October 22, 2025

Lessons from Alibaba, Meta, and PE Ops

28 minutes

Can You Really Spot a Great Company Before Everyone Else Does? In this episode of REady2Scale, Jeannette Friedrich sits down with Lee McCabe, Partner at Claymore Partners and former executive at Meta, Alibaba, and Expedia. With deep experience in both technology and private equity, Lee shares how to uncover high-potential companies, particularly those hiding in “boring” sectors, by focusing on digital transformation, data-driven operations, and overlooked growth levers.

Whether you're an investor, operator, or advisor, you'll gain practical insights into how leading firms are building value not just through financial engineering but through smarter marketing, better tech stacks, and operational efficiency.

Key Takeaways:

- Why old-school industries hold untapped value:Digitally underserved sectors like B2B and consumer services are ripe for disruption and value creation.

- The power of a functional tech stack: Many businesses lack proper data infrastructure. Building a connected, insight-driven stack is step one to scaling sustainably.

- What digital value creation really looks like:Private equity must shift from passive ownership to active operational involvement, especially in marketing and data analytics.

- Lead generation is the real business: CEOs in services should view themselves as running lead generation engines. Conversion begins with optimised websites and media spend tracked to ROI.

- AI hype versus reality: AI is not yet the silver bullet for most companies. Without basic data systems in place, AI becomes a distraction rather than a solution.

- How to avoid data overload: Focus on the 10 to 15 KPIs that truly drive performance instead of drowning in dashboards and vanity metrics.

- The real role of marketing agencies: Good agencies tie marketing spend directly to revenue and profitability instead of reporting on clicks and impressions.

- Advising today’s private equity investors:

Future-leading firms will use defined operational playbooks focused on digital execution from day one rather than relying on traditional financial levers.

- The compound effect of small steps:

Lee shares his philosophy for building an extraordinary life: take consistent action every day, even when the direction is unclear.

Recommended Resources:

Book: The Predator’s Ball by Connie Bruck

Podcast: Pivot and All-In

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

01:46 Lee McCabe's Career Journey

03:07 Identifying Winning Companies

05:32 Digital Transformation in Business

09:27 The Impact of AI on Marketing

23:28 Lightning Round and Conclusion

Connect with Lee McCabe:

Find him on LinkedIn

Are you REady2Scale Your Multifamily Investments?

Learn more about growing your wealth, strengthening your portfolio, and scaling to the next level at www.bluelake-capital.com.

Credits

Producer: Blue Lake Capital

Strategist: Syed Mahmood

Editor: Emma Walker

Opening music: Pomplamoose

*𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘊𝘗𝘈, 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥/𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

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