Glossary

Industry terminology and acronyms defined in plain language, with context from podcast episodes.

Term	Aliases	Summary
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.
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.
Centers of Excellence	CoE	Internal operational capability teams shared across portfolio companies.
Centers of Influence	COI, COIs	Professionals who influence business owner decisions.
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.
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.
EBITDA	—	Standard measure of operating profitability for deal sizing.
Embedded Finance	Embedded Payments	Integration of financial services into non-financial software platforms.
Enterprise Value	EV	Measure of a company's total value: equity + debt - cash.
Family Office	—	Private organization managing wealth for high-net-worth families.
Fireside Chat	—	Pre-process, small-group conversation between buyer and management.
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	Duration a PE firm owns a portfolio company before exit.
Independent Sponsor	Fundless Sponsor	Deal professional who sources acquisitions without a committed fund.
Letter of Intent	LOI	Non-binding document outlining key terms of a proposed acquisition.
Limited Partner	LP	An investor in a private equity fund.
Lower Middle Market	LMM	M&A market segment for companies with EV roughly $30M–$350M.
Majority Recap	Majority Recapitalization	PE acquires majority stake while founder retains meaningful minority.
Management Presentation	Management Meeting	Formal meeting where management presents to potential buyers.
Mergers & Acquisitions	M&A	The buying, selling, and combining of companies.
Origination	Deal Origination	The practice of finding and winning new deal mandates.
Platform Company	Platform	The initial PE acquisition around which add-ons are built.
Private Equity	PE	Investment funds that acquire ownership stakes in private companies.
Proprietary Deal Flow	Off-Market	Acquisition opportunities accessed outside a competitive process.
Quality of Earnings	QofE	Independent financial analysis validating reported earnings.
Retrade	—	When a buyer changes deal terms after an initial agreement.
SaaS	Software as a Service	Cloud-hosted software accessed via subscription.
Second Bite of the Apple	Second Bite	Retained equity that pays off when the PE investor exits at a higher valuation.
Sell Side	Sell-Side	The party representing the owner in an M&A transaction.
Teaser	—	Brief, anonymous summary document to gauge buyer interest.
Value Creation	—	Operational improvements that increase a portfolio company's EBITDA and enterprise value.
Vertical Software	Vertical SaaS	Software built to serve a specific industry or niche.