Douglas Mellinger

I spoke with Christien Louviere of BDE Capital about his journey from a $330mm exit to becoming an independent sponsor. Christien shared excellent insights for folks looking to partner with business owners, rather than buy sellers out completely. Below are a few of the topics we covered: - Why he moved from “zero-to-one” startups to a buy-then-build strategy - How Christien's background shaped a focus on growth vs. cost-cutting - Why 20–40% rolled equity is central to his deal structures—and how it builds trust with sellers - Using scenario analysis with AI tools to evaluate management teams and uncover hidden key-person risks - How to identify when a $3–5M EBITDA company truly has a middle management layer—or is still founder-reliant For anyone investing in or buying small businesses, Christien’s approach provides a fresh lens on growth, alignment, and deal structuring. 🎥 Watch the full interview here → https://lnkd.in/ekfkaiej 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e86Agx6V

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Wealth professionals looking to introduce private market investments into client portfolios are finding that client education is essential. Managing Director James Martin shares a key insight from our Global Private Wealth Survey that highlights how stronger education equips clients to confidently embrace private markets.

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🚀 Verif-y is redefining digital record management. With 9 State DOE contracts, 200+ institutions onboarded, and 90%+ margins, this AI-powered SaaS platform is solving a $20B+ global problem: fragmented, insecure, and outdated education and credential systems. Now raising $5M Seed funding to accelerate U.S. and international growth. 👉 For VCs and institutional investors: this is defensible, AI-driven SaaS with regulatory moats — the right product, right time. See www.verif-y.com Then DM me for more info. Join us on this funding round? Follow me on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/e8bZ8srt

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At Brightstar Capital Partners, we believe success begins with strong relationships built on trust, alignment, and a shared vision to help great businesses grow. While capital is essential, we focus on building long-term partnerships built through hands-on experience and a commitment to lasting value. Our investment evaluation process is grounded in sectors we know deeply. We focus on cash-flowing businesses where we see an opportunity to optimize operations and foster ownership culture, helping to grow the company better than it could on its own. Ultimately, we judge success by a simple question. Five or 10 years after we exit, if someone calls a founder or partner we’ve worked with and asks, “Should I work with Brightstar?” I want the answer to be yes. That is our definition of real value creation.

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Layer is tackling one of the most overlooked pain points for SMBs: accounting. They’re gaining real traction doing so. Emergence is leading their seed round to bring embedded, AI-powered accounting to the SMB software stack. Kevin Spain highlights what makes this team and product so compelling. 

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Starboard Built Big Stake in BILL Holdings, Plans to Nominate Directors "Activist investor Starboard Value owns an 8.5% stake in BILL Holdings and intends to run a boardroom challenge to push for changes at the financial automation software company that serves small and midsize businesses around the world, it said in a filing on Thursday. "BILL Holdings, which has a market value of nearly $5 billion and sees more than 1% of U.S. gross domestic product flow through its platform, saw its stock price lose nearly half of its value since January." #corporategovernance #boardsofdirectors #activistinvesting #shareholderactivism #governancearbitrage https://lnkd.in/gQhi_A5b

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I’m really excited about this. From day one, the vision of the Innovest Ignite Accelerator has been to provide founders of African descent with the tools, resources, and networks they need to build high-growth, sustainable global businesses. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for us. Grateful to the team at Babson for their belief in our vision and for making this possible.

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The next OVERLAB Webinar is here—and it’s all about one of the most powerful (and overlooked) funding strategies for entrepreneurs: non-dilutive capital. 🎯 Webinar: OVERcoming Financial Barriers with Non-Dilutive Capital Featuring Willie Williams, Managing Director, FTW Ventures & NHIT Consultant Willie Williams is a nationally recognized expert on helping #founders raise #capital without giving up #equity. As Managing Director of FTW Ventures and a consultant with the National Health IT Collaborative (NHIT), Willie has guided countless entrepreneurs through the complex landscape of federal, state, and philanthropic funding programs. His expertise helps #startup founders secure the resources they need to #innovate, #scale, and transform healthcare—while retaining ownership of the groundbreaking companies you've built. 🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Session: 💡 How to identify the right non-dilutive funding opportunities for your venture 🏛 The latest federal and state programs that support health innovation 🌱 Philanthropic funding strategies to fuel early-stage growth 🚀 How to leverage non-dilutive capital to scale without sacrificing equity This is more than a webinar—it’s a roadmap to funding smarter. Whether you’re bootstrapping your startup or raising your next round, this session will give you the strategies to fuel your vision while keeping control. You MUST be a member of OVERLAB to view this webinar. If you haven't already, sign up at overlab.co. It's FREE.

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