Podcast Summary: How I Invest with David Weisburd

Episode: E288: Inside a PE Fund Ranked #1 in IRR, DPI, and TVPI
Date: January 22, 2026
Host: David Weisburd
Guests: Jesse (Renovus founding partner), Atif (Renovus founding partner)

Overview

This episode delves into the inner workings of Renovus, a private equity fund that has achieved the #1 ranking in key performance metrics (IRR, DPI, TVPI) and recently closed an oversubscribed $875 million fund during a challenging fundraising landscape. David Weisburd interviews Renovus co-founders Jesse and Atif, exploring their fund’s unique strategies, views on talent development, portfolio construction, and long-term perspectives in private equity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Successful Fundraising in a Challenging Market

• Right timing, strategy, and team: Renovus attributes its fundraising success to a strong exit track record, investor resonance with its lower middle-market focus, and a high-quality, 45-person team.
  • Jesse:

    “Our track record's been good leading up to the fundraise... our DPI numbers have been great at a time when there isn't a lot of dpi.” (00:05)

  • Strong team quality consistently recognized during due diligence.

2. What Drives Outperformance (“Alpha”) at Renovus

• Playing in the ‘lower middle market’: They target founder-owned, sub-$10m EBITDA businesses, which provide more deal opportunities and less competition from larger funds.
• Building a powerful flywheel: Success stories fuel more inbound opportunities and create a robust referral network among sellers and managers.
• Organizational investments: A full-time director of people and an executive coach are integral to cultivating talent and culture.
  • Jesse:

    “We’re trying to play what we call the game on easy mode.” (02:32)

  • Jesse:

    “We have stayed downmarket and focused on small businesses and have this vast network...” (04:14)

3. The Power and Compounding Effect of Talent

• Boomerang & repeat talent: CEO/founder relationships often span multiple deals with Renovus, strengthening trust and compounding experience.
  • Jesse:

    "When you’re able to build that network of really good people who want to keep coming back... that network effect is really special and it compounds." (05:18)

• From dealmakers to firm builders: Both Jesse and Atif describe a personal and professional evolution beyond dealmaking into institutional fund/firm management.
  • Atif:

    “Over the last 15 years, we’ve elevated our role from just deal leaders to fund managers and from there to firm owners.” (05:49)

4. The Role of Founders vs. Team

• Earlier, the three co-founders handled everything (100% founder-driven for Fund I), but the intentional goal was and is to transfer responsibility and success to a broader team over time.
  • Jesse:

    “We’ve gone away from being players... [now] we’re playing player-coaches.” (08:54)
    “Nothing makes us happier than seeing people get it.” (09:22)

5. Talent Identification & Organizational Culture

• Hiring is based on potential and attributes, not just experience or pedigree.
• Junior team members bring transformative ideas (like AI implementation), demonstrating a two-way learning culture.
  • Jesse:

    “This concept, I think like Netflix popularized it, of talent density...raises everyone’s game.” (11:53)

  • Atif:

    “We are looking to bring in more entrepreneurs in the firm, not more managers.” (12:37)

• Screening new hires for soft skills; value-based, personalized hiring stories (e.g., the chief people officer’s church community background).
  • Atif:

    “We are really screening for attributes, not for people’s backgrounds.” (13:40)

6. Evolution & Diversification of the LP Base

• Started with heavy SBA SBIC program backing (67% in Fund I); gradually shifted to more university endowments, insurers, international family offices, and strategic investors.
  • Atif:

    “Investors who gave us $500 million in fund three... have given us another $650 million [in fund four].” (16:54)

• International and strategic investors are now targeted for diversification and long-term growth.
  • Atif:

    “We used those limited slots to bring in what I would consider strategic investors...” (18:36)

7. Unique Portfolio Construction Approach

• Start small, scale up: Initial investments are small, then capital is deployed incrementally as businesses are professionalized.
  • Atif:

    “If we are looking to invest $100 [in] a particular business, we might start at 50 or less and over time...put in more capital.” (19:51)

• Recycling capital: Early wins allow cost basis recycling, enabling the fund to reinvest and compound for higher net LP returns (~120% capital deployment per fund).
• Long-term holds over "flipping": Learned over time to hold and grow the best companies instead of predictable early exits.
  • Jesse:

    “There’s no kind of dogmatic approach on our part... now it’s time to exit.” (21:37)

  • Atif:

    “We sell [enterprises] at teens of multiples...that has a compounding effect.” (22:36)

8. Founder Relations & Rollover Incentives

• Renovus positions itself as a "founder-led" firm, focused on being a trusted counterparty for sellers—not just another LBO shop.
• Valuation isn’t always the top concern for sellers—certainty of closing and upside through equity rollovers matter as much as price.
  • Atif:

    “They care deeply... that the counterparty they are dealing with is transaction-worthy.” (24:16)

9. Contrarian, Long-Term, and Flexible Investment Philosophies

• Inspired by investors like George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller: Start with a small position, learn deeply, and add as conviction builds ("invest, investigate, put in more").
  • Jesse:

    “Buying something, even if it’s only a $5 million EBITDA business, buys you a seat at the table.” (26:14)

• Embrace the fact that real insight comes from ownership/involvement, and the firm’s strategy is to scale positions as they gain confidence through ownership.
  • Jesse:

    “We like getting smarter, gaining conviction, investing accordingly, or losing conviction and stopping.” (28:10)

10. Lessons to Their Younger Selves

• Atif: Build the business as a long-term, enduring enterprise from day one—not just as a project-focused fund.
  • Atif:

    “Think of the business...not just as a project...but like an operating business. Build a business that would be there forever.” (29:28)

• Jesse: Over time, shifted thinking from “building a fund” to “building a firm” thanks to guidance from executive coaching.
  • Jesse:

    “You guys hired me to help turn Renovos from a great fund into a great firm.” (30:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |------------|---------|-------| | 00:05 | Jesse | “Our track record's been good leading up to the fundraise...our DPI numbers have been great at a time when there isn't a lot of dpi.” | | 02:32 | Jesse | “We’re trying to play what we call the game on easy mode.” | | 04:14 | Jesse | “We have stayed downmarket and focused on small businesses and have this vast network...” | | 05:18 | Jesse | “That network effect is really special and it compounds.” | | 05:49 | Atif | "We've elevated our role from just deal leaders to fund managers and from there to firm owners." | | 08:54 | Jesse | “We’ve gone away from being players... [now] we’re playing player-coaches.” | | 11:53 | Jesse | “Talent density...raises everyone’s game.” | | 12:37 | Atif | “We are looking to bring in more entrepreneurs in the firm, not more managers.” | | 13:40 | Atif | "We are really screening for attributes, not for people’s backgrounds." | | 16:54 | Atif | “Investors who gave us $500 million in fund three... have given us another $650 million [in fund four].” | | 18:36 | Atif | “We used those limited slots to bring in what I would consider strategic investors...” | | 19:51 | Atif | “If we are looking to invest $100 [in] a particular business, we might start at 50 or less...” | | 21:37 | Jesse | “There's no kind of dogmatic approach on our part... now it's time to exit.” | | 22:36 | Atif | “We sell [enterprises] at teens of multiples...that has a compounding effect.”| | 24:16 | Atif | “They care deeply...that the counterparty they are dealing with is transaction-worthy.”| | 26:14 | Jesse | "Buying something, even if it's only a $5 million EBITDA business, buys you a seat at the table." | | 28:10 | Jesse | “We like getting smarter, gaining conviction, investing accordingly, or losing conviction and stopping.”| | 29:28 | Atif | “Think of the business...not just as a project...but like an operating business. Build a business that would be there forever.”| | 30:46 | Jesse | “You guys hired me to help turn Renovos from a great fund into a great firm.”|

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:05 – Fundraising strategy: time, strategy, team
• 01:02 – Performance drivers & “secret sauce”
• 04:55 – Exponential vs. linear compounding in talent and brand
• 08:50 – Contribution of founders vs. team today
• 12:15 – Two-way learning and talent adaptation (AI example)
• 13:06 – Screening for soft skills and “potential”
• 16:06 – Evolution of LP base and capital sources
• 19:51 – Portfolio construction philosophy and practicals
• 21:22 – Case study & lessons on long-term holdings
• 24:01 – Why founders choose Renovus despite lower valuations
• 26:06 – “Invest, investigate, put in more” philosophy
• 29:26 – Timeless advice for their younger selves

Tone & Language

The discussion is frank, energetic, and collaborative, with Jesse and Atif interjecting personal anecdotes, humility about their evolution, and a genuine passion for talent building and long-term value creation. Their approach is both data-driven and people-focused, with an emphasis on integrity and partnership.