Deal Sourcery Wiki — Index¶
A structured, interlinked knowledge base built from the Deal Sourcery podcast. Maintained by LLM; curated by humans.
Episodes¶
| Page | Summary |
|---|---|
| Ep. 1: Decoding the EdTech Founder | Karl Rectanus (LearnPlatform) on the founder's perspective on PE outreach, systematic inbound screening, the exit process, and impact-centered organizations. |
| Ep. 2: Data Snacks — The Unlock to Engaging PE Prospects | Kate Hopkins (OneGuide) on portfolio operations history and models, leveraging portfolio ops for sourcing, data snacks, sourcing enablement, and PE-hosted events as prospecting tools. |
| Ep. 3: The Truth About Private Equity BD Compensation | Dan Herr and Matt Rooney (hosts) on BD comp structures: base salary ranges, bonus mechanics (discretionary vs. performance-based), carried interest, tiered multipliers, and team incentives. |
| Ep. 4: The Truth About PE from a Founder's Perspective | Rod Jimenez (SHR Group) on filtering PE outreach, 18-month relationship building, curiosity over conviction, and character-first partner selection. |
| Ep. 5: 3x CEO Secret Weapon for Winning Add-Ons | Bill Nunan (Lexapol / Manage America) on operator-led add-on M&A strategy, platform story framework, enterprise deal pursuit, CEO as competitive differentiator, and founder relationship management. |
| Ep. 6: How to Generate Predictable, Repeatable, and Scalable Deal Flow | Dan Herr and Matt Rooney (hosts) on systematizing deal flow: inputs vs. outputs metrics, granular pipeline stages, five-meeting accountability cadence, sourcing pods, and strategy-specific metric selection. |
| Ep. 20: What It Takes to Source Elite Founder-Owned Software Companies | Jake Colognesi (Mamba Growth) on sourcing bootstrapped SaaS founders, value-first outreach, sourcing culture, LP diligence on sourcing, and being human in an AI world. |
| Ep. 21: Lessons From Three Decades of Deal Sourcing | Glenn Oken (Mangrove Equity Partners) on 30+ years of BD, intermediary management, IC inclusion, exit storytelling, and the evolution of PE sourcing from 1989 to 2026. |
| Ep. 22: Gold Medal Sourcing — 5x Olympic Gold Medalist's Journey into Deal Sourcing | Ryan Murphy (Norwest Venture Partners) on transitioning from elite sports to deal sourcing, breaking through the noise as a newcomer, and applying lifestyle-of-success habits to career longevity. |
| Ep. 23: Deals Still Run on Relationships | Chris Reilly (VRA Partners) on engaging boutique bankers, building referral networks through COIs, and VRA's multi-channel origination model. |
Hosts¶
| Page | Current Firms | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Herr | Acqwired, Tahoe Equity Partners | Co-host |
| Matt Rooney | Coastal Partners | Co-host |
Guests¶
| Page | Role | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Nunan | CEO, Lexapol; Executive Chair, Manage America | Ep. 5 |
| Chris Reilly | Managing Director, VRA Partners | Ep. 23 |
| Glenn Oken | Managing Partner (BD), Mangrove Equity Partners | Ep. 21 |
| Jake Colognesi | Founding Partner, Mamba Growth | Ep. 20 |
| Karl Rectanus | Founder & CEO, LearnPlatform; Advisor & Board Member | Ep. 1 |
| Kate Hopkins | Founder & CEO, OneGuide | Ep. 2 |
| Rod Jimenez | CEO, SHR Group | Ep. 4 |
| Ryan Murphy | Sourcing Associate, Norwest Venture Partners | Ep. 22 |
Organizations¶
| Page | Type | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Acqwired | Advisory | — |
| Coastal Partners | Recruiting firm | Eps. 3, 11 |
| Goldfish Swim School | Portfolio company | Ep. 22 |
| Lead Edge | PE firm | Ep. 2 |
| Lexapol | Portfolio company | Ep. 5 |
| Mamba Growth | PE firm | Ep. 20 |
| Mangrove Equity Partners | PE firm | Ep. 21 |
| Norwest Venture Partners | PE firm | Ep. 22 |
| OneGuide | Advisory | Ep. 2 |
| Serent Capital | PE firm | Eps. 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 |
| Tahoe Equity Partners | PE firm | — |
| Vista Equity Partners | PE firm | Ep. 5 |
| VRA Partners | Investment bank | Ep. 23 |
Topics¶
| Page | Episode Count | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Add-on Acquisitions | 1 | CEO-driven add-on strategy: strategic planning, target ranking, founder relationships, collaborative pursuit. |
| BD Team Structure and Compensation | 4 | Dedicated vs. hybrid BD models, team size, equity comp, and the downstream effects on culture. |
