One PE job per page. The answer first, then the build.

Deal sourcing

Finding companies to buy before the process starts.

• How do PE firms find companies to buy?

  Private equity firms find companies four ways: through intermediaries (investment bankers and brokers running a sale), through direct outreach to owners, through data platforms that map a market, and through signals that a company may sell. SPS reports the median firm in its benchmark saw 18.4 percent of the advisor-led deals that closed in its target market.

  Updated 18 Oct 2026

Signals and timing

Public events that say a company is worth a call now.

First plays for this job are being written.

Outreach and relationships

Getting founders, bankers and buyers to reply.

First plays for this job are being written.

Diligence

Testing the market and the sales motion before you buy.

• How do you de-risk a PE deal with AI GTM in 30 days?

  Run the target's offer against every account that could buy it, during exclusivity, with the seller's agreement, from a separate test brand. Thirty days gives the investment committee six numbers: the real market, the segment that responds, cost per qualified meeting, the top objections and who wins them, who really buys, and whether it sells without the founder.

  Updated 18 Oct 2026

First 100 days

What to fix first after close, in what order.

• What is a 100-day AI GTM plan for a new portfolio company?

  A 100-day AI GTM plan switches on eight workflows in four phases: diagnose (days 1 to 14), foundation (15 to 45), stop the leaks (46 to 70) and create demand (71 to 100). Each one runs on data the company already holds: call recordings, the CRM and closed-won deals. Outbound comes last, after the offer and list are fixed.

  Updated 18 Oct 2026

Portfolio company GTM

Revenue systems inside the companies you own.

• How do you score a portfolio company's go-to-market?

  Score twelve checks from 0 to 2 and add them up out of 24. The checks cover the CRM foundation, inbound, targeting, and signals and outreach, and all read data the company already holds. Rule of thumb: 0 to 8, fix the data first; 9 to 16, fix inbound and targeting; 17 to 24, ready to scale outreach.

  Updated 18 Oct 2026
• Which lead lists does a portfolio company already own?

  Six: deals lost in the last 18 months, champions who changed jobs, former employees of customers, the investors' other companies, inbound leads nobody answered, and people who engage with the company's LinkedIn posts. Each is one query against data the company or its fund already holds, plus an enrichment step.

  Updated 18 Oct 2026

Exit preparation

What the buyer's diligence will find, fixed early.

First plays for this job are being written.