Deal Sourcery

Are you getting paid enough? This week on Deal Sourcery, Dan and Matt break down the results of their industry wide comp survey and unpack some of the wider trends in BD comp over the past year - from why promotions are the fastest way to to increase your pay and what the real reasons are behind the discrepancy between pay for BD professionals and Investment Professionals. With data from over 300 BD professionals, you don't want to miss this one if you work in BD or hire BD professionals.

Learn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com

In this episode of Deal Sourcery, we sit down with Dan Ryan, Head of Business Development at MidOcean Partners, to explore what separates elite private equity sourcing organizations from everyone else. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience building business development functions—and insights gained from a small peer group of senior BD leaders across the industry—Dan shares his philosophy on relationships, talent, organizational design, and the future of the profession.

The conversation begins with Dan's career journey, including his decision to join MidOcean after more than a decade at Milestone, and why he believes the most valuable asset a sourcing professional builds isn't a CRM or network—it's a reputation. He explains his philosophy of being "long-term fair," why trust compounds over time, and how relationship capital ultimately becomes a firm's competitive advantage.

From there, we dive into what the best sourcing organizations do differently. Dan discusses how leading private equity firms think about business development as a strategic capability rather than a support function, the topics that dominate conversations among senior BD leaders today, and why there is no single blueprint for building a successful sourcing organization. We also discuss how the function has evolved over the past decade, how firms should think about team structure, and the often-overlooked ways business development creates value inside an investment firm.

One of the most unique parts of the episode centers on a behavioral assessment completed by a group of highly accomplished PE business development leaders. Dan shares the patterns that emerged, the personality traits most commonly associated with success in the role, and some of the findings that surprised him. The discussion explores whether there is truly a "type" that succeeds in PE BD, the importance of trust, reciprocity, and long-term thinking, the characteristics that can become liabilities, and whether great sourcing professionals are born or developed.

Finally, we discuss how data and AI are changing the profession, where technology is already improving sourcing workflows, and why human judgment and relationships remain difficult to replace. Dan closes with his thoughts on where private equity business development is headed over the next five to ten years and offers practical advice for professionals looking to build a long-term career in sourcing.

Topics covered include:

• Why Dan joined MidOcean after 12 years at Milestone
• The "long-term fair" philosophy for building relationships
• What distinguishes elite PE sourcing organizations
• Lessons learned from a peer group of senior business development leaders
• Common personality traits among top-performing BD professionals
• Whether successful sourcing professionals are made or born
• How to evaluate whether you're well-suited for a career in PE BD
• The hidden ways business development creates value inside private equity firms
• Using data, analytics, and AI to improve sourcing
• Predictions for the future of private equity business development

Deal Sourcery is brought to you by Coastal Partners, the only executive search firm focused exclusively on private equity business development.

We help private equity firms build world-class business development teams—and publish the industry's leading research on PE business development compensation, hiring trends, and market intelligence.

Whether you're making your next hire or simply want to stay ahead of the market, visit coastalpartners.co.

Learn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com

In this episode of Deal Sourcery, Matt Rooney and Dan Herr sit down with Ted Kramer of HKW to discuss how private equity business development has evolved from a “check-the-box” function into a genuine strategic differentiator.

Ted has worked in private equity sourcing since 2001, giving him a front-row seat to the professionalization of the role. He reflects on the early generation of sourcing leaders who helped establish BD as a legitimate long-term career path and explains why firm culture ultimately determines whether a sourcing professional can create real value.

The conversation explores what it takes to build a true competitive advantage in sourcing. Ted contrasts systematic, technology-enabled approaches with the more instinctive methods that defined the function earlier in his career. As firms move from broad, generalist strategies toward more thematic and sector-focused investing, sourcing teams must also rethink their referral networks, market positioning, and allocation of time.

Ted also offers a practical view of AI’s role in private equity. Rather than replacing relationships, he believes the best applications of AI will help professionals identify where to spend their time and ultimately create more opportunities for meaningful human interaction. In his view, sourcing remains a contact sport: when firms appear comparable on paper, trust and personal relationships often determine who gets the benefit of the doubt.

Other themes include the tradeoff between deal-flow quantity and quality, why the strongest sourcing models become most visible when few owners are selling, and how BD professionals can build credibility inside their firms. Ted discusses the significance of being invited into LP and fundraising meetings, and why that kind of responsibility signals that sourcing has become part of the firm’s core strategic leadership rather than a peripheral support function.