| Breaking Through the Noise | 5 | Getting responses in inboxes saturated with investor outreach — subject lines, unique hooks, human differentiation. |
| Career Transition into Sourcing | 1 | Advice for professionals entering deal sourcing from non-traditional backgrounds. |
| Engaging Boutique Bankers | 3 | How PE firms should cover the long tail of boutique investment banks — what bankers care about, how to get into fireside chats, the first 90 days. |
| Evolution of PE Sourcing | 5 | From 1989 ring binders and buy-side brokers to CRMs and sell-side investment banks. |
| Investment Lens Definition | 1 | Defining investment criteria with concrete, non-subjective terms so the whole team is aligned on what's a deal. |
| Junior BD Onboarding | 1 | First 90 days advice for new sourcing professionals — cross-vertical exposure, sponge mindset, patient mentors. |
| Leveraging Portfolio Ops for Sourcing | 1 | How portfolio operations teams support deal sourcing through content, events, network leverage, and sourcing enablement. |
| LP Diligence on Sourcing | 1 | How LPs evaluate sourcing capabilities — questions they ask, what differentiates top decile from median. |
| M&A Process Dynamics | 4 | How lower middle market processes work — broad auctions vs. narrow processes, buyer behavior tracking, process evolution. |
| Origination and Deal Sourcing | 9 | Multi-channel origination models, KPIs, geographic market strategy, portfolio ops as sourcing channel, the evolution of the BD professional. |
| Portfolio Operations | 1 | History, evolution, and team models (lean, generalist, centers of excellence, full-stack) of portfolio operations in PE. |
| Referral Networks and COIs | 1 | Centers of influence as a deal origination channel — wealth advisors, attorneys, accountants, the COI hierarchy, referral economics. |
| Sourcing Culture | 5 | Building and sustaining a team culture where sourcing is everyone's job — hiring, leading from the front, celebrating wins. |
| Value-First Outreach | 9 | Leading outreach with value to the recipient — competitive intel, benchmarking, portfolio data, introductions — rather than AUM pitches. |
Concepts¶
| Page | Introduced By | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Activity Begets Activity | Glenn Oken (Ep. 21) | Visible deal-making activity generates inbound deal flow. |
| All Relationships Are Long-Term | Karl Rectanus (Ep. 1) | Treating every BD relationship as inherently long-term to deepen trust and eliminate long maybes. |
| AUM Defense Strategy | Chris Reilly (Ep. 23) | Why independent wealth advisors should partner with independent banks to prevent AUM capture by integrated competitors. |
| Character-First Partner Selection | Rod Jimenez (Ep. 4) | Prioritizing personal character and chemistry over firm brand or valuation premium. |
| Consistency of Personality | Ryan Murphy (Ep. 22) | Showing up with the same work ethic every day regardless of external circumstances. |
| Curiosity over Conviction | Rod Jimenez (Ep. 4) | Leading with genuine curiosity about unfamiliar sectors rather than false expertise. |
| Data Snacks | Kate Hopkins (Ep. 2) | Small, productized pieces of intelligence shared with prospects to add value in outreach. |
| Destination Economics | Bill Nunan (Ep. 5) | Growth and EBITDA performance targets that define an operator's mission. |
| Enterprise Deal Pursuit | Bill Nunan (Ep. 5) | Treating add-on acquisitions like enterprise software sales with a cross-functional team. |
| Fail Test | Karl Rectanus (Ep. 1) | Defining what absolute failure looks like for a decision — rather than success — to force honest evaluation. |
| Geographic Density Approach | Chris Reilly (Ep. 23) | Prioritizing market visits by density of existing COI relationships, then building additional meetings around anchor visits. |
| Granular Pipeline Stages | Dan Herr (Ep. 6) | 10–15 CRM pipeline stages enabling cross-sectional analysis of where top prospects stall. |
| Impact-Centered Organization | Karl Rectanus (Ep. 1) | Making impact the center of business decision-making — driving business model, financing, product, and operating model. |
| Inputs vs. Outputs Metrics | Dan Herr (Ep. 6) | Measuring engagement results rather than activity volume to avoid incentivizing box-checking. |
