Diligence
Synergy Is a Lie: Integration Debt Always Comes Due
The $2 Trillion Illusion Every year, corporations spend over $2 trillion on acquisitions, chasing the elusive promise of synergy. 1 M&A…
Signal
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Sharp, data-driven writing on diligence, deal structure, and the stories that compound into authority.
Diligence
Sponsor's Shield: Why Lenders Let PE Bend the Rules
Aspiring analysts learn that a loan covenant is a tripwire. Cross it and you default. The real world operates differently. In private equity, a breach triggers negotiation rather than liquidation. Recent...
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Caprae DNA
Unlearning School In 20 Weeks Caprae Internship
Three weeks in, I got the question that split my internship into before and after: “Why is your writing this bad?” I went back and read my…
Search Funds & ETA
The Goldman Bet: Why Full-Service Banks Are Buying VCs
The acquisition of Industry Ventures by Goldman Sachs is not merely an asset-gathering exercise; it is the purchase of a time machine.…
Diligence
Alternative Financing Hybrids: When Credit Looks Like Equity and Equity Looks Like Credit
The problem hybrids were built to solve Let’s start from the beginning: why did hybrids gain so much popularity in recent years? Multiple…
Caprae DNA
When Fundraising Slows, Proof Speaks Louder Than Pitch Decks.
If 2021 taught GPs how to collect capital, 2025 is teaching them how to deserve it. The sugar rush is gone. LPs are rationing attention,…
Caprae DNA
Why I Stopped Trying to Be Liked: My First Big Lesson in Writing Cold Emails
A few weeks after I joined Caprae, I was assigned to the email team. My job wasn’t to write the entire email, but arguably the most…
News & Press
Investor Market Quality: When “Open Capital” Breeds Adverse Selection
The past few years made raising money feel like ordering takeout: fast, easy, and often regrettable. “Open capital” promised democratized…
Caprae DNA
Add-Backs Aren't Math, They're a Credibility Test.
Buyers are paid to be skeptical. In any M&A deal, the add-back schedule is the first place that skepticism meets the seller’s story. We’re…
Diligence
Multiplicative Risk: Counting the Bets You Did Not Take
Most firms count what they own. Few count what they omitted. In private capital, opportunity cost is the invisible risk: the deals never…
Search Funds & ETA
Why Most Search Funds Fail
94 new funds in 2023. 1 Acquisition rates stuck at 57% 2 since 2014, down from 66% 2 historically. More searchers, same number of quality…
Caprae DNA
M&A Isn’t Engineering. It’s Biology.
If you think you’re buying a machine, don’t be surprised when the gears jam. The Brutal Math of M&A Failure Every year, study after study…
Diligence
The Founder Illusion: Charisma Is Not Due Diligence
The most dangerous founder trait isn’t incompetence, it’s charm. For decades, even disciplined investors have been seduced by magnetic…
Search Funds & ETA
Proprietary Deals Are a Myth: Build Proprietary Systems
If you think the next billion-dollar return is hiding in someone’s “exclusive deal flow”, you’ve already lost. The Mirage of Proprietary…
Search Funds & ETA
The Search Fund Bubble: Why the Flood of New Capital is a Warning Sign, Not a Celebration
The search fund model is the new gold rush for the ambitious and the pedigreed. It offers a direct path from a top-tier MBA to the CEO’s…
Diligence
The Founder's Void: The Post-Exit Depression Nobody Talks About
The M&A industry sells you the victory lap. They toast your valuation, celebrate your exit, and then they vanish. They conveniently omit…
Caprae DNA
Summer at Caprae
I joined Caprae as an intern not really knowing what to expect. Coming from an economics background, most of my academic and work…
Caprae DNA
Range Safety & Air Filtration Systems Industry Analysis
Investment Thesis The U.S. range safety & air-filtration sector is a $3–5B compliance-driven market anchored in the ~6,000 commercial and…
Diligence
Suppressor Compliance and Trust Services Industry Analysis
Thesis: Against The suppressor compliance and trust services sector is an attractive option for private equity investors, but a risky play…
Deal Sourcing
POV: You've been on hold with the front desk for 20 minutes and just…
POV: You've been on hold with the front desk for 20 minutes and just found the owner's direct line in a 2019 press release. #capraecapital…
Search Funds & ETA
Don't get distracted by the 99% noise. Caprae is built solely for…
Don't get distracted by the 99% noise. Caprae is built solely for that green slice. Let's get to work. #searchfunds #privateequity #b2b…
Deal Sourcing
This is massive!! Exciting times we live in!
This is massive!! Exciting times we live in!
Deal Sourcing
If the Stanford Primer heavily relies on search CEOs to fill out the…
If the Stanford Primer heavily relies on search CEOs to fill out the data. Who's running the data set after the CEOs are terminated?
