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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:

(2:55) - Paul’s career and background

(6:28) - How was Constellation structured? Why was it 6 operating groups?

(8:14) - What’s the benefit of carrying a light corporate office?

(10:37) - Thinking in a high-clarity manner

(13:19) - Is there anything about your family’s history or your love of classical music that played into your ultimate career in acquiring SAAS companies?

(15:15) - How did you end up building Arcadea Group?

(17:58) - Does high growth always mean early stage?

(19:53) - Have most of these businesses you acquire taken on VC?

(24:15) - What is a Vertical SaaS?

(26:35) - What can you do differently operationally in VSaas versus other Software services?

(27:56) - What is Long-termism and why are you pursuing that route?

(32:55) - Do you only offer one injection of cash or do you inject as needed?

(36:38) - Who’s making the decision of whether the business needs more capital?

(40:16) - Do companies mature to a point where they no longer fit the Arcadea model?

(42:11) - What is a quick ‘no’ for you when looking at a company?

(44:54) - What happens in the first year of an acquisition?

(50:03) - What makes an exceptional operator?

(52:32) - How do you make your CEOs think like investors?

(54:51) - What are your investors expecting from you as permanent capital?

(56:27) - What does it do for your business to have such an accomplished advisor on your board?

(59:07) - What happens when a founder or CEO abruptly exits?

(1:01:30) - Are you successful because you’ve been in the seat of the CEO and operator?

(1:03:22) - 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/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

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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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