| Lifestyle of Success | Ryan Murphy (Ep. 22) | Daily habits (nutrition, sleep, recovery) that compound into sustained elite performance and career longevity. |
| Mamba Mentality | Jake Colognesi (Ep. 20) | Doing the unsexy, high-volume work when no one's looking as the path to proprietary deal flow. |
| Platform Story | Bill Nunan (Ep. 5) | Strategic narrative defining what a business is building and the market position it aims to own. |
| Precision and Discipline | Glenn Oken (Ep. 21) | Using data for targeting precision and systems for cadence discipline in intermediary coverage. |
| Reciprocal Relationship Building | Chris Reilly (Ep. 23) | The principle that productive deal-sourcing relationships require both parties actively helping each other. |
| Sea of Alternatives | Jake Colognesi (Ep. 20) | Visual metaphor for the overwhelming number of PE firms competing for the same deals. |
| Sourcing Accountability Cadence | Dan Herr (Ep. 6) | Five-tier meeting structure for translating sourcing goals into sustained performance. |
| Sourcing Enablement Funnel | Kate Hopkins (Ep. 2) | Layered framework for deploying portfolio ops capabilities (content → events → one-on-ones → in-person) across the sourcing process. |
| Sourcing Pods | Dan Herr (Ep. 6) | Team structures pairing sourcing and investment professionals around end markets or geographies. |
| Sponge Mindset | Ryan Murphy (Ep. 22) | Entering every room as a newcomer with humility, identifying what each colleague does well, and replicating it. |
| Storytelling Through Exits | Glenn Oken (Ep. 21) | Using exit case studies to communicate operational value-add as the most powerful sourcing message. |
| The Food Chain of M&A | Chris Reilly (Ep. 23) | The layered sourcing model: PE → bankers → COIs → business owners. Each layer sources most efficiently through the next. |
| Tiered Bonus Multipliers | Dan Herr (Ep. 3) | Escalating BD payout rates as performers exceed successive deployment hurdles. |
Glossary¶
| Page | Aliases | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Account Planning | Account Plans | Structured prospect-level strategy for breaking into high-priority targets. |
| Add-on Acquisition | Add-on, Bolt-on | A company acquired to complement and grow an existing platform company. |
| Annual Recurring Revenue | ARR, MRR | Annualized value of a company's recurring subscription revenue. |
| Assets Under Management | AUM | Total market value of assets managed by a financial advisor or firm. |
| Bootstrapped | Self-Funded | A company grown using its own revenue without external venture capital. |
| Boutique Investment Bank | Boutique Bank | Independent M&A advisory firm specializing in particular sectors or deal sizes. |
| Broad Auction | Broad Process, Full Auction | Sell-side M&A process marketing a company to many buyers at once — contrast to fireside chats. |
| Business Broker | Buy-Side Broker | Intermediary facilitating business sales, historically paid by the buyer. |
| Buy Side | Buy-Side | The acquiring party in an M&A transaction — typically a PE firm or strategic acquirer. |
| Carried Interest | Carry | Share of fund profits allocated to the management team as performance-based compensation. |
| Centers of Excellence | CoE | Portfolio ops team model organized by functional specialties (technology, sales, marketing, talent). |
| Centers of Influence | COI, COIs | Wealth advisors, attorneys, accountants, and other professionals who influence business owner decisions. |
| Co-Investment | Co-Invest, Deal-Level Equity | Equity stake in a specific portfolio company granted to the BD professional who sourced it. |
| Cold Outreach | Cold Email, Cold Calling | Unsolicited communication to a prospect with no prior relationship. |
| Confidential Information Memorandum | CIM | Detailed document describing a company for sale, provided to serious potential buyers under NDA. |
| CRM | Customer Relationship Management | Software for tracking deal pipelines and sourcing activity. |
| Deal Flow | — | The pipeline of potential acquisition or investment opportunities. |
| Due Diligence | DD | Comprehensive buyer investigation of a target company before completing an acquisition. |
| EBITDA | Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization | Standard measure of operating profitability used to size deals and compute valuation multiples. |
