Richard Fitzgerald, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at CapitalSpring, joins Sean Mooney to share the story behind one of the most enduring sector-focused firms in private equity. In a conversation that moves well beyond deal mechanics, Richard reflects on the early days of CapitalSpring, the value of sticking with a niche, and what it takes to build trust and alignment — across teams, LPs, and portfolio partners — over the long haul.

Episode Highlights:

• 1:07 – Richard’s path to private equity
• 7:53 – Building a sector-specialist investment firm with true competitive advantage
• 11:06 – We'd know Richard better if we knew this about him
• 18:27 – Working through hard things – navigating the pandemic
• 26:45 – The art of private equity in the franchise/multi-location sector – best practices
• 35:48 – Benefits of having a sector specialist franchisee investors for sponsors investing in franchisors
• 40:42 – Flexibility to provide both debt and equity solutions for growing businesses is a competitive advantage
• 43:05 – Richard’s advice for his 22 year-old-self

For more on CapitalSpring: https://www.capitalspring.com

To connect with Richard Fitzgerald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fitzgeraldrichard

For more on Challenge Aspen: https://challengeaspen.org/

For more on the Michael J. Fox Foundation: https://www.michaeljfox.org/

Explore more episodes of Karma School of Business: https://www.bluwave.net/podcasts