Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Investor with Joel Palathinkal
Episode: Jeremy D. Held: Managing Director at Bow River Capital
Date: December 13, 2025
Guest: Jeremy D. Held, CFA, Managing Director at Bow River Capital
Host: Dr. Joel Palathinkal

Episode Overview

This episode offers an in-depth conversation with Jeremy D. Held, Managing Director at Bow River Capital. Jeremy discusses his unconventional journey into asset management, the evolution and current trends in private equity, strategies for portfolio construction—specifically through evergreen funds—the importance of talent and culture, and essential leadership lessons for both investors and entrepreneurs. The dialogue is filled with practical insights into how private equity has shifted over time and what qualities underlie successful investing and business building today.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Jeremy Held’s Background and Entry into Asset Management (00:02–06:03)

• Unconventional Path: Jeremy grew up in Colorado, was influenced by great teachers and coaches, and originally thought of becoming a teacher, doctor, or professional football player, before realizing his passion for learning about the world through investing.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “What I found so intriguing about the investment industry…you’re really just a student of the world. You have to learn about every sort of industry and see if you can find opportunity there.” (03:41)
• Early Career: After college at CU Boulder (with time spent in Spain and Costa Rica), Jeremy started in customer service at an asset management firm, eventually launching and scaling its asset management business to $20 billion.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “Be curious and be a problem solver…whenever we were trying to solve a problem for investors, we were successful. And I think that was the biggest lesson I learned from that experience.” (05:34)

2. Evolution and Accessibility of Private Equity (07:44–09:45)

• Rise of Private Markets: The past 30 years have seen private markets become both more relevant and investable, with many large, innovative companies choosing to stay private much longer (e.g., OpenAI, Stripe, SpaceX).
• New Investment Structures: Emerging structures now allow broader, often smaller, investors to access private companies.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “90% of companies in the US with more than 100 million in revenue or 500 employees are private…there’s been a lot of advances in terms of structures that allow regular investors to get access to private companies.” (08:15)
• Win for Entrepreneurs and Investors: A robust PE ecosystem means business owners have more options for succession and growth, and investors have more diversity in investment opportunities.

3. Private Equity Segmentation and Portfolio Construction (09:45–14:53)

• Segment Diversity: Private equity is heterogeneous; distinctions between seed, venture, growth, and buyout are greater than public market segmentations.
• Specialization Matters: Success in private equity depends heavily on specialized expertise; early-stage, growth, and buyout investing require completely different skills and networks.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “Someone that’s an early stage venture investor should not be investing in late stage buyout...The thing that matters most investing in private equity is specialized expertise.” (11:08)
• Evergreen/Endowment Model: Bow River’s evergreen strategy diversifies by sector, strategy, vintage, manager, and geography, mimicking how major university endowments are structured, but accessible at a much lower investment minimum.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “For someone that may not have the scale, the access, or the resources of a Yale or a Harvard…You can now do that at the $50,000 level.” (13:41)
• Immediate Deployment: Unlike traditional PE with capital calls and long ramp-ups, evergreen strategies get investor capital working right away.
• Recycling Proceeds: Proceeds from asset sales are reinvested, maintaining diversification and compounding opportunity.

4. Manager Selection, Diligence, and Risk in Private Markets (15:42–18:06)

• Diligence Bandwidth: True diversification in PE is hard, especially for smaller institutions or teams with limited capacity for due diligence.
• Manager Dispersion: Returns among top- and bottom-quartile PE managers can differ by 10–30% annually—much wider than in public markets.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “The dispersion and outcomes in private markets is so much wider…When you look at the top performing private equity managers and the bottom performing private equity managers, it can be 10, 15, 20, in some cases 30 percentage points per year.” (17:16)
• Diversification Is Crucial: Many investors concentrate in a single manager or strategy, which is significantly riskier in private equity than in public stocks.

