The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection

In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings speaks with Brian Bishop, an electrical engineer and experienced Chief Executive with a background in embedded systems, product development, business building, and successful company exits.
Brian shares lessons from leading businesses through seven- and eight-figure exits, including the importance of structuring deals to align the interests of owners, employees, and acquirers.
They explore Brian’s approach to leadership and why the most effective business plans are shared plans—not simply strategies created by a CEO and communicated downwards.
Brian also discusses his move into the startup world and the significant differences he has observed between startup and private equity environments. While private equity typically maintains a strong focus on financial performance and EBITDA, startups can face competing non-economic priorities, technological milestones, and investor expectations.
The conversation also covers practical ways executives can improve EBITDA. Brian explains why businesses must look beyond unit costs and understand the total lifecycle cost of a product, including the opportunity cost of engineering and product-development resources.
Finally, Brian explains how his engineering background has shaped his leadership style, particularly his habit of repeatedly asking one fundamental question: “What is the problem we’re trying to solve?”
Key Highlights
00:00 – Brian Bishop’s Background
Brian discusses his engineering career, embedded systems expertise, product development experience, and seven- and eight-figure exits.
01:26 – Lessons From M&A and Liquidity Events
Structuring acquisitions, managing earn-outs, retaining critical employees during transitions, and aligning stakeholder interests.
03:18 – Getting Teams Aligned With the Strategy
Why great leaders build a shared plan rather than simply communicating their own vision.
04:29 – Moving From Private Equity Into Startups
Brian explains what attracted him to startups and the surprising influence of non-economic considerations.
07:23 – Burn Rate vs. Financial Performance
How startup expectations around growth and product development can conflict with customer needs and profitability.
08:40 – What Startups Can Learn From Private Equity
Preparing businesses for the point where margins and EBITDA become more important than technological milestones.
09:58 – Advice for PE Portfolio Leaders
Bridging the gap between employees motivated by purpose and investors focused on financial returns.
11:53 – Improving EBITDA and Margin
Why understanding total lifecycle costs and the opportunity cost of engineering resources can transform profitability.
13:45 – Getting Engineers and Accountants on the Same Page
How cross-functional understanding can improve decision-making, margins, and customer outcomes.
14:38 – Engineering as a Leadership Advantage
Brian explains the power of returning teams to the fundamental question: “What is the problem we’re trying to solve?”
16:01 – What Brian Reads
From the Wall Street Journal to engineering content, Brian discusses how reading broadly helps him connect ideas across disciplines.
16:49 – Connecting With Brian
Brian shares how listeners can reach him following the episode.
Raw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.
🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/
🌐 Visit Raw Selection www.raw-selection.com

In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings speaks with Paul Golden, an experienced CEO, private equity investor, and operating partner with nine private equity-backed exits and more than 20 add-on acquisitions.
Paul shares lessons from operating, investing, and leading PE-backed businesses, including why speed matters when building the right leadership team, how to identify strong executives, and what separates successful acquisitions from deals that destroy value.
The conversation explores the danger of “deal fever,” the importance of knowing when to walk away from an acquisition, and why delighted customers, strong management teams, and clear growth pathways are critical indicators of a quality investment.
Paul also explains the challenges of changing deeply embedded founder-led cultures, how to approach add-on acquisition integration, and the practical actions that helped generate more than $150 million in free cash flow in one manufacturing business.
Finally, Paul discusses why PE-backed executives need the confidence to make mistakes, take ownership, and communicate openly with their boards.
Key Highlights
00:00 – Paul Golden’s Background
From senior public-company leadership to private equity investing, operating partner roles, CEO positions, and nine PE-backed exits.
01:29 – The Biggest PE Leadership Mistake
Why private equity firms need to make faster decisions about whether the right management team is in place.
03:21 – Identifying the Right Executives
The importance of leaders who are confident enough to be challenged by their teams and boards.
04:44 – What Paul Looks for in Executive Interviews
Why candidates who openly discuss mistakes, take responsibility, and explain what they learned often make stronger leaders.
07:05 – The Hardest CEO Decisions
Why firing customers or exiting customer segments can sometimes be harder than changing the management team.
08:28 – What Drives Successful PE Exits
Delighted customers, strong management, and clear opportunities for growth.
11:14 – Lessons From Exit One to Exit Nine
Avoiding deal fever, strengthening diligence, and making critical decisions faster during the first 18–24 months.
14:26 – Changing Founder-Led Cultures
The challenges of accelerating decision-making in businesses shaped by the same founder for decades.
17:28 – Who Stays and Who Goes Post-Acquisition
How to identify advocates for change, potential resistors, and leadership team members who can adapt.
20:55 – Lessons From 20+ Add-On Acquisitions
Why cultural fit becomes increasingly important as the size of an add-on grows.
24:41 – Generating $150M+ in Free Cash Flow
Using lean principles, customer value, SKU rationalisation, inventory reduction, and process improvement to unlock cash.
29:56 – The Essential Skill for PE-Backed CXOs
Having the confidence to make decisions, admit mistakes, own the outcome, and explain what comes next.
31:53 – Leadership Frameworks That Shaped Paul
Lean Thinking, the Danaher Business System, Good to Great, and Michael Porter’s Five Forces.
34:55 – Connecting With Paul
Paul shares how listeners can reach him after the episode.
Raw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.
🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/
🌐 Visit Raw Selection www.raw-selection.com

