Rich Lawson

Private equity, deals, markets & the people behind them. Co-Founder & CEO at HGGC

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

I joined X back in 2009 but haven't spent much time here in recent years. I'm going to change that. I've spent more than 30 years investing in and helping build businesses, and I still find the people, deals and markets surrounding private equity as interesting as ever. I'm planning to share more of what I'm seeing and learning here — on private equity, deals, markets, leadership and the people behind great businesses. And probably a few things that have nothing to do with private equity along the way. Looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and making some new ones here.

[Derek Andersen @DerekjAndersen]

Steve Young has been in rooms with presidents, Hall of Famers, and billionaires for four decades. His most admired list looks nothing like a résumé.

"To me, the superheroes are the ones that have defied the natural state. The natural state is seeking credit. The natural state is selfishness. When super famous people are authentic in those little brief moments, that's a superhero."

"Magic Johnson's a superhero. Arnold Palmer's a superhero."

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

The end of private equity? Hardly.

Longer holds, less reliance on leverage and more focus on actually building better businesses sounds more like an evolution than an ending.

Plenty of opportunity ahead.

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

@SteveWiesnerSMB @blackstone @MorganStanley Love it. Remember the days... you, Hal Ritch, Deflo et al :)

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

@blackstone 's Joe Baratta and I started together at @MorganStanley in the early '90s, when private equity was a much smaller and very different industry. Allison does a great job capturing how much the path has changed for the next generation. Different road today, but I'm still incredibly optimistic about the opportunity ahead in PE.

[Allison McNeely @allisonmcneely]

Read my story about how the younger PE generation is finding the path to riches harder to follow: https://t.co/XZxEoL1Vx1

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

Still believe this as strongly today as we did then: partnership over the last dollar.

[Steve Young @SteveYoungQB]

Better outcomes happen when the focus is on true partnership instead of getting the last dollar.

At @HGGC_LLC we’ve had this view since we founded the firm 15+ yrs ago. And with 70K ppl across our portfolio companies, the responsibility is big. Onward!

https://t.co/eKBeXfh4t8

[Restructuring__ @Restructuring__]

Thoma Bravo bought Medallia for $6.4bn in 2021. Less than five years later, it handed the company to its lenders and lost roughly $5bn of equity.

How did the cap stack look at acquisition? Take a look below.

Roughly $5.1bn of equity sat beneath the loan, and with a lender detaching below 30% of TEV, enterprise value could fall by more than 70% before lenders faced any impairment.

Read the full coverage: https://t.co/thbDdxgfVN

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

Joe will be sorely missed at @blackstone. We started together as analysts at @MorganStanley in New York more than three decades ago, and it’s been remarkable to watch all he’s accomplished since. Great reporting by
@miriamgottfried and @AAndriotis.

https://t.co/UfP3ptMMgr

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

Joe will be sorely missed at @blackstone. We started together as analysts at @MorganStanley in New York more than three decades ago, and it’s been remarkable to watch all he’s accomplished since. Great reporting by @miriamgottfried and @AAndriotis.

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

Breaking: Blackstone’s top private-equity executive Joseph Baratta is preparing to leave the firm, the latest in a string of departures from the investing giant https://t.co/HdXelFu1SC

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

We see versions of this all the time with friends in the professional sports community. Good read. Dan gives a fascinating inside look here at how one of these schemes actually unraveled.

[Dan Primack @danprimack]

Last week a hedge fund manager was sentenced to 11 years in prison for a $30 million Ponzi scheme whose victims included Travis Kelce and ex-NBA players.

Now the whistleblower is telling his story: https://t.co/bjEnPKQnql

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

Interesting piece by @allisonmcneely on the changing economics of a career in private equity. No question the industry has changed... longer hold periods, fewer realizations and less predictable carry. But I’d be careful painting the industry with too broad a brush.

Distributions matter. Realized returns matter. And the ability to both buy and sell well across cycles matters.

