Episode 122

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Published on:

24th Oct 2024

Episode 122: Michael Kornman, Partner at Align Collaborate

Topics:

  • How to Find Success in PE
  • Revenue Streams for Independent Sponsors
  • Strategies to Scale a Team

...and so much more.

Top Takeaways

  • Flexible and purpose-built capital is key. Investors should provide independent sponsors with flexible capital solutions that support, rather than control, their operations. Michael shares how Align Collaborate embodies this approach, building a collaborative partnership where the independent sponsor is the lead decision-maker.
  • Smart scaling starts with the right team. Michael's experience shows that team members with consulting or transaction advisory backgrounds can contribute significantly to long-term growth and value creation. These hires help drive operational success post-acquisition, allowing the sponsor to focus on higher-level decisions while the team handles day-to-day execution. 
  • Having a dual mindset for long-term success in deal-making. Independent sponsors must juggle optimism with realism when assessing risks and persistence with flexibility when navigating deals. Michael stresses the importance of irrational persistence in committing to promising deals, but it’s just as important to know when to take a step back and explore new opportunities.
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About the Podcast

Investors & Operators
A Podcast by 51 Labs
The M&A market can be boring, but everyone has a story. The Investors & Operators podcast is about discovering the stories people were holding back, didn’t know how to tell, or forgot about. The goal is simple: fresh, authentic storytelling to bring people together in the M&A community.

With over 1M organic views and counting on LinkedIn, 51 Labs is disrupting the M&A market through the use of videography and content creation. In a market that longs for authenticity, 51 Labs helps strengthen your brand and tell your story. From concept to distribution, we strategize and produce thoughtful content to be used across a multitude of channels, to help you stand out in an otherwise traditionally boring market.

New episodes every other Thursday at 6:00am Eastern.

About your host

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Jordan Selleck

Founder. Recovering Investment Banker. 3x Entrepreneur. Philz Coffee Enthusiast.

Jordan Selleck is a recovering investment banker turned 3x entrepreneur. While teaching English in China, Jordan met an investment banker in a bar and before he knew it he’d spent six years in cross-border investment banking advising global corporates and private equity firms on M&A deals up to $250 million.

As much as Jordan loved investment banking, he always knew he was meant to do something more. In 2016, Jordan founded Debtmaven, a deal management platform for debt financing in the lower middle market. It was while he was marketing Debtmaven on LinkedIn that Jordan found his true passion: building meaningful relationships in the lower middle market.

Seeing over 50% of Debtmaven’s $450million+ in deals come from LinkedIn, he realized he’d found an untapped market and began his journey with LinkedIn consulting. Dozens of clients and a handful of extraordinarily talented employees later, 51 Labs is a thriving marketing agency for the lower middle market that produces captivating content and generates organic traffic across LinkedIn.

Jordan was born in San Diego, grew up in North Carolina and attended UNC-Chapel Hill. He has traveled to 32 countries, lived in China for 18 months, trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a fourth-generation private pilot, SCUBA dives, speaks Mandarin Chinese, and is a husband and father of 2.