15d • General discussion
What PE Knows That Most Founders Don’t: How They Build Empires While Others Build Businesses
PE firms aren’t smarter than you.
They just use a playbook most founders never bother to look at.
That’s how they turn a $10M company into a $40–50M exit in a few years…
while most owners grind year after year for modest growth.
After 15 years in PE, here’s the real game:
1. Smart Use of Debt
Let’s start with the one founders avoid.
PE uses leverage strategically, not recklessly, to amplify growth without giving away equity.
Most owners treat debt like a monster under the bed.
For PE, it’s simply fuel.
2. Better Margins
Before chasing revenue, they fix what’s already there.
Tighten ops. Kill waste. Adjust pricing.
Even a tiny margin lift on an 8 figure business adds real enterprise value fast.
3. Value Expansion (aka Higher Multiples)
Same business but higher exit multiple.
How? Improve systems, strengthen leadership, derisk the model.
Buyers pay more for a business that feels stable and scalable.
4. Strategic Acquisitions
Where the real fireworks happen.
Instead of waiting for slow organic growth, PE buys complementary companies and builds a group.
That’s how you jump from “nice business” to “dominant platform.”
5. Predictable Revenue Growth
Not random spikes: structured, repeatable, system led growth.
Founders often avoid this because it feels “boring,”
but this is what makes a business valuable, not chaotic.
Most founders only focus on one lever … revenue.
PE firms pull all five at the same time.
That’s why they produce outsized returns in 36 months…
and why most entrepreneurs feel like they’re stuck on a treadmill.
You don’t need to sell to PE to act like them.
You just need to use the same tools.
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What PE Knows That Most Founders Don’t: How They Build Empires While Others Build Businesses
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