Glossary

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

Term	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.
Carried Interest	Carry	Share of fund profits allocated to the management team as performance-based compensation.
Centers of Excellence	CoE	Internal operational capability teams shared across portfolio companies.
Centers of Influence	COI, COIs	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.
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.
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.
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 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.
On-Target Earnings	OTE, All-In Cash	Total expected annual cash compensation (base + bonus) when 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-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.
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	Retained equity 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 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 to gauge buyer interest.
Total Addressable Market	TAM	Total revenue opportunity available if a product achieved 100% market share.
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.