Inside Private Equity's AI-led Transformation (w/ Kyle Roemer of Accordion)

Everyone says they are one-shotting workflows with AI. We brought on the guy who can tell us what's actually happening in middle-market private equity companies. Kyle Roemer, Head of Data & AI at Accordion, has a unique view because his firm advises over 350+ private equity clients. He can see what's real and what's hype, and Accordion has the Ramp data to tell the difference. Kyle walks Devin through the rapid changes over the past year, function by function, so you can decide if you're ahead or behind. One prediction: the Office of the CFO will go through the biggest revolution over the next year, which they believe will "Make Finance Fun Again!" Kyle Roemer is the host of Accordion's podcast "AI & PE: The Future of Value Creation"  For more about Accordion visit accordion.com and reach out to Kyle and his team at [email protected]. Also check out Accordion's latest AI white paper: "AI in PE: Ahead of the market, behind the curve" in partnership with Ramp to see where AI adoption stands

How do you make the leap from the college quad to private equity? Associates Liz Xu and Niko Ivanisevic share their unexpected journey to the offices of ParkerGale. They get honest about imposter syndrome, the myth of the "perfect path," building a personal story beyond your resume, and why you should never chew gum in a job interview. Whether you're an undergrad planning your career or a junior banker wondering what's next, this episode is full of practical advice for how to break into the industry.

Most B2B software companies have more growth left in what they already sell. This framework shows exactly where to find it — and where to stop looking. Jim Milbery and Paul Stansik walk through the Ansoff Matrix, a simple four-quadrant tool for organizing every growth conversation a software company will ever have. New market or existing market? New product or current product? Sounds obvious, but it's an argument that can derail board meetings, kill roadmaps, and send sales teams down blind alleys. What if chasing new markets and new products is actually the thing slowing you down? Jim and Paul make the case for staying in the green box.

Most B2B sales reps are professionally trained to make you like them in 30 minutes. But when you're recruiting salespeople, likability doesn't guarantee success. Make the wrong hire and you can lose two years and a chunk of your growth plan. In this episode, Devin and Paul walk through the five qualities ParkerGale tests for (customer focus, structure, accountability, problem-solving, drive), the specific questions we ask in a panel interview, and the trick question that breaks through every rapport-building defense salespeople can muster.

Most private equity firms claim to use a leather-bound "value creation" bible nobody's allowed to touch. The truth? It's more of a Cheesecake Factory menu. In this episode, Paul and Jim break down what operating partners actually do once the deal closes — the three buckets that matter (revenue, cost, risk), why many software companies leave revenue on the table with their existing customers, and what "don't buy a company you can't sell" looks like in practice.

In 1995, the typical "PE operating team" was a few old-timer ex-CEOs. Today there are 20,000 of them. Cass and Paul from ParkerGale's ops team sit down with Devin to walk through how private equity operations actually evolved — from the "I got a guy" Rolodex era, to the captive consulting model, to today's proliferation of professional operators. Plus hot takes on the AI-specialist hiring boom, why a lot of operating teams will get skinnier, and how to know if you're helping or propping up a company.

Do operating teams matter? Why is sourcing broken? Are add-ons a strategy or a crutch? What firms have actually "stayed small?" In this episode, Devin and Jim get introspective, reflecting on their biggest lessons to mark the 10-year anniversary of the final close of ParkerGale's first fund. Tell us what you've seen change over the past ten years, and what has stood the test of time.

LPs. GPs. Carry. Waterfalls. Pari passu. The unlock. Quantum. De-Risk. Niko originally thought one of these was a French dish. Liz wants to ban another from all future meetings. In their PE Funcast debut, ParkerGale Associates Liz & Niko join Devin to demystify the private equity alphabet soup, breaking down everything from formal vocabulary to finance bro speak. Whether you're a first year Associate or a founder looking to sell, this is the lingo you should know.

In February of this year, an obscure research report triggered a $1 trillion wipeout in software stocks in seven days. In this episode we decipher what actually happened — and why AI is more likely to be a gift to enterprise software than a death sentence.   Devin and Jim have invested through every major tech transition: PCs, client-server, the browser, mobile, the cloud. This time, they're breaking down the four bear cases for enterprise software (private credit, seat licensing, vibe coding, the AI bubble) and sharing what's actually happening inside their portfolio. The ghost shows up every decade. Here's how not to get spooked.   READ: "The Ghost of Software Future" on Substack

Selling a company isn't just about price - it's about timing, preparation and process. In this episode, Devin sits down with Ryan Milligan to break down how to sell a company - from timing the exit to running a competitive process and getting a deal across the finish line. They walk through the full private equity playbook including when to sell, whether or not to hire a banker and how deals move from early conversations to signed LOIs and closing. If you've ever wondered how exits happen behind the scenes, this episode illustrates how it really goes down.