How to Determine if a Partner is Right for You

Jeff Vogel, Partner at Court Square Capital Partners; Jared Ruger, Partner at Bertram Capital; and Iveshu Bhatia, Managing Director of Private Equity at Audax Group, can all agree on one important piece of advice: your partner matters more than the cost of capital, so be honest with them.“Things that allow you to communicate well will fundamentally come from having command of your business and being honest about where you're good, where you're bad and what you need help with,” Iveshu says. “There's a partner for everyone that's out there. … As long as you communicate clearly and honestly, you will be able to find the right partner for you.”When making a deal in the M&A space, you have to remember you'll be working very closely with this team for several years, so make sure you get along with them both socially and professionally. Jared suggests speaking with several of their references, particularly executives who have partnered with them in the past, to see how they dealt with issues such as dips in the market in the past. If they have a similar approach to problem solving and share a similar business outlook, you’re more likely to find success.“Small differences in the cost of capital or valuation, I think, are meaningfully outweighed by finding the right partner that shares your vision and strategy,” Jared says.In this episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, Jeff, Jared and Iveshu discuss tactics for finding the right partner, the importance of having command of your business and the changes — and some things that have stayed consistent — in the M&A space during the pandemic.“The greater command you have and the greater visibility and transparency you have in your business, the better position you're going to be in to not only run that business, but if you go to market and you want to find the right partner for you, you can answer all the questions that they're likely going to have,” Jeff says.💡 Featured Guest 💡Name: Jeff Vogel What he does: As a Partner at middle market private equity firm Court Square Capital Partners, Jeff focuses on technology investing, particularly in software and tech services.Company: Court Square Capital PartnersWords of wisdom: “What's very important for any investor that's coming into a business is that they’re backing a management team that has commanded their business. They don't have the perfect ability to predict what is going to happen, but they can demonstrate that in previous disruptions … this is how they were able to weather the storm.”Connect: LinkedIn 💡 Featured Guest 💡Name: Jared RugerWhat he does: As a Partner at private equity firm Bertram Capital, Jared leads the firm’s business services effort, which is largely a tech-enabled services vertical.Company: Bertram Capital Words of wisdom: “We're all trying to find the components of a business that are yet to be fully harnessed, that we feel like we have a history and track record of successfully executing on, and by nature of that, can underwrite and see growth and opportunity there.” Connect: LinkedIn 💡 Featured Guest 💡Name: Iveshu BhatiaWhat he does: As the Managing Director of Private Equity at capital market...