The Wall Street Lab

Rami Cassis, founder and CEO of Parabellum Investments, discusses how his firm operates as a hybrid between a family office and private equity firm. He provides an inside look at his investment approach, building relationships and reputation, and his perspective on improving private equity's image.

Key Topics and Timestamps:

• What a hybrid family office and private equity firm is and why Cassis cares about private equity image [00:02:00 - 00:05:45]
• Cassis' approach to sourcing investments and what he looks for in an acquisition target [00:05:45 - 00:10:15]
• How valuation discussions unfold and avoiding deal fatigue [00:10:15 - 00:15:00]
• The importance of honoring your word in building relationships and reputation [00:15:00 - 00:20:00]
• Integrating a new acquisition and exiting investments [00:20:00 - 00:25:00]
• Tips on deal negotiations and avoiding concessions [00:25:00 - 00:30:00]
• Working with management teams and the role of chairman [00:30:00 - 00:35:00]
• How private equity can improve its image and be a force for good [00:35:00 - 00:40:00]
• What Cassis looks for when hiring junior team members [00:40:00 - 00:45:00]
• The importance of diversity and avoiding "assholes" [00:45:00 - end]

More about our sponsor Fintalent.io: https://fintalent.io

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/

Check Out these Wall Street Oasis courses:

Modeling

Elite Modeling Package: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLElite/TWSL/

LBO Modeling Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLLBO/TWSL/

Real Estate Modeling Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLRE/TWSL/

In this episode, Christina Bresani, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Advisory at William Blair, shares her insights and experiences in investment banking and corporate advisory. She discusses her background, breaking into the industry, and the importance of networking. Christina explains the role of corporate advisory and its responsibilities in mergers and acquisitions, including advising clients on acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, and defending against activists. She emphasizes the changing landscape of friendly and hostile takeovers and the need for valuable relationships with clients. Additionally, Christina highlights the importance of diversity and the initiatives taken by William Blair to support women in investment banking. The episode concludes with her advice to be open to learning, curious, and true to oneself in the industry.

We discuss the following topics:

• Christina's background and journey in investment banking
• Breaking into the industry and the importance of networking
• The role and responsibilities of corporate advisory in mergers and acquisitions
• Preparing for shareholder activism and engaging with activists
• Evaluating defense profiles and best practices in the boardroom
• The current landscape of friendly and hostile takeovers
• The importance of diversity and initiatives to support women in investment banking

In this episode, Dr. Daniel Crosby shares insights on the behavioral aspects of investing. The conversation covered a range of topics, including the trends of passive and active investing, the biases exhibited by portfolio managers, the impact of recent events like the WallStreetBets phenomenon, and the interconnectedness of personal well-being and financial decision-making. Let's delve into the key takeaways from this enlightening discussion.

We discuss the following topics:

• Passive vs. active investing: Strengths and weaknesses of both approaches.
• Biases in portfolio managers: Managers can exhibit biases they advise against.
• Rise of retail trading platforms: Gamification, easy access, and zero-cost transactions.
• Role of personal well-being: Connection between well-being and financial decisions.
• WallStreetBets phenomenon: Appeal and cautionary aspects of the movement.
• Influence of extreme states: Impact of emotional and physical states on decision-making.
• Overall insights: Understand approaches, manage biases, consider retail trading, and prioritize well-being.
  
  

In this episode of the Wall Street Lab podcast, we had the opportunity to interview Gene Goldman, the Chief Investment Officer and Director of Research at Cetera Financial Group. We will dive into the key takeaways from the interview and explore how they combine quantitative and qualitative data to generate insights for financial investment decisions.

More about our sponsor Fintalent.io: https://fintalent.io

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Check Out these Wall Street Oasis courses: 

Modeling

Elite Modeling Package: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLElite/TWSL/

LBO Modeling Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLLBO/TWSL/

Real Estate Modeling Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLRE/TWSL/

Investors are quick to brag about the impact and network they add to their investments. After all, they know a lot of important people, have access to cash, and an infinite source of knowledge.

Christoph Jost, Founder & Managing Partner at FLEX Capital, isn't one of them. "We come in when the founders have already done the hard part", he says. "They have scaled their business to 1 million EBITDA or 5 million in revenue. It's clearly working already." 

In this episode, Andi and Christoph discuss:

• What bootstrapped founders face when they scale
• How FLEX Capital finds and invests in them
• How FLEX Capital approaches consolidation
• How Christoph moved into Private Equity

More about FLEX Capital: https://www.flex.capital/en/ 

More about Fintalent.io: https://fintalent.io

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Check 0ut these Wall Street Oasis courses: 

Modeling

Elite Modeling Package: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLElite/TWSL/

LBO Modeling Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLLBO/TWSL/

Real Estate Modeling Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLRE/TWSL/

Interview Prep

Hedge Fund Interview Prep Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLHFInt/TWSL/

Investment Banking Interview Prep Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLIBint/TWSL/

Private Equity Interview Prep Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLPEint/TWSL/

VC & PE

Venture Capital Course: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLVC/TWSL/

Private Equity Deals Process: https://il130.isrefer.com/go/TWSLPEDeals/TWSL/

Welcome to the Wall Street Lab podcast, where we interview top financial professionals and deconstruct their practices to give you an insider look into the world of finance.

In this episode, Jan Voss of BLN Capital shares insights on the challenges, rewards, and intricacies of working in the family office space

We discussed:

• What are the complexities of family offices and their various forms (Single Family Offices vs. Multi-Family Offices)?

• How does the role of a family office manager differ from traditional fund managers?

• What is the importance of discretion and trust in family office management?

• How do family office managers balance family interests while maintaining professionalism?

