In this episode of Getting to the Deal, host Krystyn Harrison sits down with Narbe Alexandrian, founder and CEO of Define Capital, a permanent capital firm that's rewriting private equity rules by acquiring vertical SaaS businesses to hold forever through a 40-year fund, not flip in 3-5 years. Before founding Define, Narbe served as president and CEO of RIV Capital, raising over $150 million and surviving three changes of control in just 16 months—experiences that shaped his radical philosophy: "We don't do deals on spreadsheets anymore. We do deals on trust. The price gets the headlines, the alignment builds the legacies." Narbe shares the pivotal conference encounter with a founder whose traditional PE buyer tripled prices, gutted R&D, and destroyed his earnout, crystallizing the question: what if private equity preserved legacies instead of extracting value? He reveals his strategic framework for evaluating companies (90%+ gross retention, diversified customer base, founder independence), why he walks away from businesses where founders do everything themselves, and his counterintuitive post-acquisition approach of spending 90-180 days observing with a magnifying glass before changing anything. The conversation explores why "building for the next 90 days destroys the next 10 years," the critical question he asks every lower mid-market founder ("if you have great economics and 25 years in business, why aren't you $30M?"), and his practical advice: take every inbound buyer call to get free consulting on what makes businesses valuable, then systematically prepare for founder independence. If you're a founder who's built something valuable but feels burned out, or you're worried about what happens to your team and customers after exit, this conversation reveals there's a different path—one where culture matters more than spreadsheets, relationships trump transactions, and your legacy can thrive for decades beyond your involvement.
Show Notes:
00:00 Redefining Private Equity: Building vs. Flipping
06:54 Narbe's Journey: From CPA to Private Equity Leader
15:05 The Evolution of Venture Capital and Market Dynamics
22:06 Understanding the Private Equity Landscape
29:46 The Importance of Culture in Business Transactions
36:59 Navigating Post-Acquisition Success
43:53 Advice for Founders: Preparing for Exit
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This episode is brought to you by Exit Horizon. Our mission is to help strategic Canadian founders build systematically toward fulfilling exits using proven methodology from entrepreneurs and advisors who've actually navigated successful deals. We compress the learning curve so you can build with the end in mind from day one, not piece together exit strategies when it's too late. Apply now to join our next cohort or book a quick call to learn more about what might be the right place to start for your business. Visit exithorizon.com.
