Andy Jones

In the rapidly evolving landscape of private equity and consulting, one thing remains constant: the imperative for value creation. As a Managing Director at Catalyft LLC, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative power of effective value creation strategies. It's not just about improving operations or making strategic acquisitions; it's about reimagining what's possible for underperforming assets and unlocking their true potential. In my experience, the key to successful value creation lies in a combination of creativity and rigorous execution. It's about seeing beyond the numbers and understanding the human element that drives business success. Whether it's through leveraging AI to gain deeper insights or tapping into emerging markets, the opportunities for growth are endless. But it's not just about the bottom line. As someone who's created over $1 billion in value, I can attest that the real reward comes from the positive impact on the companies we work with, their employees, and the broader community. That's why I'm passionate about sharing my expertise in value creation, not just within the private equity space, but also in advising boards of directors and family offices. I'm always looking to connect with fellow professionals who share my commitment to driving growth and creating lasting value. If you're interested in discussing the future of value creation or exploring potential collaborations, I'd love to hear from you. Let's continue to push the boundaries of what's possible and create a brighter future for businesses and investors alike. Share your thoughts on value creation in the comments below, and if you found this post insightful, please feel free to repost. #ValueCreation #PrivateEquity #Consulting

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Elizabeth Cook, Managing Partner of VC firm AI Capital, addresses the art of the [VC] deal: An intricate blend of relationship building, offering a succinct and concise value proposition, domain expertise, and of course, profit! #venturecapital #vc #ai #artificialintelligence #enterpriseai #startups #entrepreneurship #investing #alternativeinvestments #familyoffice #pensions #foundations #endowments

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⛳ Emerging fund managers pulse check. PitchBook tracks over 10,000 funds that are raising money, with 45% being emerging fund managers (defined as firms with less than 3 funds). Despite a dip in available capital—down to 16% from the pre-pandemic 23%—these managers are finding creative ways to stay competitive, like partnering with larger firms. 💼 Joanna Drake (founder turned investor) shared how "wildly different" it is raising a fund versus for a startup. One key datapoint she shared on the fund side was how little feedback you get along the way (and the years you can wait for it). The “long-winded and challenging process to raise capital” inspired Drake and Ben Black to create RAISE Global, a community for emerging fund managers and the “forward-thinking LPs” who back them. (A decade later, several hundred emerging managers with AUM under $200m are on the platform) They've found the newest emerging managers are more diverse and geographically dispersed than Silicon valley, and more were able to crack the ceiling and raise larger $100m funds (although this is still a small % of the market, requiring partnership with larger funds at the late stage). ▶ And not a hugely surprising datapoint: A lot of action is in the sub $49 million range, where roughly 50% of emerging managers are raising. Theresa Sorrentino Hajer, Head of U.S. venture capital research at Cambridge Associates warns that past success isn't actually a strong indicator on it's own to assess emerging managers. We've had a valuation reset. And newer managers with investments during the 2019-2021 "party days", need to build relevant track record and play to their strengths. A lot of emerging managers are specializing (70% who applied for Raise had a thematic focus), and betting on getting in as early as possible in the startup's lifecycle (Raise: 31% at accelerator/ pre-seed stages, and 47% at seed stage). “Emerging managers have to compete on a different dimension,” Nick Moran from New Stack Ventures. You're no longer just dealing with capital. Emerging VC's need to be as innovative and nimble as the startups they invest in, having a unique thesis and insights. They also play a role at the top of the deal-flow funnel: helping larger firms find promising companies, so finding a thesis, sector or philosophy aligned partner at a larger firm is helpful. Onwards! #EmergingManager #Startups #VC

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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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#hiring If anyone knows an awesome engineer that would be interested in joining an emerging #AI company doing important work in #healthcare, please drop me a line! Andy AI is backed by General Catalyst, YCombinator, Greater Ventures, and others, and they’re looking to hire a full stack engineer (US based) who's excited about using AI to improve healthcare and reduce nurse burnout. Andy is AI software that automates clinical documentation for nurses who do home visits. A nurse makes an audio recording of the visit and Andy automatically generates a form that usually takes nurses 90 minutes to complete. Nurses love the product because it potentially saves them 15 hours of charting a week! The founders previously built healthcare AI at Google Health and Apple, and are now building their vision to transform home health. More about Andy AI: https://with-andy.com/ Nurses love it: https://lnkd.in/g9XqZrUq #GenAI #digitalhealth #hiring #engineers #healthtech

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Big things on the horizon, we are motivated and blessed to be at the dawn of a new age for the internet. Read more about our journey below or listen to the podcast: https://lnkd.in/eJeNhvVa

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Read our latest article on Creating an Ownership Culture. This piece dives into how fostering a sense of ownership among employees can lead to remarkable outcomes for both the team and the organization. Here at KKR we are committed to providing ownership to all employees in all new controlled deals, building on recent successes of our Broad-Based Ownership Program. Whether you're a leader seeking to enhance your company's culture or an employee interested in the dynamics of workplace engagement, this article offers valuable perspectives. 👉 Read article here: https://lnkd.in/ejVc2ffd You can download the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ee_vT2rs #Leadership #BusinessCulture #EmployeeEngagement #KKR

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"According to Pitchbook, while overall venture capital deals have slowed over the past year, the defense tech sector has weathered the storm better than most others. So far in 2024, private investors have bet $9.1 billion on defense tech startups across 228 investments, Pitchbook research shows." -MARK SULLIVAN-Fast Company Patient capital will win this fight, both in a literal military campaign sense and the private capital competition for the best deals. Will this be a four year ramp to a huge exit? Likely no. Could private capital help provide a balance to the current military industrial complex processes/thinking. I am optimistic.

