Because of our long-term approach, we take the time necessary to solidify the business model and prepare for sustained growth

Maintain focus on core business stability through each phase of growth

Private equity investors use IRR as a key performance metric when evaluating which funds to invest in. As such, private equity firms are incentivized to maximize IRR. The easiest ways to do this are to minimize the purchase price, minimize the equity investment by maximizing leverage, and exit the business quickly and at a higher valuation through a bump in operating performance or growth

We believe that the existing owners and operators are the backbone to each business and as such, they are integral to the story and the continued success of the company

We incentivize owners to create additional value for themselves and give them the opportunity to be part of a much larger business over the long term

Bring in new management teams post-acquisition with the goal of enhancing growth and operations quickly

Private equity professionals don’t have operational experience so they must look outside the firm for support

Management is incentivized to make short-term decisions

We built our own businesses over several decades and understand that it takes time to maximize equity value

We are not obligated to sell any business; if you take the time to build a great company, why sell it?

Principal incentives are to maximize long-term value

Most funds have a 10 year life, so investments must be exited quickly

Limited flexibility to hold an investment for the long-term

Ensure there is value left on the table for the next investor

Principal incentives are to maximize short-term value creation

We understand the benefits of modest leverage but believe that operating flexibility is more important than maximizing leverage

Leverage should be used to help a company grow and using more leverage than necessary impedes cash flow and ultimately strains growth

The dynamic with traditional investors incentivizes the use of more debt and less equity to purchase an asset

High leverage tends to mean limited operating flexibility and high interest payments, which burden organic growth and make it more difficult to reinvest

We have a lot at stake and have real interest in the success of each company

Private equity professionals typically invest 1-2% of a fund’s total equity

The rest is raised from large institution investors (e.g., pension funds, endowments, municipalities)

Other firms talk about their years of investing experience, we talk about our years of operating experience

We have also completed more than 75 acquisitions between us

Limited or no operating experience