Deal Sourcing
very well done Newton Campos. Saved me a lot of time reviewing how…
very well done Newton Campos . Saved me a lot of time reviewing how much has changed since 2021. nicely summarized and very good use of AI…
Diligence
Breaking a loan covenant kills a normal business. Lenders seize…
Breaking a loan covenant kills a normal business. Lenders seize assets. The lights go out. But for private equity? It is just a…
Deal Sourcing
When the call goes from "I'll never sell to a vulture like you" to…
When the call goes from "I'll never sell to a vulture like you" to "Send me the Zoom link" in 14.5 minutes. #capraecapital #sales…
Deal Sourcing
250K cold calls across 4 countries in 8 months. I’ve never run a cold…
250K cold calls across 4 countries in 8 months. I’ve never run a cold calling department before and there were a lot of lessons. Here are…
Search Funds & ETA
I'm excited to share that the MBA Search Fund Alliance is launching a…
I'm excited to share that the MBA Search Fund Alliance is launching a WhatsApp group for searchers and MBA students. I'm deeply…
Caprae DNA
What are your thoughts on non-disparagement clauses post removal of…
What are your thoughts on non-disparagement clauses post removal of CEOs, founders, and executives?
Diligence
The 100-Day Plan. For some, it's a sprint to a cliff. For us, it's…
The 100-Day Plan. For some, it's a sprint to a cliff. For us, it's the foundation for a marathon. Pushing for a 10x EBITDA in 3 months…
News & Press
Discount movie-ticket seller Dealflicks expands with Carmike Cinemas alliance
By Ryan Faughnder Staff Writer Follow March 1, 2016 11 AM PT Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit…
News & Press
Why the Movie Business Is Long Overdue for Disruption
The movie business fears a future of declining ticket sales and revenues, but these entrepreneurs are determined to flip that script.
News & Press
Dealflicks Raises $1.7 Million To Offer Movie Discounts Through An App | TechCrunch
Over the past few years, movie theater chains have been struck by a slowdown in the number of seats sold. Due to escalating ticket prices,…
News & Press
Dealflicks Premieres with $1.7 Million Seed - Los Angeles Business Journal
Home Technology Technology Dealflicks Premieres with $1.7 Million Seed By staff-author July 21, 2014 155 Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email…
News & Press
Discount movie ticket seller expands to the Kansas City market
Dealflicks.com, which partners with movie theaters to help them fill empty seats, said it has begun offering deals for Screenland Crown…
News & Press
Dealflicks aims to put movie fans in cheaper seats
Dealflicks co-founders Kevin Hong, left, and Sean Wycliffe are inside a converted minivan the company uses to travel around the country and…
News & Press
4 entrepreneurs, 2 vans: Dealflicks hits up movie theatres nationwide on third 'Man Van' trip | Built In Los Angeles
Written by Published on Mar. 12, 2014 [ibimage==30728==Large==none==self==null] Theater prices have been quite a shock over the past few…
News & Press
Startup Dealflicks Offers Discounts for Movie Tickets, Concessions
With the cost of U.S. movie tickets rising, one startup is looking to revolutionize the market by allowing theatergoers to buy tickets for…
News & Press
What I learned from living in and working out of a van
A lifestyle change this significant can transform your mindset, says Dealflicks co-founder Kevin Hong of the "Man Van" campaign.
News & Press
What It Takes to Start a Company: Sleeping in a Van?
A Priceline for movie tickets goes looking for partners.
News & Press
Warner Bros. May Be the One Really Schooled at Its First Ever Media Camp
The studio will incubate five companies during a 12-week program
News & Press
Sean Wycliffe Interviewed by Ali Velshi of Al Jazeera USA for Dealflicks
Video by Dan Wycliffe.
News & Press
Brooklyn movie theaters discount tickets through tech startup
THIS could take the financial bite out of movie night. A Los Angeles-based tech company is billing itself as the Priceline of movie…
News & Press
Kevin Hong Lived In A Van To Grow Dealflicks From 3 Theaters To Almost 300
Dealflicks co-founder Kevin Hong is currently on a cross country odyssey they call The ManVan, meeting up with theaters in order to form…
News & Press
Hot startups across LA, Part 2: Downtown
Learn more about Hot startups across LA, Part 2: Downtown's Dealflicks.
News & Press
YouTube Developers Live: Getting a movie ticket deal with Dealflicks
Video by Google for Developers.
News & Press
An 'Unsexy' Start-Up Tries to Fill Movie Seats
Dealflicks, says one of its founders, wants to do for movie tickets what Priceline.com and Hotwire.com do for travel bookings.
News & Press
ConsumerWatch: Websites Offer Discounted Theater Tickets
A new Bay Area start-up is making it easier to save money on movie tickets. Dealflicks offers users discounts of between 15% to 37% on…
News & Press
Dave McClure's 500 Startups Chooses 33 Companies For Its Fifth Accelerator Batch, Bets Big On International | TechCrunch
Dave McClure’s 500 Startups has just announced the newest batch of companies to be accepted for its fifth accelerator class. This group is…
News & Press
Web startup Dealflicks launches in Santa Cruz, hopes to bring youth back to the movies
SANTA CRUZ – Downtown moviegoers are about to save some cash starting this summer. Prospective savings should profit Santa Cruzans as soon…
News & Press
Too Cheap For Movie Theaters? Dealflicks Is Set To Change That
Going to see a movie in the theater is crazy expensive. Now with DealFlicks, folks get steep discounts on movies & theaters fill more seats