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Tune in to the upcoming webinar by Shils Entrepreneurial Fund on July 16th at 7 pm Eastern Time. The webinar, titled "Raising Capital and What it Takes," will feature Jane Levy, the Co-CEO of Plan Forward. This webinar is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to gain confidence in the process of raising capital from angels, family offices, and venture capitalists. #FamilyOffice #VentureCapital #Investors #Invest #Capital #Finance #ReverePartners #FundRaise #Tech #PrivateEquity #Equity #StartUp #Founders

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Raising Private Capital: Tips For Startups In Today's Market Jeff Bartel , is chairman and managing director of Hamptons Group, a private investment and strategic advisory firm headquartered in Miami. Private capital activity has increased in recent years. For startups, raising private capital offers financial support for development and innovation. Our firm's capital raises have included obtaining capital through funds and direct investment. Drawing from that experience, here is a look at the current private capital landscape and strategies for successfully raising capital. The Current Private Capital Landscape Private capital includes venture capital, private equity and other investment funding sources, where venture capital can help drive technological advancement through industries such as biotech, fintech and artificial intelligence. Mature companies are a primary focus for investors interested in raising private equity capital to inject funds for strategic initiatives, acquisitions or operational improvements. Private capital markets attract a large amount of their investments from institutional and high-capital investors. This focus stems from the flexibility in private capital transactions and the possibility of higher returns over more traditional investments. https://lnkd.in/dU3-E-Vp By Jeff Bartel Repost by Salem Bagami Managing Director 2080 Ventures Email: salem@2080.ventures Website: www.2080.ventures

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The healthcare landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by advancements in technology and a deeper understanding of patient care. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ambar Bhattacharyya, Co-Managing Partner at Maverick Ventures, on the latest episode of The Full Ratchet. Ambar has partnered with numerous billion-dollar companies like hims & hers, Cityblock Health, Devoted Health, and ConcertAI. His unique journey from rural America to becoming a prominent figure in venture capital offers invaluable insights into the future of healthcare and technology. We discuss his investment strategy at Maverick Ventures, the megatrends shaping healthcare, the impact of AI on the industry, and the importance of integrated care. Ambar also shares his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in healthcare investment, offering a comprehensive view of what lies ahead. Check out TFR Episode 438 to catch our conversation. You'll be glad you listened.

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Join us tomorrow for a panel discussion on the complex relationship many FirstGens have to money and how that affects founders, investors, operators and others. See you tomorrow! https://lu.ma/9rixyzgs

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If you're building a fintech startup, you likely know of this investor, but just in case... This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Neil Kapur from TTV Capital. He: 🛫 Is based in SF & Atlanta 💲 Has spent time at Google in consumer-facing payments & at two fintech startups  🏔️ Loves alpine mountaineering and has climbed Kilimanjaro, Denali, Rainier, and more!! Amongst founders, Neil and the team at TTV Capital , including Gardiner Garrard, Mark Johnson, Sean Banks, Lizzie Guynn, and Laney Lewis are known for saying “lift, not lean.” They believe that their job as investors is not to create work for founders, but instead ask the right questions and help navigate to the best outcomes. Knowing Neil well personally, he's not only my go-to person for anything related to fintech but I can also highly recommend having him on your cap table - he's the kind of human you want to have in your corner during both good times and bad. Make sure to: ✉️ Pitch him at nkapur@ttvcapital.com ➡️ Follow TTV Capital on LinkedIn For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with TTV Capital's profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

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Our view on the current venture capital markets. Curious to hear other investors' thoughts but I feel like seed stage valuation, at least in the gaming and entertainment sectors, has finally come down to the pre-covid level. Since February or March this year, we started seeing that the founders are willing to raise a $1-2m seed round at a $10m-ish valuation, not like $4-5m at $20-25m in 2022 and 2023. What are you guys seeing?

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IPO market insiders, while cautious, are optimistic that the current trickle of companies going public will pick up steam. I recently shared some additional thoughts on this trend with Crunchbase. https://lnkd.in/gh75AxcU #ipo #ai #startups

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To all #founders and #entrepreneurs out there, our intro meetings are conversational and easy going. Feel free to message me to setup a call. Learn what Pioneera Ventures can do for you!

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Great analysis of recent #vc trends. Thank you Kaela Roeder and Technical.ly for including my thoughts in the piece. My "expanded" two cents below for anyone curious... It is easy to get excited by what is happening in venture capital these days given the advent of AI. However, for early-stage startups, the numbers tell a more nuanced story. Early-stage deal volume in Q4-2023 was down 66% from the peak (Q4-2021) and a quarter of the deals were down rounds. In 2024, volumes stayed fairly flat relative to 2023 levels (signalizing a normalization to pre-pandemic VC activity) and 32% of deals were down rounds in Q1 (a worsening since year end). Early-stage valuations have spiked back up this year – a pleasant boon for some founders. But, this inflation is largely driven by the excitement around AI and strong demand for capital-efficient, high-growth companies. Many startups have tried to become “dot AI” businesses overnight; however, such tactics are not the “silver bullet” to fundraising challenges and growth. With limited time and capital, funds are on the hunt for companies with bulletproof fundamentals or those with exponential growth potential. If you don’t check one of these two boxes, the VC world looks fundamentally different for you. Locally, there are some positive tailwinds. The D.C. area has outpaced other metro areas in adding AI jobs due in large part to the defense industry and an increasing number of tech companies opening-up federal outposts. Over the long-term, this will be very positive for D.C. startup growth and talent.

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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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