E333: Why a $19B Allocator Is Betting on Lower Middle Market Buyouts

What if your family office could invest like a founder and a VC at the same time? In this episode, I sit down with Shane Neman, founder of a multi-entity family office with $850M AUM, to explore how he approaches venture investing, deep tech, and portfolio construction. Shane shares how his two decades as a SaaS founder shape his edge as an investor, why transparency and founder relationships matter more than fund mandates, and how he balances high-conviction bets with a rational family office lens. He also dives into frontier tech, co-invest structures, and building a diversified yet opportunistic portfolio.

Why buy an office when everyone else is selling? In this episode, I sit down with Tim Barrett, CIO of the Texas Tech University Endowment, to explore how he builds high-conviction portfolios across private equity, real estate, and hedge funds. Tim shares why governance, manager selection, and a generalist team structure drive consistent alpha, how he balances risk and upside with portable alpha, and why lower middle market investments can outperform flashy venture deals. He also dives into building team culture, aligning incentives, and using the endowment’s size and flexibility to access niche opportunities others can’t.

Why do most institutional investors still allocate heavily to large private equity funds? Alex Abell of RCP Advisors explains why the lower middle market has consistently outperformed, driven by less competition, faster exits, and stronger value creation. He breaks down the structural reasons LPs stay in large buyouts, including access constraints, manager selection difficulty, and career risk. The conversation also covers how top LPs evaluate managers, what actually predicts performance, and where alpha exists in private markets today.

What if the best investors aren’t generalists at all, but operators who double down on the one place they truly have an edge? In this episode, I sit down with Nathan Cooper, Founder and Managing Partner of Barrel Ventures, to explore how a family with nearly a century in food transformed itself into a focused investment platform. From early mistakes outsourcing everything to building a differentiated edge in food and beverage, Nate shares how conviction, pattern recognition, and network-driven investing compound over time.

What does it take for a GP to successfully raise capital in today’s venture and private markets? In this episode, I sit down with Ron Biscardi, co-founder and CEO of iConnections, to unpack the realities of LP relationships, fund-raising cycles, and scaling a global platform for capital introduction. Ron shares insights on how humility, patience, and responsiveness differentiate managers, why business risk matters more than returns for LPs, and how building trust over years compounds into large-scale success.

What if influencer marketing isn’t about chasing mega-followers, but activating the creators who already love your brand? In this episode, I sit down with Aris Yeager, Founder of Storytime, to explore how he built a platform connecting brands with nano and micro creators to run highly targeted campaigns at scale. A creator himself known online as European Kid, Aris leverages his own social experience to help businesses automate gifting, engage loyal audiences, and measure campaign effectiveness while focusing on authenticity over follower count.

What if the best way to navigate credit markets is not about chasing yield but controlling risk? In this episode, I sit down with Danielle Poli, Co-Portfolio Manager of Global Credit at Oaktree, to explore how she manages a $20 billion portfolio within a $223 billion firm. Danielle shares how focusing on core income, rigorous underwriting, and a flexible toolkit allows her team to navigate complex markets while remaining defensive or opportunistic as conditions change.

What if the best venture returns come from managers no one else can access? In this episode, I sit down with Jorge Felippe, CEO of Almulla, a Dubai-based single family office, to explore how he builds high-conviction private markets portfolios while managing a multi-generational family and complex governance. Jorge shares why alignment, patience, and process matter more than flashy deals, and how a thoughtful approach to fund selection can capture early-stage alpha without the chaos of direct investing.

What if emerging markets aren’t a trap, but most investors just approach them wrong? In this episode, I sit down with Robert Koenigsberger, Founder and CIO of Gramercy, to explore how he has built a $7 billion emerging markets platform by focusing on high conviction, structured private credit, and long-term partnerships. After nearly four decades in emerging markets, Robert has pioneered strategies that capture the upside while managing risk, proving that careful underwriting, local knowledge, and disciplined execution outperform passive index approaches.

Will AI soon write investment memos, analyze deals, and run workflows inside investment firms? In this episode, I speak with Chaz, founder of Model ML, about the rise of agentic AI and how investment firms are beginning to automate complex workflows across private markets. Chaz explains how Model ML originally started as an internal tool built inside his family office to manage investments more efficiently — before evolving into a fast-growing AI platform used by asset managers, banks, and consulting firms. We discuss why chat-based AI tools have limitations for professional workflows, how firms can achieve major productivity gains through automation, and why the next phase of AI will shift from productivity toward generating investment insight.