Industry Thesis Feedback

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October 18, 2024

by a searcher from Universidade de Coimbra in Lisbon, Portugal

Dear Community,

We're launching a partnered search fund and we are currently working on our PPM. Even though we are industry agnostic, we are doing 2/3 industry thesis on those that are more interesting to showcase the potential and opportunity. As we are developing these industry thesis, we are looking for feedback on structure/size and experience sharing on is best practice (we want to provide detail but there might be a good balance between detail and time spent). Here's how we are developing:

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commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Macquarie University in Melbourne VIC, Australia
Hi AP, solid structure - a few quick thoughts

* Introduction: Emphasise why the industry aligns with your fund’s strengths to stand out

* Market trends/drivers: Use both qualitative and quantitative data, distinguishing short vs long term trends

* Competitive landscape: Focus on competitor success drivers and key barriers, with attention to capital and operational challenges

* Acquisition criteria: Be specific, but mention flexibility in factors like company size or geography

* Risks/mitigation: Consider including risk scenarios with mitigation strategies for better foresight

* Exit strategy/valuation: Mention less common exit paths alongside typical ones to highlight growth potential

Additional sections, you may want to consider adding

* Regulatory environment: Key industry regulations impacting growth or acquisitions
* Technology/innovation: How tech trends might create opportunities or risks
* Customer segmentation: Deeper insights into target customers and demand trends
* Operational considerations: Factors such as supply chain and scalability
* Financial metrics: Industry specific KPIs guiding acquisition and valuation

Hope this helps
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Reply by an investor
from McGill University in San Diego, CA, USA
What ^redacted‌ said. The PPM is a story. It's your first opportunity to stand out, and tell a compelling story. Most PPMs are generic (too generic!), and not well crafted. Having an industry focus, with keen insights, and a thoughtful approach to sourcing would go a long way. When you put the PPM together, I'd encourage you to merge your work/life experiences to your industry choices. Make it easy for your banker/investor to understand the pitch. If you attended a fancy university, have white collar experience, and proceed to pitch to your investor base that you want to buy a grease trap business, that will cause some confusion (unless you explain why the industry is the right personal fit for you). Also, don't treat each section of the PPM as if they are independent of each other. If your industry of choice is cyber security, for example, your financial model can't start with an assumption that you will buy an asset in that space for 4x. If you plan to use SBA financing, pitching industries that trade at 12x is a clue that you haven't really dug in. Best of luck!
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