The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection

In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings is joined by Andrew Weinberg, Founder and CEO of Brightstar Capital Partners, to explore how private equity firms can create value in the middle market while navigating a changing exit environment. 
Andrew explains why culture, apprenticeship and team-based decision-making are central to Brightstar’s approach, and why spending more time upfront thinking about exit pathways can help create stronger outcomes for portfolio companies. 
He also shares how Brightstar is applying AI across the firm, with nearly 100 AI agents already working alongside its team.
The conversation then turns to the middle market and the coming intergenerational wealth transfer. Andrew discusses the succession challenges facing family-owned businesses, the different ownership options available to the next generation, and how private equity can combine capital, debt and operational know-how to provide greater flexibility for owners.
Key Takeaways
• Build an inclusive, team-based culture where everyone has a voice and humility is valued.
• Think about exit pathways from the beginning of an investment rather than waiting for a sale process.
• Use AI to accelerate sourcing, diligence, value creation, risk management and exit planning.
• Treat AI as a thought partner that improves decision-making rather than replacing human judgement.
• Use knowledge transfer across portfolio companies to scale successful AI use cases.
• Prepare for the intergenerational wealth transfer by creating multiple ownership and succession options.
• Give family business owners flexibility around ownership, leadership and liquidity.
• Invest deliberately in training, communication and development across the private equity team.
• Use pattern recognition and post-mortems to learn from both successful and unsuccessful investments.
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction to Andrew Weinberg and Brightstar Capital Partners
01:27 – Brightstar’s PhD culture and what it means
03:23 – The biggest mistake PE firms make around exits
04:55 – The state of the US middle market
06:46 – How Brightstar is leveraging AI internally
08:41 – Applying AI across portfolio companies
10:08 – Using AI across sourcing, diligence and value creation
11:29 – AI, investment decisions and post-mortems
13:18 – AI use cases across Brightstar’s portfolio
15:12 – The impact of the intergenerational wealth transfer
17:09 – Creating ownership options for middle-market businesses
18:35 – Succession planning and the next generation
20:02 – Why more change can create more opportunity
20:51 – Andrew’s biggest career lessons from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Lindsay Goldberg
23:14 – Training and developing private equity professionals
25:39 – Andrew’s influential books and resources
27:30 – How to connect with Andrew
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 Konstanze Nardi, Partner at EY and leader of EY’s Global Exit Readiness offering, to explore how private equity firms and portfolio companies can prepare for successful exits and maximise value.
Konstanze shares insights from EY’s Global Private Equity Exit Readiness Study, based on perspectives from 100 PE executives and 100 C-suite executives from recently exited PE-backed companies.
Konstanze and Alex also discuss the importance of starting formal exit preparation 12–24 months before a sale. She explains why consistent KPI reporting, granular data and evidence of value creation need to be built over time, rather than manufactured in the final few months.
Key Takeaways
• Treat exit readiness as a value creation discipline rather than a last-minute transaction exercise.
• Start thinking about the eventual buyer and equity story from the point of acquisition.
• Begin formal exit preparation 12–24 months before a potential sale.
• Build consistent data and evidence around value creation initiatives over time.
• Focus on three core exit levers: evidence, narrative and management credibility.
• Prepare management teams to confidently explain the data and handle difficult buyer questions.
• Consider AI through both a value-creation and risk perspective as part of the equity story.
• Give LPs transparency around value creation, credible exit routes and liquidity plans.
• Strong leadership, trust and people remain fundamental to creating value.
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction to Konstanze Nardi and EY’s Exit Readiness offering
01:28 – The biggest mistake companies make with exit readiness
02:53 – EY’s Global Private Equity Exit Readiness Study
04:18 – The gap between sponsor and management support
05:17 – When should companies start preparing for an exit?
06:14 – How early preparation can improve valuations
06:49 – The growing role of AI in exit readiness
08:23 – How AI is becoming part of the equity story
09:24 – The three levers that build buyer confidence
10:23 – Building a compelling future value creation story
10:53 – The importance of management involvement
11:21 – LP perspectives on liquidity
13:06 – The experiences that shaped Konstanze’s career
14:10 – Why leadership, trust and people matter
14:40 – How to connect with Konstanze
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 Dan Bernoske, Founder and CEO of Cortado Group, to explore how private equity firms and portfolio companies can strengthen go-to-market performance while effectively leveraging AI.