• What is the appeal of working in the family office space in terms of diversity and intellectual stimulation?

More about BLN Capital: https://www.blncapital.com/

More about Fintalent.io: https://fintalent.io

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Welcome to the Wall Street Lab podcast, where we interview top financial professionals and deconstruct their practices to give you an insider look into the world of finance.

Financial models are more than forecasts - they're a crucial decision-making tool. And it takes more than Excel-skills to make them impactful.

Our guest today is Ian Schnoor, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Financial Modeling Institute

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Financial Models are vital tools for investment decisions
• What makes a Financial Model great
• What can go wrong when building a Financial Model

Learn more about the Financial Modeling Institute: https://fminstitute.com/ More about Fintalent.io: https://fintalent.io You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/

Welcome to the Wall Street Lab podcast, where we interview top financial professionals and deconstruct their practices to give you an insider look into the world of finance.

Today we're joined by Kison Patel, CEO and Founder of M&A Science and Dealroom, a project management software for complex M&A transactions.

In this interview, we will discuss:

• Why current M&A practices are not enough anymore to deal with complex transactions
• What M&A professionals can learn from agile in software
• How values in M&A transactions have shifted towards people issues
• How Kison structures his own companies to capture value in the fragmented M&A market
• Why he started his podcast despite being an introvert, and what the result of it was
• His outlook on M&A activity in the current market

More about M&A Science: https://www.mascience.com/ 
More about DealRoom: https://dealroom.net/
Follow Kison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kisonpatel/ 
More about Fintalent: https://fintalent.io/

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Welcome to the Wall Street Lab podcast, where we interview top financial professionals and deconstruct their practices to give you an insider look into the world of finance.

Today we're joined by Krista Morgan, a general partner at Stage, an early-stage private equity firm based in Denver, Colorado.

She's also the co-founder of Aelin.ai, an artificial intelligence platform helping small businesses prepare for loans. She's currently a board member of Peak Beverage. 

Krista holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science and a Diploma in Liberal Arts. 

In this interview, we will discuss:

• How Krista and her co-founder founded Stage
• Her experiences running a private-equity firm
• Managing relationships with founders and investors
• Her approach to funding startups and getting returns

More about Stage: https://stagefund.com/ 
More about Krista: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristamorgan/ 
More about Fintalent: https://fintalent.io/

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

My guest today is  Maëlle Gavet, the CEO of Techstars. Techstars is one of the world's largest pre-seed investors, with over 3,300 investments. Maëlle is the Author of “Trampled by Unicorns” and an advocate for Empathetic Tech.

Today is a special episode. I apologize for the noise in the background because we have the pleasure of recording this episode in person at the Web Summit in Lisbon.

Links

More about Techstars: https://www.techstars.com/

More about Maelle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maellegavet/ 

More about Fintalent: https://fintalent.io/

You can find all episodes of The Wall Street Lab Podcast on https://thewallstreetlab.com/ 

Today we're joined by Lisa Marchese, Head of Corporate Development of American Express, where she is responsible for all venture investments, joint ventures and M&A activities. Previous positions at American Express include SVP of International Business Development, VP Corporate Development, and VP Strategic Planning Group within the last 20 years. Lisa holds an MBA degree from Columbia Business School and a bachelor's degree from Barnard College.

This episode is about all things strategic M&A. Buckle up because we'll discuss:

• What Corporate Development / M&A means for Amex
• Lisa's path into M&A
• How Amex identifies great targets
• The path from prospecting to closing great deals
• The importance of integration and how Amex deals with that

The episode is filled with a ton of frameworks and practical tips for M&A practitioners and professionals interested in the space alike.

The Wall Street Lab is brought to you by Fintalent.io - the leading community for M&A and Private Equity professionals. 

• Andi's journey from banker to entrepreneur
• Why he started Reach.Finance, and what is broken with financial advisory
• How he approached fundraising
• How the podcast helped him with fundraising

Our guest today is Danielle Joseph. Danielle is a Managing Director and leads the Closed Loop Ventures Group platform – the seed and pre-seed investment division of Closed Loop Partners - focused on the circular economy. She is also a Board Member of several companies.

https://www.closedlooppartners.com/team-members/danielle-joseph-2/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-joseph-71790026/
https://www.homebiogas.com/
https://partsmonkey.com/
https://www.solarcycle.us/
https://www.cartercenter.org/
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Peter-Lacy/dp/1349959677
https://www.amazon.com/Waste-Free-World-Circular-Economy-Planet/dp/0593191846
https://www.wastedive.com/

Contact & Disclaimer

If you want to get in touch: contact@thewallstreetlab.com

Disclaimer: Information contained in this podcast constitutes the opinions of individuals and should not be treated as investment, tax, financial or legal advice. We take no responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made in this podcast. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and it does not contain an offer to sell or buy any sort of financial products and should not be treated as advertisement for such. Any copying, distribution or reproduction of this podcast without the prior permission of the creators of the podcast is strictly prohibited.

Mathieu Chabran is Co-founder of Tikehau Capital, a global alternative asset manager with over 30 Billion USD in Assets under Management.  Previously, he worked in the Real Estate Debt Market team of Deutsche Bank in London. He began his career at Merrill Lynch, firstly in Paris within the Principal Investment team, then in London, in the High Yield Capital Market department. He received his education from ESCP Europe.

This episode is about Mathieu's journey as a founder to scaling his alternative investment asset management company across the global. We talk about Private Debt, Real Assets, Private Equity, and Capital Markets Strategy. We cover the importance of people and culture and the effects of covid on the business. And of course we talk about the requirements to grow as an employee and climb the ranks.