Paul oversees the strategic direction and development of Arcadea across all areas of the firm alongside his partner, Daniel. Paul began his career as a member of the Citigroup Global Analyst program, where he gained exposure to a number of divisions before landing on the high yield and investment grade credit research desk. After Citi, Paul joined Arsenal Growth, a VC & Growth Equity firm in the US with offices in Palo Alto and Orlando. Starting as an Associate and leaving as a Principal, Paul focused on high-growth b2b enterprise software and eCommerce businesses.
Paul then joined Constellation Software (“CSI”), where he had a number of executive roles including leading the global investment team of one of CSI’s six operating groups, acting as CEO of a public sector business, and leading a group of businesses in various verticals.
On this episode, Chris and Paul discuss:
➡️ Lessons learned from working at Constellation Software
➡️ How they underwrite investment opportunities
➡️ Investing with permanent capital and a long-term horizon
➡️ How Arcadea creates value for their portfolio companies
Key Takeaways:
0:00 - Intro
00:58 - Paul’s career and background
05:05 - How was Constellation structured? Why was it 6 operating groups?
07:03 - What’s the benefit of carrying a light corporate office?
09:47 - Thinking in a high-clarity manner
13:07 - Is there anything about your family’s history or your love of classical music that played into your ultimate career in acquiring SAAS companies?
15:35 - How did you end up building Arcadea Group?
18:50 - Does high growth always mean early stage?
21:06 - Have most of these businesses you acquire taken on VC?
25:58 - What is a Vertical SaaS?
28:45 - What can you do differently operationally in VSaas versus other Software services?
30:22 - What is Long-termism and why are you pursuing that route?
36:24 - Do you only offer one injection of cash or do you inject as needed?
40:32 - Who’s making the decision of whether the business needs more capital?
44:54 - Do companies mature to a point where they no longer fit the Arcadea model?
47:04 - What is a quick ‘no’ for you when looking at a company?
50:16 - What happens in the first year of an acquisition?
56:05 - What makes an exceptional operator?
58:50 - How do you make your CEOs think like investors?
01:01:45- What are your investors expecting from you as permanent capital?
01:03:42 - What does it do for your business to have such an accomplished advisor on your board?
01:06:51 - What happens when a founder or CEO abruptly exits?
01:09:53 - Are you successful because you’ve been in the seat of the CEO and operator?
01:11:41 - What are Kanban and Scrum?
Additional Resources:
👉 Arcadea Group: https://www.arcadeagroup.com/
👉 Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pyancich/
➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://xealenergy.com/
➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com
➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris
➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/
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The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.
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