Peak Rock Capital in Austin

Anyone know anything about these guys? I know they raised a couple big funds and were active early on but seems like they’ve slowed down a bit recently. Any insight on culture, comp, general rep etc. would be helpful. Thanks!

 

High turnover due to tough culture. Very operational focus with associates sometimes having to live at the portco city. Also not ideal location (have to drive 40min outside Austin). However, if you're set on Austin, it's really only them, Vista, and Austin Ventures (Tritium Partners). Those would be the top tier firms followed by very small shops

 
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Analyst 2 in IB-M&A:
High turnover due to tough culture. Very operational focus with associates sometimes having to live at the portco city. Also not ideal location (have to drive 40min outside Austin). However, if you're set on Austin, it's really only them, Vista, and Austin Ventures (Tritium Partners). Those would be the top tier firms followed by very small shops

Would echo these thoughts. I've worked with PR on a few deals and pitched one - I hate to say it, but I was not fond of anyone I met there. They are ruthless and a pain in the ass to deal with on either side and think they are the smartest people on the planet.

On the buy side, we've seen them over-negotiate, attempt to re-trade and fret about non-material customers. We pitched a business with effectively zero real EBITDA, yet they pro forma'd $25 million in EBITDA which was 80% unreasonable, and then gave the mandate to an EB (no business pitching businesses that size) who pitched it at a double digit multiple.

Needless to say, the deal never got close to getting done.

 

Very helpful as always. It seems like you're pretty familiar with Texas PE as a whole--do you have any thoughts on where the best place to be an associate (in terms of experience, culture, career path, etc.) would be in Austin, Dallas, or Houston? Thanks!

 

I know which deal this was haha. What a shit company

 

Does anyone have any idea what Headhunter they use or common Headhunters for Austin-based PE firms?

 

Former PRC Associate here, so I can speak to a handful of the comments here and offer a few nuggets of my own. Turnover was mixed in my time there, and there were a few drivers of that. The operational involvement angle is a double-edged sword. On the positive side, it drives incredible returns, and the first two funds were both top decile. On the negative, it means more work, particularly in the portfolio. I personally loved the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the c-suite / board and learning how to operate a business and drive growth, but a some people struggle with the travel/hours. It’s absolutely not a lifestyle firm! Realistically though, the reason the turnover was highest was that people weren’t from Austin, and after a few years headed back north. Austin is awesome, but lots of people eventually move back to be closer to their folks.

Also, LOL at the 40 minutes commute comment. It’s 20-30 minutes, which is the same as I did in multiple other cities, just not packed on a subway, which was awesome.

 

having known several people that used to work there, i'd stay far away

 

I know this group well (aka worked there).

-yes there are times the hours are long and folks work hard, but still better than banking

-hard work reflected in the returns of the funds, which have been stellar

-really great place if you like interacting with portcos and seeing how a business runs...not great if you dislike being on-site or just want to live in a model

-good folks and nice bullpen

-lots of promotions and upward mobility (as is typical for growing funds)

-it is in the Hill Country (not downtown)...about 20 mins west of Austin 

 

I know them well. Really good group of hardworking folks that are definitely operationally intensive so you get pretty broad-based deal and portco exposure starting right away at the associate level. They also are looking at a lot of different types of trx and industries so good learning opportunities there if you're looking for a generalist shop. Would also say it's really upwardly-mobile from an overall fund and prof development perspective - fund $ has been increasing and seeing a lot of direct promotes there. 

 

Have heard a lot of negative things to be totally honest. Sweaty and off-market carry. Agree on the positive side that it is a rapidly growing platform and well performing fund, so it could be a great place for some if you liked the investment strategy. Trying to a give a balanced view. But frankly there are so many good new options in Austin emerging that it would be far from my top choice.

 

Adding some context here - I interacted with PRC on the sellside during my time in banking, was known throughout my team as being a pain to work with:

  • Excessive diligence requests to the tune of sub-million dollar working capital adjustments in a LMM company (ping us a few hours afterwards with a “where are we on this”, etc.)
  • Team (namely a certain VP) that we interacted with was the type to hold emails until Friday afternoon requesting a group sync the next morning
  • A few management teams we repped on the sellside were offput by the PRC deal team, hesitant to work with them post-close re: types of requests, even personalities (but they underbid in every process so never panned out)

I have a few more examples but in general this group was one of the firms on my “absolutely not” list when recruiting for the buyside. I can’t speak to their returns (not surprised if they’re doing well given the rigor) but I think most folks familiar with the firm would agree that it’s not a preferred opportunity. That being said, I’d recognize my bias as I probably saw them in the toughest context (but would also encourage prospects to factor bias in positive reviews from ppl currently working at the firm, they’re fighting for talent).

 

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