5. Sector Focus and Macro Trends (18:37–20:33)

• Bow River Sector Focus: Strong interest in software, defense technology, cybersecurity, and industrial services.
• Macro Tailwinds: Sectors are selected for their strong secular trends, for example, defense technology’s increasing reliance on data and software.
• AI as Efficiency Driver: AI advances are about driving efficiency, much as SaaS did in the past. The firm actively hires young talent to stay current with AI tools.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “AI isn’t going to take your job if you know how to use AI...We’re actually hiring young talent in college, fresh out of college, to help teach us how to use AI.” (19:32)

6. Attracting, Retaining, and Developing Next-Gen Talent (20:33–24:51)

• Growth Mindset: The best way to attract talent is to be a company that’s always learning and evolving.
• Reverse Mentorship: Younger team members bring efficiency and new skills, especially in tech/AI, teaching senior staff as much as they learn.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “I really push back against the narrative that this next generation…doesn’t work as hard as us. They’re just—they’re more efficient than we are.” (22:55)
• Building Culture: Strong culture is built over time, with in-person collaboration being critical to building trust and, ultimately, culture.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “Time spent together leads to trust, trust leads to culture.” (24:19)

7. Leadership Transition: Founder vs. Professional CEO (24:51–28:09)

• Founder’s Role: Founders are vital for taking companies from 0 to 1, but later-stage growth often requires a new, more process-oriented leader.
• Emotional Attachment: Founders can struggle to relinquish control, but private equity can enable appropriate transitions for sustained growth.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “Sometimes bringing in a different perspective…allows [founders] to go and found another company…and I think that’s been really beneficial for the industry.” (27:12)

8. DNA of a Great Private Equity Investor (28:31–29:51)

• Specialization Is Key: The age of the “PE generalist” is waning; expertise, repeatable playbooks, and deep knowledge of a sector are now essential.
• Soft Skills: Beyond technical ability, being a good listener, leader, and having a founder’s mindset toward helping companies grow is critical.
  • Quote (Jeremy): “You have to have a demonstrated, repeatable playbook…you’re not just investing in those companies, you’re helping to operate those businesses and grow them.” (29:24)

9. Wisdom for Investing and Life (30:04)

• Shared Experiences: Jeremy shares his father’s wisdom:
  • Quote (Jeremy): “Shared joy is twice the joy, and shared grief is half the grief. Building a business with your team is that much more gratifying.” (30:10)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “There is no clear path. I think everybody’s looking for a shortcut. What you want to do at age 20 might not be what you want to do at age 30, 40, or 50…always be curious.” — Jeremy Held (02:39)
• “Be curious and be a problem solver.” — Jeremy Held (05:34)
• “90% of companies in the US with more than 100 million in revenue…are private. And historically, that was not an investable market.” — Jeremy Held (08:15)
• “Someone that’s an early stage venture investor should not be investing in late stage buyout…specialized expertise.” — Jeremy Held (11:08)
• "You can now [run an endowment-like model] at the $50,000 level.” — Jeremy Held (13:41)
• “The dispersion and outcomes in private markets is so much wider…10, 15, 20, in some cases 30 percentage points per year.” — Jeremy Held (17:16)
• “AI isn’t going to take your job if you know how to use AI.” — Jeremy Held (19:32)
• “Time spent together leads to trust, trust leads to culture.” — Jeremy Held (24:19)
• “Shared joy is twice the joy, and shared grief is half the grief.” — Jeremy Held, quoting his father (30:10)

Useful Timestamps

• Jeremy’s Background and Early Influences: 02:39–06:03
• Private Equity Evolution & Structure: 07:44–14:53
• Diversification & Diligence Challenges: 15:42–18:06
• Sector Focus and AI Impact: 18:37–20:33
• Talent, Leadership & Culture: 20:33–24:51
• Founder to CEO Transition: 24:51–28:09
• Investor DNA: 28:31–29:51
• Parting Advice: 30:04–30:53

Overall, this episode provides a masterclass in both the art and science of investing in private equity—from career-building and market evolution to practical management insights for teams and talent in the modern investing landscape.