On this episode, Bobby Ocampo, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Blueprint Equity, discusses how to identify whether a bootstrapped business has what it takes to scale, and what it takes to build the go-to-market infrastructure that gets it there.Bobby walks through the three signals he looks for when assessing a company's growth potential, why resisting pressure to raise a larger fund can help firms stay competitive in the 'missing middle', and how an embedded operating team—funded out of management fees rather than charged to portcos—changes the nature of the investor-founder relationship.

On this episode, Arjan Hannink, Partner at Keensight Capital, explains how their growth buyout firm structures hands-on value creation support across a portfolio of B2B software and IT services companies. Learn why Keensight built an internal team of close to 40 value creation professionals—including in-house CPO, CTO, CMO and CRO functions—and how that team operates alongside management rather than above it.Hear about an approach to prioritizing growth initiatives when there is always more to do than bandwidth allows, why an all-you-can-eat resourcing model avoids the wrong incentives and how embedding value creation expertise into the deal process leads to faster execution post-close.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

On this episode, Amy Kramer, Head of the Go-To-Market Operating Group at Level Equity, shares findings from their 2026 Go-To-Market Insights Report—a benchmark study covering sales efficiency, marketing spend, headcount, compensation and AI adoption across their portfolio companies.Amy and Shiv dig into what the data shows: why SDRs are having to reach out to more prospects to book the same number of meetings, how the best-performing teams are breaking through the noise with smarter targeting and more direct outreach, and why companies are shifting more budget toward brand and top-of-funnel. They also cover the rise of AI visibility as a pipeline driver, how teams are restructuring around rev ops and product marketing, and what the shift in go-to-market rhythm means for how companies hire and retain customers.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

On this episode, Jim Ferry, Partner at Volition Capital, shares how AI is reshaping the growth-stage investment landscape and what it means for the companies they back.Jim covers why employee count is no longer a reliable signal of company maturity, where real defensibility comes from when code itself is becoming a commodity, and what moats still hold up — from first-party data and proprietary integrations to network effects and systems of record. He also covers how founders can demonstrate AI fluency to investors and when to expect margin expansion from AI adoption.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

On this episode, Joe Mancini, Co-Founder and Partner at Front Porch Venture Partners, explains how a hybrid fund-of-funds model works in practice—deploying capital both into early-stage venture funds as an LP and directly into seed and Series A companies, with a deliberate focus on the Southeast.Learn why the most defensible moats in software today are being built around go-to-market and purpose-built vertical features rather than technology alone, and how the falling cost of code is compressing roadmap timelines from quarters to weeks. Plus, get a practical framework for deciding where to deploy human capital versus AI agents.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

On this episode, Arvindh Kumar, Partner and Co-Head of EQT's Global Technology Sector Team, explains how private equity firms can turn AI laggard companies into AI winners — and why getting that transformation right starts with the CEO.Arvindh walks through the defensive attributes he looks for when underwriting software investments, including proprietary data, embedded workflows and network effects, and explains how those characteristics determine whether AI acts as an amplifier or a threat. Learn how one of the biggest PE firms in the world prioritizes AI initiatives across engineering, product and sales; how portfolio companies have put AI to work in tangible ways; and why the firms seeing the fastest results are using access, positive peer pressure and clear business KPIs rather than wholesale team replacement to drive adoption.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

On this episode adapted from a recent webinar, Shiv Narayanan, CEO and Founder of How To SaaS and bestselling author of AI Marketing Blueprint, explains how companies can adapt their go-to-market and thrive in an AI-first world.Companies everywhere are missing their revenue targets, and the old playbook is breaking down. Inbound is getting more expensive, more competitive, and less effective.Why? Because, in an AI-first world, most of a buyer journey is invisible. What once required research, website visits, and sales conversations can now happen in seconds — without ever engaging your business.Companies need to rethink their go-to-market and focus on increasing visibility and authority to reduce the risk of AI disruption. In this episode, you'll get a practical, evergreen framework that outlines the 7 new rules CEOs, investors, and revenue leaders need to focus on to stay competitive.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

On this episode, Bob Morse, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Strattam Capital, shares how founder-led vertical software companies can embed AI meaningfully into their products and avoid being left behind as the market shifts.Hear how Strattam approaches AI adoption across its portfolio—from replacing year-long custom development backlogs with 48-hour turnarounds, to tracking the share of deals where AI features are the deciding factor in the sale. Learn why successful AI adoption requires leadership change before technology change, how to identify AI projects worth pursuing by staying close to the customer problem and why the goal is to be in the AI spending bucket rather than the SaaS spending bucket.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Luke Sarsfield, CEO and Chairman at Ridgepost Capital, shares how a fund of funds platform can generate differentiated alpha by staying disciplined about market focus and building proprietary data advantages over time.Luke explains why concentrating on the middle and lower middle market creates structural advantages that broader platforms miss, and how collecting deal-level data across 20-plus years turns an LP relationship into genuine investment insight. Learn what separates best-in-breed managers from median performers, and why being a value-added partner—not just a capital provider—is what makes firms want to work with you.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Ray Carey, Head of NextLevel Operations at Level Equity, explains how private equity firms can take a more systematic approach to driving value across their portfolio with operational support. Hear how Level Equity prioritizes their time and resources, why they connect activities to valuation with metrics, and how firms can identify where operational intervention will have the greatest impact. Tune in to learn how to build an effective operating team and how to create feedback loops in an environment where results take years to materialize. The conversation offers a practical view into how firms can cheer, coach or play for their portfolio company teams, and the factors that go into choosing the right approach.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.