Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Lou Sokolovskiy, CEO and Founder of Opus Connect, a leading networking and deal-making community for private equity and M&A professionals. Lou is a serial entrepreneur with extensive private equity transaction experience. He founded multiple entrepreneurial ventures in the technology arena and has unique expertise in operations management, strategic partnerships, and new business development. He is a former consultant who has advised many companies in the healthcare management, finance, and technology industries on improving operations and corporate strategy.

Lou founded Opus Connect to provide a platform for PE and M&A professionals to connect, collaborate, and succeed in their work. He talks about the opportunity – or gap – he saw in the private investing marketplace, why he created this community, and how it is creating value for different players in the private deal-making ecosystem.

UHNW families and their family offices are increasingly active and sought-after participants in the private direct investing space – they are seen as patient, long-term, values-driven investors. At the same time, they often lack capabilities or create obstacles for themselves that prevent them from partaking in the most attractive deals. Lou explains why that happens and what families and family office executives can do to overcome these weaknesses and ensure they are seeing the best deals.

One tip Lou has for family offices who want to be active private investors is to formalize their investment thesis and decide what they are looking for and what deals they want to see. He shares with our listeners why this is important and how family office investors should go about it.

Another practical suggestion Lou offers for family office investors is to develop a strong network and functioning mechanisms to connect with external PE firms, deal sponsors, and other sources of quality deal flow in the marketplace. He explains why this is an important strategy and how do you advise family offices should best implement it.

Enjoy this informative conversation with one of the leading players and community organizers in the private investing ecosystem.