51 Labs

🎙️Ep 120: Partnering with PE with Tony Zaccario, President & CEO at Stretch Zone Topics: - Exploring the Benefits of PE - Building Your Team for Success  - Insights for First-Time Franchisees  ...and so much more. Top Takeaways - Advice on selling your business. Tony emphasizes the importance of seasoned advisors at Stretch Zone, allowing him to focus on daily operations. He stresses the value of a strong team and advisors for a successful sale, highlighting patience and strategic management during the PE sale process. - Balancing your business while selling. Tony managed both daily operations and the sale of Stretch Zone with his team, ensuring the business could run independently. Balancing the sale with core functions is crucial for smooth operations. - How to navigate being a first-time franchisee. Tony advises that purchasing an existing business can be challenging due to its established culture. For new franchisees, he suggests starting with a new franchise to gain essential experience. Ultimately, passion for the franchise, rather than just financial gain, leads to greater success. #privateequity #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #investorsandoperators

🎙️Ep 119: Entrepreneurship with Pardis Nasseri, Chairman & CEO, Palm Tree LLC  Topics: - The importance of partnerships as an entrepreneur  - Core values and their impact on your business  - Reimagining leadership  ...and so much more. Top Takeaways   - Partnerships play a vital role in entrepreneurship. Reflecting on years of experience, Pardis shares a key insight to avoid 50/50 arrangements. Instead, focus on aligning goals, respecting each other, and defining clear roles. Success comes from relying on experts and working together. Entrepreneurship thrives on good partnerships, not solo efforts   - The Importance of Mission, Vision, and Values. Jordan and Pardis emphasize core values over mission statements for guiding company direction. Prioritizing value creation enables flexibility and meets diverse stakeholder needs effectively. - Passion, Relationships, and Leadership. Jordan and Pardis advocate servant leadership, empowering team members. Pardis advises leaders to grow by being passionate, fostering genuine relationships, and leveraging networks for support, ensuring leadership skills evolve with business growth for success. #privateequity #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #investorsandoperators

🎙️Ep 118: Personal Branding & Sourcing Deals  with Marc Cabrera, Co-Head, Healthcare Investment Banking at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc Topics: - The rise in personal LinkedIn posts  - Long-term effects of investing in teams - Intentional Hiring Practices ...and so much more. Top Takeaways - “People crave personal connection through posts.”Marc recounts how sharing more about himself led to a surge in positive feedback and a stronger sense of community. Posting personal posts on LinkedIn helps build a bridge between you and your colleagues that may not have existed before. - The importance of a long-term perspective when running a business. Marc and Jordan stress that instead of just aiming for short-term profits, it's important to build team harmony and support growth. - “My biggest mistake in hiring was hiring the wrong person.” Reflecting on recent hiring cycles, Marc discusses evaluating candidates based on how they align with the company's values. Jordan highlights that hiring should be intentional, targeting individuals who fit well within the company culture and positively contribute to the work environment. #privateequity #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #investorsandoperators

LPs have jam-packed schedules, attending 15+ AGMs each year, where every moment counts. The goal is to make a lasting impression. So you need to educate, update, and entertain all at once, but how? Here are 4 strategies we've learned from 20+ AGM projects: 💥Stay Agile: It’s important to cover essential topics like a portfolio and firm overview, industry, fund, and team update. Every AGM should have these, but that doesn’t mean your schedule can’t change during your event. Read the room! Adjust your agenda to better engage your guests. If LP’s eyes start glazing over from staring at screens, maybe it’s time to mix it up and switch to a networking activity. 📖 Incorporate Storytelling:  Storytelling is much more memorable than dry statistics. Share the backstories of your founders or the why behind key partnerships. The narrative and delivery of your updates are what will set you apart. Show - don’t just tell - what your firm has been doing for the past year. How? Video could be your answer. 🎤 Boost Interactivity:  No one likes to sit for hours on end listening to endless slideshow presentations, so keep your event interactive. Whether through surveys or simple changes like rearranging seating to encourage networking, keep attendees on their toes and present. 🤝 Relationship Building: Creating long-term relationships is the ultimate goal of any AGM. Make sure to provide opportunities for meaningful connections by adding networking sessions or brief entertainment to your meeting agenda. Remember, the AGM is not just a checkpoint - it's a chance for continued communication with your LPs. Make sure to follow up with case studies, portfolio highlights, and fundraising stories for the next fund and keep your conversation going. 💭 Which of these strategies will you try at your next AGM? #privateequity #AGM #networking #engagementstrategies

As your company grows, so must your leadership capabilities. To transition from $0-20 million in revenue to $20-100 million in revenue you need: - Humility and self-awareness - A growth mindset and learning aptitude Thanks to Dan Cremons for sharing his insights on this episode of Investors & Operators. #privateequity #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #investorsandoperators

