Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business

Private equity insights for and with top business builders, including investors, operators, executives and industry thought leaders. The Karma School of Business Podcast goes behind the scenes of PE, talking about business best practices and real-time industry trends. You'll learn from leading professionals and visionary business executives who will help you take action and enhance your life, whether you're at a PE firm, a portco or a private or public company. BluWave Founder & CEO Sean Mooney hosts the Private Equity Karma School of Business Podcast. BluWave is the business builders' network for private equity grade due diligence and value creation needs. To learn more, visit: https://bit.ly/3oPBjs8

Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 152 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business, a business show with 152 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business

  Private Equity Growth with Akoya’s Carr Preston

  Sep 2, 202643 min

  Carr Preston, Managing Director at Akoya Capital, joins Sean Mooney to discuss how leadership, partnership, and commercial discipline shape successful private equity investments. He shares how Akoya evaluates founder- and family-owned businesses, including the importance of a strong CEO, a clear economic model, scalable sales motion, and the right cultural fit. Carr also explains how Akoya’s thesis-driven, operating-centric approach helps companies professionalize, grow revenue, and focus on the few priorities that matter most. This is a practical conversation on building value through people, focus, and disciplined execution—hit play. Episode Highlights 1:00 - Carr’s path from San Francisco to Morehouse, law school, business school, and private equity 4:00 - How a JD/MBA perspective helps with deal structure, diligence, and negotiation 6:33 - Learning investing fundamentals at Allied Capital during a formative period in PE 10:48 - Carr’s Prince concert streak and the music that shaped different chapters of life 14:42 - What Akoya looks for in leadership, strategy, execution, and business model quality 20:00 - Evaluating management teams through decision-making, trust, communication, and plant tours 24:42 - Akoya’s operating-centric approach to value creation before and after close 29:20 - Why sales and business development are major levers for lower-middle-market growth

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  Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business

  Private Equity Deal Sourcing with Audax’s Dave Santoni

  Aug 5, 202645 min

  Dave Santoni, Managing Director at Audax Private Equity, joins Sean Mooney to discuss how decades in investment banking shaped his approach to sponsor coverage, business development, and private equity. He shares what Audax looks for in niche market leaders, how the firm uses industry mapping and add-on acquisitions to build stronger businesses, and why preparation before a process can create real edge. Dave also explains how Audax is using AI across sourcing, diligence, portfolio support, and exits without losing sight of relationships and curiosity. This is a sharp look at how modern private equity firms win before the book ever hits the inbox—hit play. Episode Highlights • 2:00 - Dave’s path from Philadelphia and Omaha to law school, banking, and Audax • 6:31 - Why Audax felt like the right next chapter after decades of deal work • 10:19 - Coaching youth basketball and the lasting pull of sports, teams, and leadership • 13:28 - What Audax looks for in niche market leaders across its core verticals • 16:16 - Using add-on acquisitions to expand markets, customers, and capabilities • 21:48 - How Audax maps industries before ownership to accelerate add-on activity • 28:00 - AI becomes a major value creation priority across the firm and portfolio • 39:39 - Dave’s advice to his younger self: be more curious, earlier For more on Audax Private Equity, visit https://www.audaxprivateequity.com/ For more on David Santoni, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsantoni/

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  Episode #148

  Private Equity in Q2 2026: Deals Stall as Value Creation Peaks

  Jul 22, 202628 min

  Sean Mooney, Founder and CEO of BluWave, breaks down BluWave's Q2 2026 Private Equity Insights Report and what it signals for the second half of the year. He explains why renewed geopolitical volatility stalled due diligence to an all-time low, how PE firms responded by pushing value creation to a record 84% of activity, and why AI advisory demand continues to surge across the industry. Sean also revisits BluWave's 2026 predictions on deal flow, growth, software selection, industrialization, and the widening gap between AI adopters and laggards. For PE leaders deciding where to place their bets this year, it's the quarter's playbook in one sitting — press play. Episode Highlights 1:08 – Why BluWave's project data mirrors where private equity is actually spending time 3:45 – Geopolitical disruption stalls new deal activity for the second straight year 5:51 – Due diligence drops to 16% as value creation hits an all-time high 6:30 – AI advisory services surge 193% year over year in PE 7:20 – Reading the macro backdrop: manufacturing PMI, tight credit spreads, and a resilient consumer 13:10 – Why extended holds are driving a surge in interim, PE-grade executives 23:31 – The case for adopting AI now, before the gap between winners and laggards widens For more on BluWave, visit: https://www.bluwave.net/ To request the full Q2 2026 Insights Report, visit: https://bluwave.net/resources/insights-report

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  Episode #147

  Private Equity Growth Levers for Founder-Led Businesses with Tim Billings

  Jul 1, 202638 min

  Tim Billings, Senior Partner at Quad-C , joins Sean Mooney to discuss how the firm evaluates founder-led businesses and partners with "mountain climber" CEOs who want more than capital. He breaks down the traits Quad-C looks for, including superior service, sticky customers, pricing power, multiple growth levers, and leadership teams ready to scale. Tim also explains how value creation comes to life through sales and marketing, executive talent, finance and IT support, disciplined M&A, and thoughtful AI adoption. For private equity leaders and CEOs building toward the next peak, this conversation is worth the climb—hit play. Episode Highlights 2:00 - Growing up in Northern Virginia, working early jobs, and discovering finance 3:16 - Learning to think like an investor through banking and underwriting committees 9:38 - What Quad-C looks for in founder-led business services companies 11:56 - Why "mountain climber" CEOs are critical to private equity value creation 16:43 - Quad-C's owner mindset and hands-on approach to scaling portfolio companies 21:34 - Sales, marketing, talent, and M&A as core growth levers 30:15 - Tim's advice to his younger self: choose great people and take off the blinders For more on Quad-C, go to https://www.quadc.com/ For information on Timothy Billings, go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-billings-67549058/

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  Episode #146

  Private Equity and AI Execution in the Portfolio

  Jun 17, 202657 min

  In this Karma School of Business crossover episode, Sean Mooney is joined by Lloyd Metz, Managing Partner of ICV Partners ; Doug McCormick, Managing Partner of Oridian Capital Partners ; James Aylward, Chief Product and Technology Officer at BluWave ; and Nathan Plummer, Co-Executive Director of Venture Café Global Institute . The group explains how AI moved from long-running concept to practical business tool, and what that means for private equity firms and portfolio company leaders right now. They cover agentic AI, data readiness, applied AI use cases, internal tooling, security concerns, and the leadership challenge of getting teams to adopt new ways of working. This is a practical conversation for business builders who want to move past AI hype and start creating real value—hit play. Episode Highlights 2:13 - James Aylward's path from Fidelity's AI incubator to BluWave's technology strategy 5:08 - Nathan Plummer on Venture Café's role in connecting startups, investors, and innovators 9:17 - Why ChatGPT marked a "Gutenberg moment" after decades of slower AI progress 13:10 - AI shifts from autocomplete and thought partnership to writing major chunks of code 18:06 - Applied AI moves beyond efficiency into biotech, robotics, imaging, and new product creation 23:28 - Why proprietary data may become the real moat for private equity-backed companies 35:42 - AI literacy, adoption, and the leadership work required to make tools stick 44:05 - BluWave's internal AI tool shows how company data can power faster decisions For information on Oridian Capital Partners, go to https://oridiancapital.com/ For information on ICV Partners, go to https://www.icvpartners.com For information on BluWave, go to https://www.bluwave.net

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