Paul Stansik of ParkerGale Capital - An Operating Partner’s POV on Value Creation

03/12/24 • 46 min

Cloud Returns | A SaaS Investing Podcast

Our Guest: Paul Stansik is the Private Equity Operating Partner at ParkerGale Capital, a B2B focused private equity firm, buying profitable technology companies from founders.

Episode Topics:

Paul and PartnerGale Capital's investment criteria.
What does an operating partner do?
A brief overview of Paul's weekly sales playbook at PartnerGale Capital.
Approach to gaining a deeper understanding of a business's dynamics.
Paul elaborates: "Always scrubbing the pipeline means never scrubbing the pipeline."
Assessing the “sales machine” of a target investment during due diligence..
Paul’s view on the impact of AI on sales and marketing.
An overview of ParkerGale's hiring playbook.
Realities and challenges of building teams in the middle market.

Resources:

Paul Stansik’s Substack: https://hellooperator.substack.com/

The Weekly Sales Metrics Playbook

Hiring Playbook Slides: How We Hire At ParkerGale

"What CEOs Should Expect From Their Sales Leader"

"AI’s Impact on Sales + Marketing"

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Our Guest: Paul Stansik is the Private Equity Operating Partner at ParkerGale Capital, a B2B focused private equity firm, buying profitable technology companies from founders.

Episode Topics:

Paul and PartnerGale Capital's investment criteria.
What does an operating partner do?
A brief overview of Paul's weekly sales playbook at PartnerGale Capital.
Approach to gaining a deeper understanding of a business's dynamics.
Paul elaborates: "Always scrubbing the pipeline means never scrubbing the pipeline."
Assessing the “sales machine” of a target investment during due diligence..
Paul’s view on the impact of AI on sales and marketing.
An overview of ParkerGale's hiring playbook.
Realities and challenges of building teams in the middle market.

Resources:

Paul Stansik’s Substack: https://hellooperator.substack.com/

The Weekly Sales Metrics Playbook

Hiring Playbook Slides: How We Hire At ParkerGale

"What CEOs Should Expect From Their Sales Leader"

"AI’s Impact on Sales + Marketing"

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Previous Episode

Dave Yuan - Vertical SaaS Investing Playbook

Our Guest: Dave Yuan is the Founder of Tidemark, a growth equity firm focused on helping companies scale. With over 20 years of experience, Dave has invested in twelve companies that have gone public, eight that have been acquired.

Episode Topics:

Dave and Tidemark’s investment criteria.
Ideal qualities for vSaaS founders.
Dave's viewpoints on overspending in R&D, product risk, and product development in vertical SaaS.
What does good multi-product sequencing look like?
Is AI an opportunity, neutral, or a threat in vertical SaaS?
The supply/demand imbalance between private investors and scaled vertical SaaS companies.
A framework for determining when to raise more capital or pursue a capital-efficient path.
What SaaS company does Dave admire the most?
Dave’s learnings from starting a new fund.

Resources:

Tidemark Vertical SaaS Knowledge Project: https://www.tidemarkcap.com/vskp

Tidemark 2024 Vertical SaaS Benchmark Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5CFVSHQ

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Next Episode

Diamond Innabi - SaaS M&A 101: Selling Your Software Company

Our Guest: Diamond Innabi is a Principal at Software Equity Group (SEG), a boutique M&A advisory firm headquartered in San Diego that focuses on B2B vertically focused software and SaaS companies.

Episode Topics:

Understanding the full cycle - from prep to closing - of selling your company.
When should CEOs engage with an investment banker or consider an M&A path?
Common mistakes that founders, CEOs, and boards make during the M&A process.
Diamond's advice to founders who are interfacing with potential acquirers.
Overview of SEG’s 20 Factor Valuation Scorecard.
Difference between strategic buyers and private equity firms in terms of acquisition criteria.
Diamond elaborates on the 2023 M&A Report: “The higher-than-usual volume of low multiple deals is a result of from negative transaction catalysts like evaporating cash runway, challenging debt dynamics, competitive concerns, or investors opting to exit their lower-performing assets to focus on high performers.”
Factors influencing premium valuations for select companies.

Resources:

https://softwareequity.com/research/

https://softwareequity.com/company-valuation-formula/

https://softwareequity.com/research/saas-ma-buyers-perspectives

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/