Spring 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to the Spring ’24 edition of The Executive Summary. As always, the JJA team and I are stoked to share our latest news, market intel and insights from across the innovation economy.

Change isn’t good or bad. It just is.

If there’s a theme for this newsletter, it’s change. As in major, tectonic shift-level change, everywhere you look. Except that actual tectonic shifting takes time, and the stuff we’re seeing is transforming American business almost overnight (thanks AI).

One key to surviving change is adaptability. Which is a great way to tee up our latest thought leadership post. You’ll find it just below.

Private Equity Has Redefined Market Realities:? It’s Wartime.

Whether you realize it or not, PE has rewritten the rules of American business and financial markets:

• Over the past 20 years, the number of PE-backed companies in the US has grown 6X while the number of publicly traded companies has declined by over 40%
• Nearly half of all VC-backed startup exits today are acquisitions by PE --?a 10X increase over just 15 years ago
• PE-dominated private lending now accounts for more capital than the entire US banking system
• Global PE’s AUM has grown from $10T to $25T in the last decade, and the industry is now sitting on $3.9T in dry powder

Regardless of the sector, stage or asset class of your company, your portfolio or your career, the road ahead will be challenging. It’ll require PE-style rigor in execution, with relentless focus on increased margins and durable profits. This moment demands a wartime mindset and wartime leadership.

READ ON

Active Searches from the JJA Shop Floor

ProRata – Co-founding Chief Technology OfficerAI meets Fintech for the Creator Economy brought to you by IdeaLab.

CI&T – ?Vertical Sales Execs (Retail & Financial Services)?

Global, publicly-traded software developer (NYSE:CINT) is all-in on corporate AI transformation.

ReflexMD – Vice President of Product Growth

Growth hacking the?semaglutide?revolution.

MORE DETAILS

ThursdayNights

ThursdayNights.org?Curated 7 Top-Shelf Events So Far In 2024.

• Convened 200+ CEOs, PE Sponsors and VC Partners
• Raised $50,000 for at-risk youth programs

Find upcoming ThursdayNights events and get inside the velvet rope?here. We’re already planning for Austin, Park City, Palm Desert, Pacific Palisades and Manhattan Beach.

ThursdayNights.org

Private Equity Dinner, Gramercy Tavern, Manhattan

South Beach-Miami CxO Dinner w/ Oracle Red Bull Racing

Private Equity Dinner, Pasjoli, Santa Monica

CEO Dinner, Steak 48, Beverly Hills

Feeding Your Brain: We Recommend

Macroeconomics MBA hack: Read these annual Shareholder letters and listen to Public PE quarterly earnings calls?

I’ve never been one to pore over financial statements, annual reports, technical analyst coverage (Heaven forbid) or anything quant. But I do think it’s essential to maintain a clear sense of the macro market realities. Here are two channels I use to gather great insights efficiently.

Channel 1: Shareholder letters

• Investors Master Class serves up a dream aggregation of annual shareholder letters from the best in business.?Read one a week and call us in the morning.?
• Berkshire Hathaway 2024 –?Farewell to Charlie Munger?For generations, the “Berkies” have made the pilgrimage to Omaha get yours online.

Channel 2: Earnings calls

The earnings calls of the largest, most diversified, global PE players are the very definition of macro. Start by subscribing and absorbing literally everything from Blackstone president Jon Gray.

• On talent, Q4 results and the macro
• On resilience & reacceleration
• On transactions accelerating

Essential Reading

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century's Greatest Dilemma

Serial entrepreneur Mustafa Suleyman is CEO of Microsoft AI after it’s acquihire of his company, Inflection AI. He previously co-founded DeepMind, acquired by Google. This must-read book is both a cautionary tale and a prelude to what’s ahead for humanity.

Killer Podcast: Bg2 Pod?

B2G Pod:?Legendary VC Bill Gurley and tech fund manager Brad Gerstner take on all things tech, markets, investing and capitalism in a bi-weekly pod they describe as “open-source.”?

The Ad Podcast by Dylan Conroy

Ad Podcast?host?Dylan Conroy?interviews JJA’s Founder in a free-range discussion that traverses?AI,?FOMO, giving back to?at-risk youth, Seal Teams, the airport lounge test and back-channel references?

We’re grateful for all the smart people who have contributed to our own knowledge over the years, and see this newsletter as a great way to give a little something back to the community. If you have comments or ideas, or even want to write a guest column for an upcoming issue, don’t hesitate to?reach out.