| Embedded Finance | Embedded Payments | Integration of financial services into non-financial software platforms. |
| Enterprise Value | EV | Measure of a company's total value: equity value plus debt minus cash. |
| Family Office | — | Private organization managing wealth and investments for high-net-worth families. |
| Fireside Chat | — | Pre-process, small-group conversation between a buyer and management, arranged by the sell-side advisor. |
| General Partner | GP | The manager of a private equity fund. |
| Gross Dollar Retention | GDR | Percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing customers. |
| Growth Equity | Growth Capital | Capital for established, growing companies — typically minority stakes. |
| Hold Period | Holding Period | Length of time a PE firm owns a portfolio company between acquisition and exit. |
| Independent Sponsor | Fundless Sponsor | Deal professional who sources acquisitions without a committed fund, raising capital deal-by-deal. |
| Indication of Interest | IOI, IOIs | Preliminary non-binding expression of a buyer's interest, preceding an LOI. |
| Investment Committee | IC | The PE firm body that approves investments — also a venue for monthly sourcing-team accountability. |
| Lehman Fee | Lehman Formula, Lehman Scale | Standard buy-side origination fee based on a sliding percentage of enterprise value (~1% for most LMM deals). |
| Letter of Intent | LOI | Non-binding document outlining key terms of a proposed acquisition. |
| Leveraged Buyout | LBO, Traditional LBO | Debt-financed acquisition strategy; contrasts with buy-and-build and growth-equity playbooks. |
| Limited Partner | LP | An investor in a private equity fund. |
| Lower Middle Market | LMM | M&A market segment involving companies with enterprise values roughly $30M–$350M. |
| Majority Recap | Majority Recapitalization | PE acquires majority stake while founder retains meaningful minority. |
| Management Presentation | Management Meeting | Formal meeting where a company's management presents to potential buyers during a sale process. |
| Mergers & Acquisitions | M&A | The buying, selling, and combining of companies. |
| On-Target Earnings | OTE, All-In Cash | Total expected annual cash compensation (base + bonus) when performance targets are met. |
| Origination | Deal Origination | The practice of finding and winning new deal mandates. |
| Platform Company | Platform | The initial PE acquisition around which add-on acquisitions are built. |
| Private Equity | PE | Investment funds that acquire ownership stakes in private companies. |
| Proprietary Deal Flow | Off-Market | Acquisition opportunities accessed exclusively, outside a competitive process. |
| Quality of Earnings | QofE | Independent financial analysis validating accuracy and sustainability of reported earnings. |
| Retrade | — | When a buyer changes deal terms (typically lowering valuation) after an initial agreement. |
| SaaS | Software as a Service | Cloud-hosted software accessed via subscription. |
| Search Fund | Searcher | Entrepreneurial acquisition model where an individual raises capital to find and operate a single business. |
| Second Bite of the Apple | Second Bite | The retained equity stake that pays off when the PE investor exits at a higher valuation. |
| Seed Round | Seed Funding, Seed Capital | Early-stage fundraise to validate a business concept and reach initial traction. |
| Sell Side | Sell-Side | The party representing the owner or company being sold in an M&A transaction. |
| Service Level Agreement | SLA, SLAs | Defined engagement standard for prospect accounts within a set timeframe. |
| Strategic Acquirer | Strategic Buyer, Strategic | An operating company that acquires another for operational synergies or market expansion. |
| Teaser | — | Brief, anonymous summary document used to gauge buyer interest before sharing the full CIM. |
| Total Addressable Market | TAM | Total revenue opportunity available if a product achieved 100% market share. |
| Value Creation | Value Add | Increasing portfolio company worth between investment and exit through operational improvements. |
| Vertical Software | Vertical SaaS | Software built to serve a specific industry or niche. |
Meta¶
| Page | Description |
|---|---|
| Overview | Wiki landing page and high-level summary |