Change: The New Super Power in Private Equity

Speed and change is the new superpower in private equity. According to Brendan, we live in an age where you must execute everything with speed. When you buy a portfolio company, go in as fast as possible, make changes, and start driving value immediately. Most portfolio companies have been operating the same way for decades. And although they might be profitable, their way of doing things is not necessarily the best way to run a business. 

 

Traditionally, many PE firms favored a hands-off approach to managing the operations of portfolio companies. They leave the management teams to run operations and only focus on driving strategic direction. However, times have changed, and nowadays, PE firms hire operational specialists who work collaboratively with management teams to provide additional bandwidth and support. For Brendan, this approach is what accelerates speed and change in the more profitable PE firms. 

 

Links and Resources:

Brendan on LinkedIn

Scaleco.com

Brendan’s Email: Brendan@scaleco.com

 

Thank you for tuning in!

To get the newest Private Equity episodes, you can subscribe on iTunes or Spotify here. Lastly, if you have any feedback on the podcast or want to reach out to Alex with any questions, send an email to alex.rawlings@raw-selection.com.