PEoperator⚡️

PE Operator → CEO | Real deals, stories & operator lessons | Never badmouth synergy | book recs:

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

I once presented a billionaire some of the highest-ROI projects I'd ever found.

Some north of 1,000% IRR.

I have never forgotten his response.

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@TheIcahnist Some of us have done this 😉

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

This is not surprising. Visionless PE guys pulling the plug on AI “initiatives.”

We’ve maybe had a year of access to real enterprise level AI.

Some investments just take longer than a year or two to generate return.

But if you want to sell the company next year, you save the money and pull the plug.

Unfortunately that means the business takes a step back.

What they don’t realize is the inability to quantify ROI does not mean it’s not there.

They just can’t see it because they’re too far away.

Eventually it will be clear, but it’s brand new tech. It’s going to take some time.

[Amend and Pretend @amendandpretend]

What's going on with AI in PE:
1 PortCos are spending on AI but are unable to quantify the ROI.
2 Funds are taking action to lower AI spend across the portfolio (model routers, open source).
3 Funds are pushing for off-the-shelf AI solutions
4 AI spend is the #1 topic for CFOs

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

Ideally you want the people closest to the problem/project designing and deploying AI.

Deep understanding of the business and processes + general education/awareness of what AI can do

That combo is very potent.

What doesn’t work is implementing AI from on high.

This is why you see PE folks and others who are multiple degrees away from the AI solution very skeptical of ROI.

They see spend, but no return. It’s possible that’s because the solutions are top down.

Someone at the top is saying “we need to use AI.”

Ideally folks doing the work identify AI solutions, but that’s not always going to happen.

So, it’s important to educate the org on what AI can do and truly partner with (listen+incentivize) the front line to implement.

Finally, we are still so early. You should be experimenting. Not every dollar is going to have an immediate positive ROI. That is ok, within limits.

But long term, what is the ROI on having an entire organization that moves fast and leverages AI?

Incalculable.

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@BoringBiz_ Zoom out brotha

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@KnoxvilleMitch YES

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@MatznerJon Totally agree. Amazon needs to fix this.
https://t.co/WCYVmeCQqX

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

To buy stuff, you can just take a picture of your credit card, drop it in the chat and Grok @Bot will scour the Internet for the best deal on the item you want and order it

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@goodhandscap So far we have already had incentive structures in place (commission, AI helps sell more).

Another incentive is just eliminating pain. Everyone wants that.

I will likely create some sort of bonus program for folks who are instrumental in launching and building new tools.

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

Ideally you want the people closest to the problem/project designing and deploying AI.

Deep understanding of the business and processes + general education/awareness of what AI can do

That combo is very potent.

What doesn’t work is implementing AI from on high.

This is why you see PE folks and others who are multiple degrees away from the AI solution very skeptical of ROI.

They see spend, but no return. It’s possible that’s because the solutions are top down.

Someone at the top is saying “we need to use AI.”

Ideally folks doing the work identify AI solutions, but that’s not always going to happen.

So, it’s important to educate the org on what AI can do and truly partner with (listen+incentivize) the front line to implement.

Finally, we are still so early. You should be experimenting. Not every dollar is going to have an immediate positive ROI. That is ok, within limits.

But long term, what is the ROI on having an entire organization that moves fast and leverages AI?

Incalculable.

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

Our company is seeing unbelievable productivity gains, with more on the horizon.

I honestly can’t understand how others are not.

It started with editing, spreadsheets, and modeling.

It spread to research. Then it spread to internal reporting.

And now we are exploring deploying bots en masse.

If you aren’t seeing productivity gains, you are falling behind.

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@SecretCFO 🎯

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

Expect to start seeing ROAI as a metric: return on AI spend.

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@spcohn 🤝

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@wealthMAinsider Yes

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

Our company is seeing unbelievable productivity gains, with more on the horizon.

I honestly can’t understand how others are not.

It started with editing, spreadsheets, and modeling.

It spread to research. Then it spread to internal reporting.

And now we are exploring deploying bots en masse.

If you aren’t seeing productivity gains, you are falling behind.

[The Kobeissi Letter @KobeissiLetter]

BREAKING: Citadel founder Ken Griffin says AI is "almost certainly" a bubble, noting that companies are struggling to turn AI spending into productivity gains.

However, Griffin says he is bullish on AI's long-term potential.

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@Teocalifrank @Colton_Heil EBITDA is up about 2.2x yoy

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@cc_slip Whoa

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@MikeDLead Agree totally. Congrats on the progress

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@girdley What about for a deal toy?

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@smarthelping I think one fits in where you can leverage AI to do more than… especially when you can move faster on analytics and also be able to pivot to execution and tracking

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@Colton_Heil Boy do I agree with that reporting comment. 🤝

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

Agree. The opportunity is huge in both.

I get the need for ensuring ROI (and we do track spending).

But I see the most handwringing on ROI from folks who are not using it. It’s almost self-fulfilling.

No one asks for the ROI when buying a new employee a computer. You hire the employee, give them a computer, and if they don’t produce, you part ways.

I view AI similarly. It is almost impossible to quantify many of the benefits, especially before you start spending.

But I do believe equipping employees with the best tools will generate ROI.

Can be tricky to navigate depending on the governance structure.

[PEoperator⚡️ @PEoperator]

@TheIcahnist ⚡️⚡️⚡️