They buy small bootstrapped software businesses. Closest comp I think would be Mainsail. Almost certain they do 100% buyouts. Think they had good culture then COVID hit and needed a bit of a reset last I heard. Their interview process is straight forward, talking about why you like their strategy, paper LBOs, etc. I think it is a pretty good place to work if culture goes back to pre-COVID. I remember something about their returns being solid and their time in market was short or they were oversubscribed - you don't get fund growth like that without doing well for yourself.

 

Associate 2 in PE - LBOs:

They buy small bootstrapped software businesses. Closest comp I think would be Mainsail. Almost certain they do 100% buyouts. Think they had good culture then COVID hit and needed a bit of a reset last I heard. Their interview process is straight forward, talking about why you like their strategy, paper LBOs, etc. I think it is a pretty good place to work if culture goes back to pre-COVID. I remember something about their returns being solid and their time in market was short or they were oversubscribed - you don't get fund growth like that without doing well for yourself.


Any insight on Mainsail? Not to high jack since it’s growth but have an interview coming up with them and they’re hiring like crazy

 

Great software firm in the LMM. I've heard their last two fund raises were oversubscribed and that a few of their fund returns have been top quartile. Their BD engine is great, one or two of the senior guys who helped build it up also founded SourceScrub which is a pretty widely used sourcing tool in LMM/MM PE that has raised money from Mainsail and Francisco. Everyone I've spoken to from the firm was friendly. 

"The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly" - Robert A. Wilson | "If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

I work with someone who is close to some of the senior folks there, no idea where you can see the returns and haven't verified them myself which is why I said "heard". 

"The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly" - Robert A. Wilson | "If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

I mean... isn't that kind of the point of DD? To find the reason why you SHOULDN'T do the deal?

 
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Chiming in here since my buddy is there now and almost all the posts on this thread are inaccurate. A few key points to clarify:

(1) Culture is awful. They do the whole "family" thing - aka work you to the bone, pay you below market, and ask you to be grateful for the opportunity. All this while the folks who joined when the firm did no deals enjoy the benefits. They are looking for people who enjoy the weekly lunch and who would never dare dissent.

(2) Lack integrity. The firm pitches new recruits that this is a lifestyle PE seat. It could not be further from the truth. They make this pitch because they have to - the firm does not have the resume prestige and they pay below market. They win gullible people over on lifestyle, and then everyone is disappointed when they arrive. Secondly, the firm pitches themselves as having top returns in a very low-brow way. They compare themselves to firms doing much larger deals and it obfuscates the fact that some tiny deals done early on represent the majority of returns.

(3) No future. The strategy does not scale and everyone knows it. Look at the high churn and number of folks who have gone elsewhere instead of take a promotion to stay at the firm. Look at that they've only added two new investing partners since inception - one with a family connection to the founder's first IPO and the other one of the lucky ones to join very early. If you look at who has stayed, it's B- players who don't have an exit and too long in the tooth to go elsewhere.

 

Have heard very similar sentiments - I’ll add some other “beware’s” I’ve heard with almost the exact same culture & strategy as Serent: K1 (though much larger), Diversis, Five Elms, Opengate, and more recently Bow River. 
 

Terrible cultures buying shit businesses for as cheap as possible; bankers hate them & employees are paid bare minimum. 

 

Have heard very similar sentiments - I'll add some other "beware's" I've heard with almost the exact same culture & strategy as Serent: K1 (though much larger), Diversis, Five Elms, Opengate, and more recently Bow River. 
 

Terrible cultures buying shit businesses for as cheap as possible; bankers hate them & employees are paid bare minimum. 

Diversis is hot garbage. I cannot see them lasting another ten years.

 

Chiming in here since my buddy is there now and almost all the posts on this thread are inaccurate. A few key points to clarify:

(1) Culture is awful. They do the whole "family" thing - aka work you to the bone, pay you below market, and ask you to be grateful for the opportunity. All this while the folks who joined when the firm did no deals enjoy the benefits. They are looking for people who enjoy the weekly lunch and who would never dare dissent.

(2) Lack integrity. The firm pitches new recruits that this is a lifestyle PE seat. It could not be further from the truth. They make this pitch because they have to - the firm does not have the resume prestige and they pay below market. They win gullible people over on lifestyle, and then everyone is disappointed when they arrive. Secondly, the firm pitches themselves as having top returns in a very low-brow way. They compare themselves to firms doing much larger deals and it obfuscates the fact that some tiny deals done early on represent the majority of returns.

(3) No future. The strategy does not scale and everyone knows it. Look at the high churn and number of folks who have gone elsewhere instead of take a promotion to stay at the firm. Look at that they've only added two new investing partners since inception - one with a family connection to the founder's first IPO and the other one of the lucky ones to join very early. If you look at who has stayed, it's B- players who don't have an exit and too long in the tooth to go elsewhere.

Not surprising at all for any that have interacted with the Managing Partner(s). Some of the best Partners and Principals have moved on to other funds for a reason. 

 

I've heard similar sentiments. These guys are slimeballs, the worst being the silver spoon prick who made partner because daddy and brother are silicon valley royalty. Then you have the guy who acts midwest nice who you shouldn't trust farther than you can throw him.
A couple people waiting in the wings are the epitome of below average corporate creatures who just so happened to join very early on.

 

They got a pretty big govtech win landing BS&A earlier this year, expect that one to be an easy layup when they're ready to exit.

 

Last time I checked they made one or two DOZEN investments during the peak market of 2020-2021 - good luck with that fund math. I don't think one deal saves them. Don't confuse bull market for brains.

 

My title is outdated, but I am a junior. I work in Tech/Software M&A focused group, and none of the seniors at my firm are fans of Serent. They often flake, and have over the top requests, regularly. Also the people that we have interfaced with think they are a lot more important than they really are.

 

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