In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings is joined by Mark Radzik, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Granite Creek Capital Partners, to explore investing and value creation in the lower middle market.
Mark shares his journey from Arthur Andersen and banking to spending seven years at Equity Group Investments, the private investment firm founded by billionaire Sam Zell. It was there that Mark learned to become what Zell called a “professional opportunist”—finding opportunities where others aren't looking while maintaining the discipline required to invest successfully.
The conversation explores why private equity firms can make the mistake of moving too quickly after an acquisition, why Granite Creek takes a conservative approach to leverage, and how reinvesting cash flow into people, sales, infrastructure, and growth can transform founder-led businesses.
Mark also explains why getting the right management team is one of Granite Creek’s most important value-creation strategies, how assessments such as DISC can provide additional data when hiring executives, and why knowing when to exit a successful investment is just as important as knowing when to buy.
Key Topics
Why moving too quickly can destroy a portfolio company's “secret sauce”
Avoiding excessive leverage in lower-middle-market businesses
Creating returns through organic growth rather than financial engineering
Finding opportunities in markets where less private equity capital is competing
Reinvesting founder cash flow to accelerate growth
Why the management team can matter more than the market
Using DISC and other assessments to de-risk executive hiring
What Mark learned from billionaire investor Sam Zell
Becoming a disciplined “professional opportunist”
Why private equity investors need to think more about exit timing
Knowing when to leave the next stage of value creation for the next investor
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction to Mark Radzik and Granite Creek Capital Partners
00:28 – Why Mark always wanted to become an investor
02:27 – From Arthur Andersen to banking and private investing
03:21 – Learning to become a “professional opportunist” from Sam Zell
04:43 – The biggest mistakes in lower-middle-market private equity
06:09 – Why Granite Creek avoids overleveraging businesses
08:19 – Organic growth versus acquisition-led strategies
09:38 – What makes an attractive platform investment
12:00 – Why getting the right management team drives value creation
13:55 – Using assessments to build complementary leadership teams
16:21 – Why personality assessments are a data point, not the answer
17:15 – DISC, Myers-Briggs, and executive assessment
19:12 – Mark’s biggest lessons from Sam Zell
20:12 – Avoiding groupthink and finding markets where you can win
21:37 – Why exit timing matters in private equity
23:04 – Knowing when a successful business is ready to sell
24:59 – When to leave value creation for the next investor
27:20 – Mark’s recommended podcasts and books
28:45 – How to connect with Mark Radzik
29:10 – Closing thoughts
Raw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.
🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/
🌐 Visit Raw Selection www.raw-selection.com

