We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey Paul oversees the strategic direction and development of Arcadea across all areas of the firm alongside his partner, Daniel. Paul began his career as a member of the Citigroup Global Analyst program, where he gained exposure to a number of divisions before landing on the high yield and investment grade credit research desk. After Citi, Paul joined Arsenal Growth, a VC & Growth Equity firm in the US with offices in Palo Alto and Orlando. Starting as an Associate and leaving as a Principal, Paul focused on high-growth b2b enterprise software and eCommerce businesses. Paul then joined Constellation Software (“CSI”), where he had a number of executive roles including leading the global investment team of one of CSI’s six operating groups, acting as CEO of a public sector business, and leading a group of businesses in various verticals. On this episode, Chris and Paul discuss: ➡️  Lessons learned from working at Constellation Software ➡️  How they underwrite investment opportunities ➡️  Investing with permanent capital and a long-term horizon ➡️  How Arcadea creates value for their portfolio companies Key Takeaways: (2:55) - Paul’s career and background (6:28) - How was Constellation structured? Why was it 6 operating groups? (8:14) - What’s the benefit of carrying a light corporate office? (10:37) - Thinking in a high-clarity manner (13:19) - Is there anything about your family’s history or your love of classical music that played into your ultimate career in acquiring SAAS companies? (15:15) - How did you end up building Arcadea Group? (17:58) - Does high growth always mean early stage? (19:53) - Have most of these businesses you acquire taken on VC? (24:15) - What is a Vertical SaaS? (26:35) - What can you do differently operationally in VSaas versus other Software services? (27:56) - What is Long-termism and why are you pursuing that route? (32:55) - Do you only offer one injection of cash or do you inject as needed? (36:38) - Who’s making the decision of whether the business needs more capital? (40:16) - Do companies mature to a point where they no longer fit the Arcadea model? (42:11) - What is a quick ‘no’ for you when looking at a company? (44:54) - What happens in the first year of an acquisition? (50:03) - What makes an exceptional operator? (52:32) - How do you make your CEOs think like investors? (54:51) - What are your investors expecting from you as permanent capital? (56:27) - What does it do for your business to have such an accomplished advisor on your board? (59:07) - What happens when a founder or CEO abruptly exits? (1:01:30) - Are you successful because you’ve been in the seat of the CEO and operator? (1:03:22) - What are Kanban and Scrum? Additional Resources 👉 Arcadea Group: https://www.arcadeagroup.com/ 👉 Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pyancich/ ➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://xealenergy.com/ ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts