Podcast
Deal Sourcery
Hosted by Dan Herr and Matt Rooney · EN
Deal Sourcery is the must-listen podcast for Private Equity professionals aiming to master the art of deal origination. Hosted by Dan Herr - who’s closed over $1B in transactions in the last decade while building and leading world-class deal sourcing teams - and Matt Rooney, a top recruiter in PE business development, we dive into cutting-edge trends, proven tactics, data-driven sourcing strategies and the technology shaping the future of M&A. Each episode features in-depth discussions with exited founders, PE professions and investment bankers, delivering exclusive, actionable insights you won’t find anywhere else. Tune in to elevate your sourcing skills and optimize your firm’s capital deployment.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
What Do The Best In BD Have In Common? A People First Approach with MidOcean's Dan Ryan
2w ago00:52:26Tap to summarizeHave you ever wondered what traits the top performers in BD seem to share? Dan Ryan, Managing Director at MidOcean Partners joins the show to break down the types of personalities that seem to find the most success in the business, from an emphasis on self-starters, to a high correlation of socially comfortable extroverts, to a need for flexibility and adaptation. Dan also shares the importance of not just collecting data - but also how the synthesis of that data with real human relationships is what helps the best BD professionals make and secure deals.Learn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com
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BD Is A Contact Sport: HKW's Ted Kramer On How Relationships Give You A Competitive Edge
4w ago00:37:20Tap to summarizeHave you ever wondered why so many in Private Equity are former athletes? HKW's CEO Ted Kramer - one of the first deal sourcing professionals to lead a firm - joins the show to break down his journey through deal sourcing, and how human relationships and in person interaction - yes, even trips - are still the differentiator, even in our tech-forward world. He also shows us why, despite the intense competition, so many in private equity business development are willing to help those new to the industry, and why it's important to lean into your strengths.Learn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com
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Learning From the Big Leagues - Advice to New B.D. Professionals from H.I.G. Capital's Carlos Soto
Apr 901:09:13Tap to summarizeIf you’re new to PE BD or trying to break-in, you don’t want to miss this one. Carlos Soto of H.I.G. Capital joins the show to give a masterclass on what makes a standout BD professional in today’s market, what traits new hires should look to cultivate as they begin their careers, and how to use KPIs and other metrics to ensure you’re spending your time wisely. He also breaks down the advice and wisdom he’s received from some BD legends, and exactly what you need to do to make sure your relationships with bankers help get you deals.Learn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com
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Deals Still Run On Relationships: VRA Partner's Chris Reilly On Why The Best Buyers Build Trust First
Mar 2600:56:07Tap to summarizeWe all know relationships are key in BD, but it’s still easy to forget that there’s always a real human on the other side of your transactions. Chris Reilly, Managing Director at VRA Partners has years of experience building lasting relationships that have helped propel and maintain his career in investment banking. Chris joins the show to discuss how PE folks can engage boutique bankers and create lasting relationships that stick, what kind of engagement tactics work and what ones will land your email in the trash, and how building reciprocal relationships with wealth advisors and M&A Attorneys can help you stay in the know and get referred to the bankers and deals that will take your career to the next level. He also leaves us with advice on what the next generation of PE industry titans should be doing now to ensure long lasting and thriving careers in a competitive business.Chapters00:00 — From Accounting to Deal OriginationChris Reilly’s unconventional path into investment banking and discovering a passion for sourcing deals03:50 — What VRA Actually DoesInside a boutique investment bank: clients, deal size, and how they operate05:32 — How to Engage Boutique BankersWhy most outreach fails—and what actually gets attention08:32 — How Often Should You Reach Out?The right cadence for building (and maintaining) banker relationships10:17 — Who Gets Priority Time (and Why)Track record, capital, and what separates serious buyers from the rest13:05 — If I Were Starting a PE Firm Today…Chris’s playbook for choosing which bankers to build relationships with16:11 — Biggest Mistakes People MakeThe “too transactional” trap—and how it kills opportunities19:04 — How to Get on the Short ListWhat it really takes to be included in competitive (or limited) processes22:32 — How Deal Origination Actually WorksThe 3 core channels: referral sources, sponsors, and direct outreach26:08 — What Metrics Matter in OriginationMarket visits, pitches, and the KPIs that drive revenue32:19 — The Power of Referral NetworksWhy wealth managers and attorneys are the most valuable relationships35:38 — A Real Deal Story ($200M+ Outcome)How one relationship turned into a major transaction40:11 — Are Referral Networks Underutilized?Why most buyers ignore a massive opportunity42:56 — What Makes a Great Referral PartnerEducation, reciprocity, and playing the long game48:26 — How the Market Has ChangedLonger processes, more specialization, and more competition49:50 — The Rise of Professional Deal SourcingWhy business development roles have become more sophisticated51:59 — Conferences: How Bankers Actually Spend TimeWhy existing relationships dominate—and how to break in53:05 — Proprietary Sourcing vs Banker-Led DealsLearn more: Coastal Partners — coastalpartners.co | Tahoe Equity — tahoeequity.com
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Gold Medal Sourcing: 5x Olympic Gold Medalist’s Journey into Deal Sourcing
Mar 1200:49:24Tap to summarizeWhat does training for Olympic Gold have in common with a career in deal sourcing? In his first year at Norwest, 5x Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Murphy found out. Ryan joins the show to talk about his transition from Olympian to Investor, how co-owning a Goldfish Swim School franchise helps him relate to business owners, and how even a world-record holder can have trouble getting responses to cold emails.