Key topics include:

The evolution of private equity business development

What separates strategic sourcing leaders from “check-the-box” BD hires

How firm culture affects the success of the sourcing function

Systematic sourcing versus instinct and relationship-driven judgment

The shift from generalist to thematic and sector-focused investing

Using technology and AI to improve time allocation

Why AI should increase face-to-face interaction rather than replace it

The tension between deal-flow quantity and opportunity quality

How relationships create the “benefit of the doubt” in competitive situations

Building internal credibility as a private equity BD professional

How sourcing leaders can expand into fundraising and broader firm leadership

Deal Sourcery is brought to you by Coastal Partners, the only executive search firm focused exclusively on private equity business development.

We help private equity firms build world-class business development teams—and publish the industry's leading research on PE business development compensation, hiring trends, and market intelligence.

Whether you're making your next hire or simply want to stay ahead of the market, visit coastalpartners.co

Learn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com

In this episode, Matt and Dan sit down with Carlos Soto, Head of U.S. Private Equity Business Development at H.I.G. Capital.

Carlos shares how he broke into PE business development in 2010, how the function has evolved into a true long-term career path, and what he learned while building and leading sourcing teams across multiple firms.

The conversation covers:

• How H.I.G. structures a 17-person U.S. business development team across core banking relationships, industry verticals, the long tail of intermediaries, and direct sourcing
• Why a dedicated BD function can act as a force multiplier for investment teams
• The importance of BD serving as the connective tissue, institutional memory, and “walking CRM” of the firm
• How to build trust and credibility with investment professionals across a large, multi-strategy organization
• The operating cadence, goals, and KPIs required to manage a scaled sourcing function
• What best-in-class banker coverage looks like and why the strongest relationships are built around long-term partnership rather than individual transactions
• How smaller firms can build meaningful banker relationships without the resources of a large platform
• Why the long tail of intermediaries still matters and how firms can cover it efficiently
• What Carlos looks for when recruiting BD talent and the skills junior professionals need to develop into future leaders

Carlos also explains why the best BD professionals understand their firm’s strategy, portfolio, people, and relationships better than almost anyone—and use that knowledge to connect the right opportunities with the right people at the right time.

Deal Sourcery is brought to you by Coastal Partners, the only executive search firm focused exclusively on private equity business development.

We help private equity firms build world-class business development teams—and publish the industry's leading research on PE business development compensation, hiring trends, and market intelligence.

Whether you're making your next hire or simply want to stay ahead of the market, visit coastalpartners.co

Learn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com

We all know relationships are key in BD, but it’s still easy to forget that there’s always a real human on the other side of your transactions. Chris Reilly, Managing Director at VRA Partners has years of experience building lasting relationships that have helped propel and maintain his career in investment banking. Chris joins the show to discuss how PE folks can engage boutique bankers and create lasting relationships that stick, what kind of engagement tactics work and what ones will land your email in the trash, and how building reciprocal relationships with wealth advisors and M&A Attorneys can help you stay in the know and get referred to the bankers and deals that will take your career to the next level. He also leaves us with advice on what the next generation of PE industry titans should be doing now to ensure long lasting and thriving careers in a competitive business.

00:00 — From Accounting to Deal Origination

Chris Reilly’s unconventional path into investment banking and discovering a passion for sourcing deals

03:50 — What VRA Actually Does

Inside a boutique investment bank: clients, deal size, and how they operate

05:32 — How to Engage Boutique Bankers

Why most outreach fails—and what actually gets attention

08:32 — How Often Should You Reach Out?

The right cadence for building (and maintaining) banker relationships

10:17 — Who Gets Priority Time (and Why)

Track record, capital, and what separates serious buyers from the rest

13:05 — If I Were Starting a PE Firm Today…

Chris’s playbook for choosing which bankers to build relationships with

16:11 — Biggest Mistakes People Make

The “too transactional” trap—and how it kills opportunities

19:04 — How to Get on the Short List

What it really takes to be included in competitive (or limited) processes

22:32 — How Deal Origination Actually Works

The 3 core channels: referral sources, sponsors, and direct outreach

26:08 — What Metrics Matter in Origination

Market visits, pitches, and the KPIs that drive revenue

32:19 — The Power of Referral Networks

Why wealth managers and attorneys are the most valuable relationships

35:38 — A Real Deal Story ($200M+ Outcome)

How one relationship turned into a major transaction

40:11 — Are Referral Networks Underutilized?

Why most buyers ignore a massive opportunity

42:56 — What Makes a Great Referral Partner

Education, reciprocity, and playing the long game

48:26 — How the Market Has Changed

Longer processes, more specialization, and more competition

49:50 — The Rise of Professional Deal Sourcing

Why business development roles have become more sophisticated

51:59 — Conferences: How Bankers Actually Spend Time

Why existing relationships dominate—and how to break in

53:05 — Proprietary Sourcing vs Banker-Led Deals

Deal Sourcery is brought to you by Coastal Partners, the only executive search firm focused exclusively on private equity business development.

