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Sourcing Pods

Definition

A team structure that groups sourcing professionals with investment professionals (and sometimes partners) into small units organized around an end market, geography, or coverage type. Dan Herr draws the analogy from the traditional sales pod model — an account executive paired with SDRs working a defined territory — adapted to private equity sourcing.

Origin

Introduced by Dan Herr in Ep. 6: How to Generate Predictable, Repeatable, and Scalable Deal Flow.

Structure

The traditional PE sourcing pod pairs: - A partner (senior sponsorship and relationship capital) - A sourcing professional (BD/origination) - An investment professional (deal evaluation and execution)

Variations include multiple sourcing professionals per pod, no dedicated partner, or multiple investment professionals. Dan recommends team members participate in two to three pods rather than being single-threaded, with time allocation varying (e.g., 50% on one pod, 25% each on two others). (Ep. 6)

Goal-Setting for Pods

Pod-level goals should be calibrated to three factors (Ep. 6):

  1. Market potential: The size and activity level of the end market, geography, or coverage area the pod is responsible for
  2. Team composition and experience: A pod with a 15-year sourcing veteran and a 20-year investment professional may carry a $200M annual deployment target; a pod of two junior team members may aim for one deal in the year
  3. Time allocation: If a team member splits time across three pods, their contribution to each is proportional

Dan cautions against universal pod targets: "You also have to look at the realities of that pod, both in terms of the market that they're responsible for and what's the potential within that market, as well as the amount of time that those individuals are allocating toward that pod." (Ep. 6)