Mike Dodd

PE-backed CFOs mistakenly treat nailing their yearly budget as their north star. But for sponsors, the real priority is equity value: spending the (right kind of) money to make more money at eventual exit. ​ See how CFOs can take advantage of tariff-related deal delays and elongated hold periods to drive equity value for exit down the road: https://lnkd.in/eZFw_uPP

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Going Concern and Valuations: With literally trillions of $ being offered in executive compensation (you know who!) & in many "AI-focused" privately held firms, their stratospheric valuation being tied directly to their founders , is there a case to be made that absent these maverick leaders, these firms may have going concern issue (forget the literal accounting definition) at-least from a valuation perspective? In the case of the $1T package, the argument put forth by the Board (& approved by 75% of the shareholders!) is "that founder might leave the company if it was not approved - and that it could not afford to lose him". The vote was noteworthy for a few reasons - a) The maverick founder and his brother were both allowed to vote (interesting!) b) there are no restriction on the maverick's activities outside of the corporation, inspite of the drama from earlier this year c) no acknowledgement of the tremendous threat international competitors like BYD pose to the firm. The rationale posed by supporters in this case (& being put forth in the case of new age AI companies) is the founder is THE reason they invested in the company and they believe in him. The question I would like to ask - whatever happened to executive succession planning (which in "old days" used to be one of the primary focus of the BOD)? & if for whatever reason the individual is not round t'row, will the company even survive?

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I spoke with Christien Louviere of BDE Capital about his journey from a $330mm exit to becoming an independent sponsor. Christien shared excellent insights for folks looking to partner with business owners, rather than buy sellers out completely. Below are a few of the topics we covered: - Why he moved from “zero-to-one” startups to a buy-then-build strategy - How Christien's background shaped a focus on growth vs. cost-cutting - Why 20–40% rolled equity is central to his deal structures—and how it builds trust with sellers - Using scenario analysis with AI tools to evaluate management teams and uncover hidden key-person risks - How to identify when a $3–5M EBITDA company truly has a middle management layer—or is still founder-reliant For anyone investing in or buying small businesses, Christien’s approach provides a fresh lens on growth, alignment, and deal structuring. 🎥 Watch the full interview here → https://lnkd.in/ekfkaiej 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e86Agx6V

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Interesting insights about AI (you never learn enough) by Blair Garrou of Mercury Fund at the Plug and Play Tech Center Fall Expo 2025 here in Sugarland Texas Key Insights: 1) B2B over a 10 year span was more favorable towards middle market and SMBs. AI However, is now all in on enterprise 2) Revolutionizing/Modernizing older industries is where AI will be seamless (in construction, certain types of engineering and older processes in energy) 3) It's better to invest in AI that equips workers with another skillset than ones that result in layoffs #startups #venturecapital #ai #emergingtech

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📣 When we first partnered with Evan Klein and the Zaelab team in 2023, we saw a clear opportunity: build the go-to partner for digital transformation across the manufacturing and distribution landscape. Zaelab has made incredible progress, accelerating growth and efficiency for its clients, expanding key relationships with platforms like Shopify and Logik.ai (now ServiceNow), and extending capabilities with the acquisition of Trellis. Now, we are excited to announce that Zaelab has merged with TMG, a company with deep manufacturing roots and a standout #Shopify B2B product, Fuse. Together with Zaelab’s own Portul Shopify solution, the combined platform is now the clear leader in the Shopify B2B space. With 350+ experts across commerce and CRM, Zaelab is helping clients drive digital transformation by leveraging modern platforms like Shopify and ServiceNow. The combined company does this through providing enterprises with the vision, scale, and execution capabilities that are best in class. Huge congrats to the teams at Zaelab and TMG! Press release in comments 👇

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More big news from Cleo! Today, at the #TrimbleInsight2025 event in #NewOrleans, Cleo is announcing another major leap forward in supply chain orchestration — Intelligent Error Resolution, an AI-powered capability that redefines how businesses handle integration issues across their supply chains. As today’s business leaders know, even minor technical errors can disrupt operations and jeopardize customer commitments. Cleo’s new solution empowers teams—regardless of technical skill—to resolve issues in minutes, not days, with AI-generated root-cause analysis and guided resolution paths. Intelligent Error Resolution from Cleo is about more than just enabling agility, resilience, and operational continuity at scale. We’re turning exception management into a strategic advantage, unlocking entirely new levels of supply chain intelligence and performance. Plus, when you consider Cleo's Intelligent Error Resolution and our broader Ecosystem Relationship Management capabilities, we are delivering even more meaningful, industry-leading efficiencies across supply chain and customer success operations—helping organizations optimize staffing, consistently meet contractual SLAs, and ultimately do more with less while strengthening every ecosystem relationship they depend on. Without questions, Cleo is setting the pace for what supply chain orchestration can do. See today’s news announcement to learn how Intelligent Error Resolution fits into your digital transformation strategy. https://lnkd.in/ghzqP95K #AI #SupplyChainOrchestration #Innovation

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How does Vista Equity Partners underwrite an enterprise software company? Hear Vista Equity Partners Founder, Chairman, and CEO Robert F. Smith discuss what they look for in a team, company, and market (and their right to win in that market) and how they aim to "encourage, support, and underpin what may also already be in place ... [so that they can] decrease the risk in that business and enhance the convexity of the upside." Watch the entire conversation on Alt Goes Mainstream here: https://lnkd.in/eTQ3vPpK

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