How PE can use the ‘See, Solve, Scale’ process to screen investments

In this episode, our speakers explore how Professor Danny Warshay’s ‘See, Solve, Scale’ entrepreneurial process can help PE investors screen potential investments.

Related topics Private equity

Partnering with a private equity (PE) firm has become especially attractive for founders of lower and middle market companies that aim for transformational, sustainable growth. As active and engaged investors, PE brings not only capital, but specialized industry expertise and experience, and generally a large network of professionals and operating resources. But to which entrepreneurs and founders is private capital flowing and what factors are influencing those investment decisions?

Danny Warshay is the Executive Director of the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and author of ‘See, Solve, Scale: How Anyone Can Turn an Unsolved Problem into a Breakthrough Success.’ Danny asserts that much of the same ‘See, Solve, Scale’ process that has empowered so many entrepreneurs can also be helpful to investors as a screen for potential investments. The episode also explores how the legacy culture, bias and ways of doing business in PE can shape investment decisions and cause investors to overlook promising opportunities and entrepreneurs. 

Entrepreneurs should keep three things in mind when seeking to raise private capital:

  1. Seek to fix problems that actually exist rather than be ‘a solution in search of a problem.’
  2. Having abundant resources can burden the entrepreneurial process, while scarce resources can actually be beneficial.
  3. Aspire for diversity among founders, management teams and investment teams because diverse teams are better positioned for success.

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.

Presenters

Photographic portrait of Danny Warshay
Danny Warshay
Executive Director of the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University

Podcast

Episode 45

Duration 23m 00s

In this series

series overview
(Event List - Manual)

How PE can use the ‘See, Solve, Scale’ process to screen investments

In this episode, our speakers explore how Professor Danny Warshay’s “See, Solve, Scale” entrepreneurial process can help PE investors screen potential investments.
Podcast

Episode 45

Duration
23m 00s

Presenters

Danny Warshay

Executive Director of the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University

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Podcast

Episode 44

Duration
26m 00s

Presenters

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CEO of Level20

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Podcast

Episode 43

Duration
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Presenters

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Episode 42

Duration
08m 50s

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Podcast

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Podcast

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Duration
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Presenters

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EY Norway Head of Climate Change and Sustainability Services