Zeeza Cole

PE - The Future of PE Investing - With so much capital (AUM) in PE, it’s much harder to generate acceptable returns - PE can’t count on underwriting exits at even higher multiples - The future of PE is about differentiated internal / proprietary expertise in growing businesses - Charles Redlick, Warburg Pincus LLC (From Private Equity International 2025) #pe #privateequity #pei

65

Excited to share that Inspired Capital is leading Remark’s $16M Series A. We’re joined by our friends at Spero Ventures, Shine Capital, Stripe, Neo, and Visible Ventures. Despite trillions spent on e-commerce, the single most effective driver of sales — the in-store expert — has never been replicated online. Remark changes that. Their AI personas, trained by over 60,000 human product experts, embed directly into brand storefronts to turn passive browsing into confident buying. I first met Theo last year at a small dinner I hosted on the future of commerce. His take on blending human insight with AI to unlock authentic shopping experiences was one of the most thoughtful I’d heard. As we got to know the founding team, it became clear that their ambition was to redesign today’s commerce infrastructure — and that we needed to be along for the ride. Thrilled to welcome Theo Satloff 🍊, Carl-Philip M., Ian Patterson 🍊, and the entire Remark team to the Inspired portfolio. TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/ewFxNwjt

129

8 Comments

There's still plenty of capital on the sidelines, but putting it to work isn't as straightforward as it used to be. EY's latest Private Equity Industry Insights shows a Q1 rebound in deal activity, which is great to see. Yet at the same time, 3 out of 4 GPs expect tariffs to slow things down again in the near term. We're seeing strong trade sale momentum, but also real concerns about supply chains and exit timing. It's a balancing act. The firms that stay patient, keep their operating playbooks sharp and focus on resilience are the ones who'll come out stronger. Worth a read if you're following PE: https://lnkd.in/gE8aayZB #PrivateEquity #MA #Strategy #EYInsights

25

2 Comments

Sharing some hot takes from a candid conversation with George Mathew (Insight Partners), Rebecca Kaden (Union Square Ventures) and Ben Lerer (Lerer Hippeau), moderated by Akshit (Ash) Bhatia, CFA on Silicon Valley Bank's H1 2026 State of the Markets report. Key insights: 🔥 A "barbell" effect has emerged in venture capital. At one end, massive, late-stage rounds concentrated in a few (mostly AI) companies. At the other, early-stage investing thrives on discipline and finding "pre-consensus" bets, with a hollowed-out middle. 🔥 Specialization is the winning strategy for investors and founders – success now requires choosing a clear lane. Investors must decide between a "top-down" (access-driven) or "bottom-up" (conviction-driven) approach. Article link: https://lnkd.in/e3ywHwDB

44

I spoke with Christien Louviere of BDE Capital about his journey from a $330mm exit to becoming an independent sponsor. Christien shared excellent insights for folks looking to partner with business owners, rather than buy sellers out completely. Below are a few of the topics we covered: - Why he moved from “zero-to-one” startups to a buy-then-build strategy - How Christien's background shaped a focus on growth vs. cost-cutting - Why 20–40% rolled equity is central to his deal structures—and how it builds trust with sellers - Using scenario analysis with AI tools to evaluate management teams and uncover hidden key-person risks - How to identify when a $3–5M EBITDA company truly has a middle management layer—or is still founder-reliant For anyone investing in or buying small businesses, Christien’s approach provides a fresh lens on growth, alignment, and deal structuring. 🎥 Watch the full interview here → https://lnkd.in/ekfkaiej 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e86Agx6V

33

8 Comments

Activist Investor Galloway Capital Partners Buys 6.01% of Noodles & Company "The filing further said that Galloway “intends to engage the board and management” regarding share performance, operations, management, governance — including potential changes to the board of directors — conflicted party transactions, capital allocation policies, and strategy." #activistinvesting #shareholderactivism #corporategovernance https://lnkd.in/gJr3tFgJ

2