How I Invested in 40+ Companies and Built a $1.9B AUM Investment Firm | John Caple Interview

Even when every 3rd and 4th person in finance dreams of starting their own private equity fund… Only 0.01% give it a chance and far fewer succeed… Here is my conversation with John Caple of Hidden Harbor Capital Partners who just went and did all that... $260m fund I $465m fund II $800m fund III (just announced fundraising) They invest in lower middle market industrial and business services companies, paying 4-8x EBITDA per deal, making them a true value shop. “I don’t want to pay 5 times for 5 times business. I want to pay 5 times for a business that one day can trade for 8, 10, 12 times. Well, that’s what everyone wants to do… But how we do it is by buying founder and family owned businesses. We never buy from another private equity firm.” We had a blast. Enjoy! Show Notes: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:37 - We just raised $800m, but the real work is just beginning 00:01:42 - Early days as an investment banker and consultant 00:05:12 - Doing it with his best friends and raising the first 260m fund 00:12:39 - Straightforward fundraising advice 00:17:45 - Why we're starting to see many private equity funds disappear 00:23:40 - Sourcing, selecting, servicing 00:25:45 - Investment preferences 00:32:00 - Lessons learned after one portfolio company ended in zero 00:38:21 - Processes they can't live without 00:44:02 - Advice for founders considering selling their business 00:52:39 - Is this life what you expected it to be? Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy⁠⁠⁠ John on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/BigJohn043 This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.