We help private equity firms build world-class business development teams—and publish the industry's leading research on PE business development compensation, hiring trends, and market intelligence.

Whether you're making your next hire or simply want to stay ahead of the market, visit coastalpartners.co

Learn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com

Ryan Murphy has spent his career performing at the highest level. A nine-time Olympic medalist, five-time gold medalist, former U.S. team captain, and world-record holder, Ryan is now taking on a very different challenge: learning the craft of deal sourcing at Norwest Venture Partners.

In this episode, Ryan joins Matt and Dan to discuss his path from elite swimming into investing, what it feels like to become a beginner again after reaching the top of another field, and how he is approaching the learning curve in venture. He shares how Olympic preparation was structured, the role data and repetition played in his training, and the parallels he is beginning to see between high-performance sports and sourcing.

The conversation also covers the patterns Ryan is seeing in the market, how owning and operating a swim-school franchise has shaped his perspective as an investor, and what he has learned about evaluating founders and businesses from the operator’s seat. Ryan also discusses balancing work, training, and family, the possibility of competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and his advice for anyone considering a major career transition.

Deal Sourcery is brought to you by Coastal Partners, the only executive search firm focused exclusively on private equity business development.

We help private equity firms build world-class business development teams—and publish the industry's leading research on PE business development compensation, hiring trends, and market intelligence.

Whether you're making your next hire or simply want to stay ahead of the market, visit coastalpartners.co.

In this episode, we sit down with Glenn Oken to trace how business development in private equity has evolved from 1989 to today, and what’s been lost (and gained) along the way.

Glenn reflects on the early days of deal sourcing, when private equity was barely an industry, competition was thin, and there were no CRMs, playbooks, or automated workflows to lean on. What existed instead was judgment, creativity, persistence, and a relentless focus on building real relationships — often face to face.

We explore how sourcing moved from hustle-driven relationship work to a more process-heavy function, why in-person connection still matters despite efficiency tradeoffs, and where experience beats financial engineering, especially in the lower middle market. Glenn also shares what it takes to survive the emotional reality of BD — the work that doesn’t bear fruit, the thrill of the hunt, and the long game of trust-building.

Jake Colognesi, Founding Partner at Mamba Growth, joins the Deal Sourcery Podcast to break down how sourcing sits at the center of building a new growth equity firm.

Mamba focuses on bootstrapped, founder-owned B2B software and tech-enabled services businesses—companies that are growing quickly, highly sought after, and often not actively considering outside capital. That makes company identification, differentiated outreach, and long-term founder engagement critical to the firm’s strategy.

Jake shares how Mamba defines its ideal target, why clarity around the investment profile is the starting point for effective sourcing, and how his team earns founder attention by leading with genuine value rather than generic outreach. He also explains Mamba’s “everyone sources” culture, including how senior investors can support junior sourcing professionals through responsiveness, preparation, recognition, and a willingness to move quickly when an opportunity emerges.

The conversation also covers:

• The case for a hybrid, “eat what you kill” sourcing model
• How diligence and execution build pattern recognition that improves future sourcing
• What LPs evaluate when diligencing an emerging manager’s sourcing capabilities
• Why technology alone is rarely a defensible sourcing advantage
• How AI and automated outreach are raising the bar for relevance and personalization
• Why trust, creativity, in-person engagement, and delivering value upfront will matter even more in the future

For emerging managers, investment professionals, and BD teams trying to build a more disciplined sourcing engine, Jake offers a practical look at how sourcing becomes a firm-wide culture rather than a standalone activity.

Deal Sourcery is brought to you by Coastal Partners, the only executive search firm focused exclusively on private equity business development.

We help private equity firms build world-class business development teams—and publish the industry's leading research on PE business development compensation, hiring trends, and market intelligence.

Whether you're making your next hire or simply want to stay ahead of the market, visit coastalpartners.co

Is starting your day with a little bit of shared struggle the key to building deeper relationships? Mike Alberts thinks so. Mike joins the show to discuss how his "M&A Fitness Club" got started, why leaning into your interests can help you stand apart and make more connections, and why he believes BD is the best job in PD.

You already keep metrics on just about everything, but how do you turn those numbers into actionable items to help you win more deals? Renn Iaboni of Monomoy Capital Partners joins the show to explore how to make sense of all that data you're tracking, how AI is changing the way we present information to banks and investors, and why there's no such thing as a bad first meeting.