Edward Robson
@27XVII
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Partnering with management teams to deploy our IRON value-creation frameworks. ESG investor with an emphasis on Governance. Proverbs 27:17
San Francisco, California
Joined July 2023
I believe that the systems of record narrative is a moat for software. However, the capital raising and the valuations of the AI players is so large, that they could effectively acquire multiple SORs and the outlay would be a rounding error.
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Posting an overview on one of the worst Boards in SMID Cap SaaS soon. It’s the perfect story of Silicon Valley ego destroying tons of value. Multiple VCs with 10+ year board tenures. Most of which have destroyed more value in the public markets than the entire fund vintage.
With great margins comes great responsibility. It’s time for the entrenched boards of SMID cap SaaS to discover fiscal discipline. It’s time to get in shape. These next few years will be a fight, and the bloat of the past will have to go.
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With great margins comes great responsibility. It’s time for the entrenched boards of SMID cap SaaS to discover fiscal discipline. It’s time to get in shape. These next few years will be a fight, and the bloat of the past will have to go.
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When BDCs (lenders) are coming out highlighting their sector exposure, this tells you everything you need to know. The market is looking for the answer to a question. Where it looks for answers tells you the level of conviction and the certainty of what qualifies as “provable”
It’s a guilty until proven innocent market in Software. I don’t think there’s a common perspective on what would prove innocence. At the same time, there’s not a ton of concrete evidence of short-term headwinds that would validate a death sentence (terminal value impairment).
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It’s a guilty until proven innocent market in Software. I don’t think there’s a common perspective on what would prove innocence. At the same time, there’s not a ton of concrete evidence of short-term headwinds that would validate a death sentence (terminal value impairment).
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Surprisingly, I have had a number of institutional investors reach out to discuss this on their venture and PE managers. Seems like there’s not only value for public investors, but multiple use-cases across private markets. What other data/features would be helpful as we
We've got a project that's been in our backlog for awhile that we've been making progress on. The goal is to publish a website to bring more transparency and accountability for Board Members of public companies. How much value was destroyed under their tenure, terrible M&A,
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We've got a project that's been in our backlog for awhile that we've been making progress on. The goal is to publish a website to bring more transparency and accountability for Board Members of public companies. How much value was destroyed under their tenure, terrible M&A,
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An excerpt from our soon to be published investor letter: SaaS is having it's Alibaba moment. In the early 2010s, Alibaba (via AliExpress) entered the U.S. market, allowing bulk purchasing for Chinese made products, which were discernibly lower priced substitutes versus higher
Candidly, I think the market is offsides on software. Ironically, the AI argument on which features/functionality can be created using AI - effectively de-platforming/unbundling thesis - is also the strongest argument for which platforms can improve their offering (using AI) to
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Candidly, I think the market is offsides on software. Ironically, the AI argument on which features/functionality can be created using AI - effectively de-platforming/unbundling thesis - is also the strongest argument for which platforms can improve their offering (using AI) to
Is there any good AI skeptic right now?
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Your reminder that when PE IPOs assets, the majority of the time it is because there is a significant pricing premium in the public markets versus a sponsor to sponsor deal. The premium needs to exist to compensate PE funds for the lack of true, immediate liquidity. However,
Nearly all of the venture and private equity funds that we follow seem to be counting on a busy IPO and asset selling season in 2026. Will the market cooperate and be able to digest so much new supply late in a bull market?
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It’s end of the year reflection time. As we look forward to 2026, which names do you think trade at a significant discount (30+%) to intrinsic value that could be potential acquisition candidates? If you provide a detailed perspective (not just a ticker and valuation
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Marshall Faulk.
Permira, Warburg near $8.2 bln deal for Clearwater Analytics, sources say https://t.co/L7HrpBpYJW
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Being an emerging manager in any asset class is an uphill climb because unless you have prior relationships and an extensive track record, building trust with prospective LPs takes time. Someone providing you their hard earned capital is one of the highest forms of trust in human
@KivaDickinson taught me the Trust Equation. So helpful in understanding work relationships. But I think there’s an LP version: Trust = (credibility + reliability + relationship quality) / self interest LP Trust = (track record - strategy drift + transparency) * alignment
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When did the narrative shift that AI was an existential threat to SaaS to what I’m hearing - beneficiary of workflow consolidation and operational efficiency gains?
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Worth a read. Good stuff @credistick
VCs need to understand what drives IPO activity. They talk about a "lost opportunity" for retail investors, when public market index funds have outperformed 95% of the VC market in recent years. They talk about companies "not wanting" to go public, and simultaneously joke
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