Resources

The operator's library

Guides, deep-dives and templates on how to source deals, run diligence, raise a fund and build the operating stack — written for people who build and run firms.

guideJun 18, 2026

The Complete Tech Stack for a First-Time Fund

A practical, category-by-category blueprint for the software a sub-$100M fund actually needs on day one — and what you can safely defer.

9 min readOpen

guideJun 16, 2026

GP Stakes, Secondaries & Continuation Vehicles

Liquidity in private equity no longer means only selling a company. Managers now sell stakes in themselves, LPs trade positions, and GPs roll winners into new vehicles — each with its own conflict-of-interest calculus.

10 min readOpen

articleJun 2, 2026

Outsource or Build: The Fund Back-Office Decision

Fund admin, compliance, IT, and finance can be built in-house or bought as a service. A framework for deciding what to own at each stage.

6 min readOpen

guideMay 14, 2026

How to Build a Proprietary Deal Sourcing Engine

Auctions are efficient markets. Proprietary sourcing is where returns are made. Here's how to build a repeatable origination machine.

8 min readOpen

guideMay 2, 2026

Fund Finance: Subscription Lines vs NAV Loans

Two forms of fund-level leverage sit above LP equity — one secured by undrawn commitments, the other by the portfolio itself. Here is how each works, and why NAV lending has become the industry's most-debated tool.

10 min readOpen

guideApr 22, 2026

LBO Modeling: A Practical Walkthrough

Strip away the intimidation. An LBO model is just sources, uses, a debt schedule, and a returns bridge. Here's how they fit together.

10 min readOpen

guideApr 9, 2026

Mezzanine, PIK & Preferred: The Junior Capital Stack

Between senior debt and common equity lies a flexible middle layer — subordinated notes, PIK toggles, warrants, and preferred equity. Here is what lives there and when sponsors reach for it.

9 min readOpen

guideMar 30, 2026

Raising Fund I: An LP Fundraising Playbook

The hardest capital to raise is your first. A grounded look at anchor LPs, the data room, and the emotional marathon of a first close.

9 min readOpen

guideMar 18, 2026

A Field Guide to LBO Debt

Revolvers, Term Loan B, unitranche, second lien, high-yield, ABL, bridges — a working taxonomy of the instruments that finance leveraged buyouts, what they cost, and when each one shows up.

11 min readOpen

guideFeb 11, 2026

The Private Equity Capital Stack, Explained

Every buyout is really two capital stacks bolted together — the one that funds the fund and the one that funds the deal. Here is how the layers stack, who gets paid first, and why juniority costs more.

9 min readOpen

articleFeb 11, 2026

The Operational Due Diligence Checklist LPs Actually Use

Investment diligence gets the attention, but ODD is where deals die. A field guide to what institutional LPs scrutinize before they wire.

7 min readOpen

articleJan 20, 2026

Building Portfolio Monitoring That Partners Actually Read

Most portfolio dashboards go unread. The fix isn't more data — it's the right few metrics, on a reliable cadence, tied to action.

6 min readOpen

templateDec 5, 2025

Fund-Level Economics Model Template

A ready-to-use spreadsheet framework for modeling fund-level returns, management fees, carried interest, and the LP/GP waterfall.

5 min readOpen

articleNov 12, 2025

CRM vs. Relationship Intelligence: What PE Firms Really Need

A traditional CRM records what you type. Relationship intelligence tools capture what already happened. For a relationship business, the difference is decisive.

6 min readOpen

templateOct 8, 2025

Investment Committee Memo Template

A structured IC memo template that forces the hard questions before capital is committed — thesis, risks, returns, and the honest bear case.

5 min readOpen

templateSep 16, 2025

Quarterly LP Update Template

A clean, reusable structure for the quarterly LP letter that builds trust through consistency, candor, and clarity.

4 min readOpen

templateAug 19, 2025

Deal Scorecard & Screening Template

A weighted scorecard for triaging inbound and sourced deals consistently, so your pipeline gets filtered by criteria instead of by mood.

4 min readOpen

articleJul 24, 2025

The First 100 Days: A Value-Creation Playbook

Ownership changes hands and the clock starts. What high-performing sponsors actually do in the opening months to set up the entire hold.

7 min readOpen

guideJun 11, 2025

Data Room Best Practices for Deals and Fundraising

The virtual data room is where diligence lives or dies. How to structure, secure, and run one so it accelerates deals instead of stalling them.

6 min readOpen

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