Today we sit with Ryan Grand, Principal with HKW, an Indianapolis-based middle-market private equity firm. In this episode, Ryan shares his story and tells us how he landed a business development role by accident before finding that he unexpectedly loved it. We kick off the show with a breakdown of Ryan's professional history. After hearing about his transition into the field, Ryan fills listeners in on some of the challenges he faced early on before sharing his daily responsibilities, like nurturing relationships with thoughtful conversation and creating a pipeline of unmissable deals. But this is business, and some deals go to the wayside, with Ryan telling us how he adapts to missed opportunities. Toward the end of the show, we talk about Ryan's top-of-mind strategy and hear about how he keeps balance when striking a deal. Ryan goes on to tell us about some of the biggest misconceptions of business development and why only having a friendly nature might not give you the upper hand you're looking for. Bringing the show to a close, he leaves with details about the importance of keeping organized as well as notes on his transition to the virtual world in light of a global pandemic. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• How Ryan was able to pivot his career.
• Hear some of the initial challenges Ryan expected to face.
• Why Ryan wanted to do transactions and the reasons he pivoted to business development.
• Ryan tells us about his daily responsibilities and the nuances of his BD role at HKW.
• Find out about Ryan's top-of-mind strategy and how the pandemic has shifted his mindset.
• How Ryan keeps balance when executing deals.
• Ryan shares some of the biggest misconceptions about business development.
• Ways Ryan copes with the 'big' personalities in the room.
• Why Ryan is committed to organization, and how he uses it as a tool for success.
• How relationships form the backbone to successful business development.
• How Ryan has coped with COVID.
• Why his pre-COVID experiences helped Ryan mesh with the virtual world.

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HKW Private Equity
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