Private Equity Partner

REPORTS TO: CEO, Founder, General Partner 
Travel Required

COMPANY BACKGROUND 

Black Dragon Capital LLC (BDC)  is a unique growth-oriented private equity firm focused on investing in areas where information technology is enabling the disruption of industries by allowing a faster, better and more economically compelling way to solve industry issues.  We seek to benefit from a diverse perspective combined with high performance operating and investment executives. We hire and promote based on merit, without bias, and make a genuine effort to ensure we have a diversified team that aligns with the diversity of our portfolio companies and their clients. We intend to maintain over 65% of our team members as culturally or gender diverse, and we work hard to foster a supportive and welcoming workplace. Bringing a leadership and advisory group of successful entrepreneurs, former operators and deal making experience, Black Dragon’s team has a track record of building market leading companies, driving above market returns and accelerating growth and profitability through its distribution connections, strategic advice, and active participation within our investments, primarily in financial technologies, eCommerce, and sports and media technology markets. 

Private Equity Partner at Black Dragon Capital (“BDC”) 

BDC is looking for either a private equity partner who is a proven business leader with an established track record of deal making and building a company’s value as a CEO or COO in a SaaS based recurring model company or an executive with a readiness to crossover to a Partner-level role in a private equity fund leading strategy and execution of major transformations in a company. You will join a team of successful operating executives and entrepreneurs with extensive M&A experience, and who have created billions in value.  For this rare opportunity, we are seeking a candidate who has a track record improving the growth, performance, and profitability of a company.   As a partner, you are a driver of corporate change in building value. We believe value creation is better achieved with a fully dedicated partner.  Working in concert with our team, you will oversee all aspects of transformations as well as be responsible for transactional deal activities and assessments of new investments. You will have control of the entire transformation process and will also participate in investment sourcing through distribution.  Along the journey, you’ll gain access to our advisors, distribution connections, proprietary operational tools, and to our value creation team with whom you’ll collaborate on post transaction, value-enhancing activities.  As a professional with not only investment experience but more importantly, an operational background, you will be valued in a way that few P/E firms would appreciate. 

About You: 

You’re known as a change agent who buys and sells companies and transforms them by rolling up your sleeves and making the companies better because of your active hands-on engagement and execution.  You are also an experienced deal maker and negotiator who has used that skillset to lead successful and profitable private equity transactions and business capital raising. You are a proven business leader with a history of building value in software companies; developing strategies and leadership teams; and can leverage your professional network to successfully improve the value of our company’s portfolios. You have also been an operator at a growing tech company, so you know the independence, excitement, and joy that comes from pioneering an industry and building a lasting company. You’ve had to make extremely tough judgment calls and overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, often in high pressure situations, but you seek challenging opportunities that you know you can make a difference in. You’ve dealt with pitfalls, but you never stop believing and always find a way to win when you know it’s possible. You have a bias toward hands on management, a sense of urgency, demonstrate strong leadership and communication skills, while managing multiple projects. You are detail-oriented, project management-oriented, decisive, organized, disciplined, and comfortable in highly demanding, fast-paced environments.  You have the ability to quickly understand the primary drivers of a variety of businesses, coupled with an extraordinary ability to quickly analyze and interpret complex financial data. Lastly, you know the uniqueness of working well with a small team of high performers, in an intense and exciting environment as a lead executive. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Identify, structure and execute high profile transactions across the capital structure in transactions that may include leveraged buyouts, take privates, add-on acquisitions and recapitalizations. 

• Source potential investors, lead conversations with fund investors to close committed capital. 

• Present initial thesis & investment summary on opportunities to the Investment Committee. 

• Process committee's feedback and refine investment presentation for approval 

• Present and negotiate acquisition offers for acquisition candidates. 

• Lead the pre-acquisition due diligence team and provide detailed and insightful analysis of the primary risks and opportunities associated with a target company. 

• Manage deal closing structure, working with Legal and Finance to complete the closing process effectively and efficiently.  

• Responsible for value creation as a strategic partner working closely with selected portfolio companies to support the execution of agreed upon strategic plans and initiatives, including cost efficiency programs, business rationalization, leadership assessments, recruiting, sales, marketing, product management, alliances and strategic partnerships 

• Establish credibility throughout the organization as an effective developer of solutions to business challenges. 

• Provide guidance, leadership, and at times direct execution on the investment operational plans to drive better performance and ultimately provide, returns to the firm’s investors 

• Coordinate governance and board issues, establishing dashboards, and reporting tools to monitor the investment progress, as well as bonus and performance plans with the Board of each respective portfolio company. 

• Establish and nurture relationships with entrepreneurs to earn their confidence in order to facilitate the sale (BDC’s acquisition) of their company and to generate future investment opportunities. 

• Refine the Leadership Index for the opportunity, while applying the Leadership Index and assessing the management team.  

• Develop and implement strategic goals for the firm and for portfolio companies.  

• Establish metrics and dashboard for monitoring individual investments, create plans to improve performance working with the Dragon Performance Group and One Dragon Services, along with portfolio management team. 

• Carefully monitor cash management, including capital requirements, investment funding, manage reserves, etc. 

REQUIREMENTS 

• A former CEO or COO in SaaS based recurring revenue model, technology company. 

• Private equity firm experience in capital raising, deal transactions and significant experience in an operational role. 

• Bachelor’s degree required, MBA or advanced degree highly desirable. 

• Experience as a senior leader or operating partner such as a CEO or COO; with a history in Sales or Marketing. 

• Leadership at a Software / SaaS company with cloud solutions and recurring revenues. Preferably going from a licensing model to a SaaS model. 

• Strong financial discipline and experience. 

• Willingness to work a flexible schedule that may include frequent travel. 

• Successful track record of working with and building relationships with the finance community including investment bankers, venture and private equity professionals, venture capital partners, family offices, and other financial professionals and institutions. 

• Works well with a small team of high performers, in an intense and exciting environment. 

• Heavy mergers and acquisitions experience.