104: Operating Businesses Through Private Equity

A quick message first: We had audio issues for the first 16 minutes of the show. We cleaned it up as much as possible, but you'll notice a difference. Apologies for that!

"It's really about fit & relationship." — Brad Batten

When Johannes Zwick & Bradley Batten first met at Davidson College, neither imagined a future as partners in private equity. But these fraternity brothers turned friends had important partnership traits in common: integrity, ambition, diligence, & love for people.

Most importantly, they recognized & respected those qualities in each other.

(By the way, if you can't believe these traits are being used to describe private equity investors, you're in for a treat. These guys are unexpected—you know, “anything but typical!”)

Johannes & Brad turned their love for business & their focus on fit & relationship into a one-of-a-kind private equity firm. Today, they invest financially & operationally in small businesses eager to scale & do so while preserving each company's employees, culture, & core values.

Forget everything you know about rip, strip, & flip private equity firms. These guys represent "investment with heart & purpose."