There’s still a great career to be built in private equity but perhaps a much greater premium today on choosing the right platform. (h/t @singps)

[Bloomberg @business]

Private equity dealmakers are missing out on personal windfalls from winning bets. Now some are looking outside of the industry to reinvent themselves https://t.co/jDsIEoraZ7

[Tim Ferriss @tferriss]

NEW podcast episode is up!

Steve Young, from Super Bowl MVP to Managing Billions — Hall of Fame 49ers Quarterback on High Performance, Reinvention, Faith, and How to Blend Dreams and Plans

cc: @SteveYoungQB

Steve Young is a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback who played professional football for more than 15 years, predominantly with the San Francisco 49ers. He was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXIX (29), securing the titles of Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated and Sporting News from 1992 to 1994 and receiving the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award for 1992 and 1994.

Upon retirement, Steve held the record for the highest quarterback rating in NFL history and remains the only quarterback to clinch four consecutive NFL passing titles. Following his football career, Steve became an ESPN analyst and best-selling author and entered the world of private equity. He co-founded HGGC, a private equity firm managing more than $6.9B in capital commitments, and served as chairman of the board for HGGC portfolio companies IDERA, Integrity, and AutoAlert.

Steve is the founder and current chair of the Forever Young Foundation, an organization deeply involved in supporting children’s charities globally. He also has taken on a significant role in advancing the national women’s flag football initiative and is a former international spokesperson for the Children’s Miracle Network, a philanthropy that has successfully raised more than one billion dollars to aid children’s hospitals worldwide. 

He is the author of QB: My Life Behind the Spiral and The Law of Love.

Please enjoy! 🙌

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

Couldn’t agree more, Kathy… Holly and I are lifelong dog lovers, and our Saint Bernard and Cavalier King Charles are very much part of the family. A great reminder that every dog deserves a loving home.

[kathy ireland @kathyireland]

The mutual benefits of adopting a precious pet are incalculable!
Every shelter pet deserves the chance to find a forever home. On @RememberMeThursday, let’s shine a light on pet adoption and help orphan pets around the world.

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

I suppose we’ve moved well past my Mac mini running OpenClaw…

Soon everyone will have a personal AI agent in their pocket — one that knows you, remembers and gets things done on your behalf.

Couldn’t agree more with Brad. The implications are enormous.

[Brad Gerstner @altcap]

As discussed w @bgurley two yrs ago - a personal, super assistant in every American’s pocket w perfect memory & understanding of my life - my likes & dislikes - able to work non stop & achieve almost anything is now inevitable. It is a huge gift to humanity. It will 10x all of us, give us more magic experiences & save time from drudgery to spend w family & friends. Many internet aggregators (insurance, travel, shopping) will resist but resistance is futile. AI agents aggregate the world of options on the fly - the fulcrum of value delivery has forever shifted. Model capability has unlocked this moment just as it did for coding. Adapt or die. 🤖🚀@BG2Pod

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

@AAndriotis @alyrose @WSJ Fascinating, AnnaMaria... private credit keeps finding its way into places few would have imagined just a few years ago.

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

Private equity isn't disappearing. It's evolving.

Longer hold periods, continuation vehicles and permanent capital are changing the traditional model. But the fundamental opportunity remains the same: partner with great management teams, build better businesses and create long-term value.

Plenty of opportunity ahead for private equity over the next decade.

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

@sherman4949 Great memories, Alex. Hard to believe that was almost a decade ago. Look us up when you're next on the left coast!

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

@SteveWiesnerSMB That’s the other side of this, Steve… extraordinary value creation in AI but potentially a lot of value destruction across legacy software. The Adobe example is a great one. We’re spending a lot of time thinking about exactly this.

[Rich Lawson @rlawson]

I was around for the dot-com era and have lived through a few technology cycles since. I've never seen anything quite like this.

The scale and speed of value creation around AI is unprecedented.

[@jason @Jason]

My lord, three IPOs are worth more than… all IPOs in the last 45 years of tech 🤯