After more than 30 years in investing—including 20 years at BC Partners and a decade as CIO—Jean-Baptiste Wautier joins Alex Rawlings to share the lessons that have shaped his approach to private equity.
Jean-Baptiste explains why trying to time markets is a mistake, how GPs should think about exits, and why time and DPI can matter just as much as MOIC. He also argues that private equity has entered a consolidation phase where scale, institutionalisation and permanent capital will increasingly separate the long-term winners from the rest.
The conversation also explores how firms should diversify, the tailwinds behind AI and the US economy, and Jean-Baptiste’s three requirements for a great investment: a strong moat, an exceptional management team and multiple layers of optionality. He breaks down what he looks for in CEOs, where operating teams can genuinely create value, and why the skill set required to lead tomorrow’s private equity firms is changing.
Key Takeaways
Don’t try to perfectly time deployment or exits; invest steadily and price for the environment.
Exit decisions should start with fund-level needs, including DPI, the J-curve and the cost of time.
Scale is becoming essential as private equity shifts from entrepreneurial partnerships toward large institutions.
New strategies should be capable of becoming meaningful, multi-billion-dollar businesses and leverage existing infrastructure.
Permanent capital can provide GPs with strategic stability and longevity.
Great investments combine moat, management and optionality across both value creation and exit routes.
The strongest CEOs tend to excel in one core dimension—charisma, operations or finance—while also creating trust and alignment.
Functional operating expertise such as working capital and procurement can be more repeatable than broad “sector expertise.”
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction to Jean-Baptiste Wautier
01:28 – The mistake of trying to time private equity markets
03:21 – When is the right time to exit?
04:17 – DPI, the J-curve and the cost of holding assets
05:15 – The current state and future of private equity
06:42 – Why subscale firms face consolidation
09:39 – Why performance alone is no longer enough
13:04 – Where displaced private equity talent may go next
14:31 – How GPs can scale AUM
16:57 – Why permanent capital is the “Holy Grail”
18:22 – When firms should diversify into new strategies
20:17 – What helped BC Partners scale
23:45 – Where the next investment tailwinds may come from
27:10 – Moat, management and optionality
32:23 – What the best private equity CEOs have in common
35:42 – What makes a strong value-creation strategy
39:03 – How private equity firms are becoming institutions
44:44 – Books and investors that shaped Jean-Baptiste’s thinking
46:33 – How to connect with Jean-Baptiste
Raw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.
🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/
🌐 Visit Raw Selection www.raw-selection.com

In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings speaks with Lesley Thomas, founder of the Money Confidence Academy, about how financial pressure, fear, and ego can affect value creation within private equity-backed businesses.
Lesley explains how pressure changes executive behaviour, slows decision-making, and discourages honest communication. She outlines the early warning signs that leadership teams are becoming overwhelmed, including delayed reports, repeated agenda items, quieter executives, and concerns being raised outside the meeting room rather than within it.
The conversation explores the “hidden tax” created by missed opportunities, employee turnover, slow decisions, and ineffective leadership behaviour. Lesley explains why putting a number on these costs can help investors and management teams understand the potential impact on EBITDA.
Lesley also shares practical steps for improving decision-making under pressure, creating a culture where people feel safe speaking up, and helping executives reflect more honestly on how fear and personal financial stakes influence their choices.
Key Takeaways
How financial pressure affects executive judgement and behaviour
Why stress can push leaders into fight, flight, or freeze mode
The early warning signs that a leadership team is becoming overwhelmed
How slow decision-making creates a hidden cost for portfolio companies
Why leaders agree in meetings but raise concerns privately afterwards
How fear-based cultures reduce honesty, engagement, and accountability
Why repeatedly delayed decisions should be investigated
How to measure the hidden tax of missed opportunities and employee turnover
Why executives should reflect on decisions made under pressure
How open communication can improve performance and value creation
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction to Lesley Thomas and the Money Confidence Academy
01:25 – The biggest mistake businesses make under financial pressure
03:10 – How pressure affects executive judgement
04:05 – Why decision-making slows in PE-backed businesses
05:02 – The cost of delayed decisions and missed opportunities
06:30 – Early warning signs of executive overwhelm
07:22 – Sideline conversations and hidden disagreement
08:17 – Acting on intuition when behaviour begins to change
09:16 – Approaching difficult conversations with executives
10:14 – Creating genuinely open communication
11:13 – How fear creates protectionism and disengagement
12:08 – Using the experience of long-standing employees
13:05 – How the hidden tax affects EBITDA and performance
13:34 – Measuring lost opportunity and organisational cost
15:03 – Why putting a number on the problem matters
16:30 – Improving decision speed and ownership
17:27 – Investigating decisions that repeatedly return to the board
18:21 – Starting with one unresolved decision
19:47 – Advice for executives making decisions under pressure
21:14 – How cortisol can limit effective decision-making
22:13 – Reflecting on financial decisions
23:40 – Understanding why leaders remain silent
25:12 – Recommended books and podcasts
26:40 – How to connect with Lesley Thomas
27:09 – Closing remarks
Raw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.
🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/
🌐 Visit Raw Selection www.raw-selection.com