Dan explains why speed matters after an acquisition, particularly when assessing commercial talent, and why firms need to separate emotional attachment to legacy teams from objective performance data. He also explores the importance of treating CRM systems as strategic infrastructure rather than simply another piece of technology.
The conversation then turns to AI. Dan shares practical applications for using call transcripts to coach sales teams at scale, improve qualification, identify performance trends, and ultimately increase win rates. He explains why successful AI adoption starts with the business problem—not the technology—and why portfolio companies should build a strong proprietary “context engine” around their CRM data, call transcripts, buyer personas, and historical wins and losses.
Dan and Alex also discuss how AI is changing organizational design, allowing salespeople to spend more time building relationships with buyers while technology handles lower-value tasks. Crucially, Dan warns against viewing AI as a replacement for human salespeople: poorly deployed automation can damage relationships and even burn entire territories.
Key Takeaways
• Move quickly when evaluating commercial talent, but understand where founder-led strengths still create value.
• Build the sales process first and configure the CRM around it—not the other way around.
• CRM data integrity is essential for reliable pipeline visibility and forecasting.
• Use AI to analyze sales calls, improve qualification, and deliver coaching at scale.
• Create a proprietary context engine before becoming overly dependent on any single AI model.
• Redesign roles by identifying tasks AI can handle while allowing people to focus on empathy, listening, trust, and relationships.
• Don’t automate bad processes. Strong sales fundamentals remain essential regardless of the technology.
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction to Dan Bernoske and Cortado Group
00:57 – Where PE firms and portfolio companies move too slowly
02:54 – Warning signs that commercial talent needs replacing
04:37 – Three fundamentals of an effective CRM
06:34 – How AI can transform go-to-market strategy
08:21 – Using AI to analyze sales calls and coach teams
09:46 – Measuring qualification frameworks such as BANT
11:45 – ChatGPT, Claude and choosing AI technology
13:14 – The three foundations for successful AI implementation
13:40 – Building a proprietary AI context engine
15:03 – How AI is reshaping organizational design
16:34 – Why empathy and relationships remain human advantages
17:24 – The biggest mistakes companies make with AI
18:20 – Why replacing sales reps with AI can burn territories
19:18 – Freeing sales teams to spend more time with buyers
21:14 – Dan’s recommended AI and professional-services resources
23:13 – Why portfolio companies may need an AI innovation advisor
23:42 – How to connect with Dan
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 Jeffery Raju, Founder & CEO of Stonehill Business Services.
With 15 years of experience across fund administration, controller, and CFO roles, Jeffery has worked with emerging managers ranging from sub-$10 million funds to multi-billion-dollar platforms.
Jeffery explains why emerging private equity managers must treat their firm as an investment management business rather than simply an investment shop, and how building the right financial infrastructure early can support fundraising, improve decision-making, and create a platform capable of scaling.
They discuss the differences between the finance functions of a $50 million fund and a $1 billion platform, the operational expectations of sophisticated LPs, and why managers should become institutional before expecting institutional capital.
Key Topics
Why private equity firms must treat finance as a business-enablement tool rather than a compliance exercise.
How budgeting, forecasting, tax planning, and financial reporting improve decision-making.
The finance infrastructure differences between emerging funds and billion-dollar platforms.
Why smaller managers often need fractional financial leadership.
How LP expectations change as managers move from friends-and-family capital to more sophisticated investors.
The operational due diligence sophisticated LPs expect.
Why strong historical returns alone may not be enough to secure institutional capital.
When emerging managers should begin professionalising their finance function.
Why becoming institutional should happen before, not after, scaling.
Jeffery’s recommended books for entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction to Jeffery Raju, Founder & CEO of Stonehill Business Services
00:30 – Jeffery’s background across private equity, venture capital, and fund finance
00:56 – The biggest financial infrastructure mistake emerging managers make
02:28 – What operationally mature private equity firms do differently
04:18 – Finance infrastructure: $50M funds vs. $1B platforms
06:04 – How finance and operational maturity impact fundraising
06:24 – High-net-worth investors vs. sophisticated LPs
07:21 – The operational due diligence sophisticated investors expect
08:14 – Why exceptional investment returns aren’t always enough
09:19 – When should a PE firm build an institutional-level finance function?
10:08 – Why firms must become institutional before they can scale
10:34 – Key inflection points for bringing in financial leadership
11:01 – Moving from syndications to a first fund
11:59 – Jeffery’s recommended books and resources
12:40 – How to connect with Jeffery Raju and Stonehill Business Services
13:37 – 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

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