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Lessons From Three Decades of Deal Sourcing with Glenn Oken
Feb 501:09:19Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we sit down with Glenn Oken to trace how business development in private equity has evolved from 1989 to today, and what’s been lost (and gained) along the way.Glenn reflects on the early days of deal sourcing, when private equity was barely an industry, competition was thin, and there were no CRMs, playbooks, or automated workflows to lean on. What existed instead was judgment, creativity, persistence, and a relentless focus on building real relationships — often face to face.We explore how sourcing moved from hustle-driven relationship work to a more process-heavy function, why in-person connection still matters despite efficiency tradeoffs, and where experience beats financial engineering, especially in the lower middle market. Glenn also shares what it takes to survive the emotional reality of BD — the work that doesn’t bear fruit, the thrill of the hunt, and the long game of trust-building.
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What It Takes to Source “Elite” Founder-Owned Software Companies with Jake Colognesi
Jan 1500:55:52Tap to summarizeIn a world where our digital inboxes are flooded with the same templated outreach e-mails, AI-assisted intros and impersonal newsletters, what can you do to stand out? Jake Colognesi of Mamba Growth Equity joins the show to talk about bringing humanity back into private equity to set himself apart from the competition. From leading with empathy and curiosity to sending out type-written notes to potential partners, Jake walks us through what makes a Mamba Deal different and why it works.
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Running Towards Deals - Mike Alberts on the M&A Fitness Club and Why BD is the Best Job in PE
Nov 2000:52:57Tap to summarizeIs starting your day with a little bit of shared struggle the key to building deeper relationships? Mike Alberts thinks so. Mike joins the show to discuss how his "M&A Fitness Club" got started, why leaning into your interests can help you stand apart and make more connections, and why he believes BD is the best job in PD.
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The Final Frontier of Deal Sourcing - How Metrics, Systems and AI Will Shape the Future of Business Development with Renn Iaboni
Oct 2300:34:42Tap to summarizeYou already keep metrics on just about everything, but how do you turn those numbers into actionable items to help you win more deals? Renn Iaboni of Monomoy Capital Partners joins the show to explore how to make sense of all that data you're tracking, how AI is changing the way we present information to banks and investors, and why there's no such thing as a bad first meeting.
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The First BD Guy & the AI Native Future - Deal Sourcery Live from M&A SoCal
Oct 900:43:06Tap to summarizeAt Deal Sorcery Live, recorded at M&A SoCal, Ori Eldarov (Founder of OffDeal) and John Camp (Arbor Investments) join the show to discuss the origins of business development and how artificial intelligence is reshaping dealmaking — from sourcing to closing.They discuss what happens when AI takes the wheel in investment banking, why human relationships still matter more than ever, and how the next generation of deal professionals will work alongside technology, not against it.Topics covered:How AI is transforming deal sourcing and private equity workflowsBuilding an AI-native investment bank with more engineers than bankersWhy a human-first approach still drives great dealsThe evolution of business development in a tech-driven market#DealSorcery #PrivateEquity #AI #InvestmentBanking #OffDeal #ACGSoCal
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