Read on Twitter
Prior to coming on as CMO at GoodRx, I hadn't really heard about how operating partners at private equity firms contribute.
Having had a weekly 1-on-1 with our operating partner from Silver Lake for the past 10 mos, here are some thoughts.
Tl;dr - it's been massive value.
Having had a weekly 1-on-1 with our operating partner from Silver Lake for the past 10 mos, here are some thoughts.
Tl;dr - it's been massive value.
Obviously, I have no personal prior experience or basis of comparison, though I had tried to play some of this role as a consultant, but the value-add that I (and the company) have gotten has been pretty amazing.
From strategy to vendor selection to recruiting to therapist and friend, having someone whose incentives are entirely aligned with mine/ours, and who I have been able to build a strong relationship with, was an entirely unexpected surprise.
I have a feeling that I got lucky and our operating partner is an exception but who knows. All I know is that he has a special blend of leaning in but not being too intrusive, while making himself available to me or others on my team. His style matches very very well with mine.
Whether it's his personal network or those of SLP, we get the value. Recently, we had a specific question I wanted help with. Within 2 weeks, he had interviewed and shared insights from current/former CMOs from VISA, eBay, Netflix, Wells Fargo, Intuit & more.
Awesome.
Awesome.
From a Silver Lake perspective, given their 9-figure investment, it's a no-brainer that they have people in this role. The marginal benefit he has to provide to ROI him & those who support him, esp given our marketing spend, is minimal. Clearly, his value for us is significant.
Of course I have colleagues internally and folks I know, but some topics are sensitive or require confidentiality. Or you sometimes just don't know someone's potential angle or bias. And being a public company CMO has plenty of challenges & stressors along with opps.
Net net. I never expected this kind of relationship or benefit. And given that I don't see much convo about this, figured it was worth the share. Plus, it's something to ask about when considering an investment, whoever it's coming from.