🎙️Ep 117: Elevating Private Equity with Dan Cremons, Founder at Accelera Partners Who should listen? Founders, Operators, and PE Firms. Topics: - The Importance of Human Capital - Benefits of Difficult Conversations - Understanding Founder's Goals  ...and so much more. Top Takeaways - Human capital management and value creation go hand in hand. In PE, recognizing human capital's importance is just the start. Investing in human capital navigates diverse teams, fuels innovation, and readies your team for portfolio companies. - Navigating difficult conversations builds trust. Why do private equity firms shy away from tough pre-deal discussions? Fear of losing the deal plays a big role. Coaching clients to tackle critical issues before closing is vital. Skilfully navigating these talks not only cuts risks but also strengthens client relationships. - Assisting founders in exploring their goals will strengthen your relationship. As a PE partner, closely collaborate with founders to clarify their skills, passions, and purpose. This aids in their career understanding, uncovering motivations, and fostering strong relationships. #privateequity #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #investorsandoperators

🎙️Ep 116: PE and Franchising with Alicia Miller, NACD.DC, CMAA, CFE, Founder & Managing Director at Emergent Growth Advisors Who Should Listen? Franchise Owners and Operators, Managing Partners, and Business Owners. Topics: - The Differences Between Private Equity Buyers  - The Value Diverse Management Teams Bring - The Challenges and Complexities of Turnarounds in Franchising ...and so much more. Top Takeaways - “One of the common misconceptions is that they're all the same,” Alicia highlights the importance of weighing the pros and cons of various private equity buyers, stressing that the value of an offer transcends mere monetary figures. Understanding each firm's offers, timelines, and funding sources is crucial. - Diverse management teams generate excitement, align interests, and improve retention. Jordan and Alicia stress the key elements for business success in today's market, highlighting the need for a dynamic management team proficient in marketing, operations, and daily functions. This helps to keep employees motivated in a competitive market. - Turnarounds in franchising are one of the toughest assignments in business. Alicia discusses the complexities of franchising, emphasizing the need for support from the franchise community for effective execution, distinguishing it from traditional businesses. #privateequity #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #investorsandoperators 

🎙️Ep 115: Credit Market Updates with Aaron Kless at Andalusian Credit Partners & Joseph Weissglass at Configure Partners. Topics: - Factors and Complexities Within the Current Market - Challenges That RIA’s Face - The Future of Private Credit ...and so much more. Top Takeaways - “The market has been more dynamic over the last six months than over the last six years.” Jordan, Aaron, and Joe discuss the ever-changing market landscape, emphasizing that struggling lenders today may differ from those in six months, highlighting the dynamic nature of market positions. - The path RIAs need to take to succeed. Success in the credit markets requires RIAs to balance liquid and private credit investments, navigate diverse landscapes from major funds to smaller enterprises, address educational gaps, and recognize evolving trends like equity and credit secondaries. - “The shift we've seen is permanent”. Aaron notes concerns about diminishing returns and investor wariness in the private credit market, Joe sees this as the start of a major transformation, anticipating an expanded role for private credit in the financial landscape ahead. #privateequity #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #investorsandoperators 

1 video > 1,000 words. Regardless of format—long or short—video marketing generates engagement across all social media platforms. From our experience with 60+ projects, here’s what we’ve seen: Higher Brand Awareness: Video content allows firms to humanize their brand. This brand transparency builds trust with potential investors and connects better with the audience. Higher Visibility: LinkedIn's algorithm often prioritizes video content in users' feeds, leading to greater visibility. Increased Engagement: Video content consistently outperforms text-based content and conveys information in a dynamic way. Videos can and should also be used during your Annual General Meetings (AGMs). It helps LPs visualize what your portfolio companies do before they are presented with more in-depth financial performance and other data. Swipe through to see the top 5 videos every PE firm needs.  What positive impacts have you seen from video content?

May 2023 4 people "Haven't taken a salary in a few months," I wrote in my journal, "Jing cried in the car, overwhelmed, anxious..." We were investing in the team and needed to make some sacrifices. May 2024 11 people Investing ahead of growth can be painful and uncertain, but we had to escape the cycle of sell, execute, sell, execute...vs working ON the business. For this first time in eight years and two businesses, we can enter the summer and not have to worry about next month. At the beginning of this new chapter, what excites the most is simple: seeing the team execute, develop mastery, and investing in their success. When they run a video shoot, that's success. When they complete a website project that they ran, that's success. When we see them lead, that's success. We've done 85+ projects in 6 years... ....just getting started.