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Ian, co‑founder of a multi‑billion‑AUM private equity firm profiled by Mikk…

2026-08-07 · 21:23 UTC ·@PrivatEquityGuy ·1 min read

Brief

Ian, a co‑founder of a multi‑billion‑AUM private equity firm, explains how his Pepsi sales & marketing background, partnership with his wife, and post‑corporate lessons enabled him to exploit post‑GFC opportunities (2010–1H22). Shared by Mikk Markus on 2026‑08‑07, the episode stresses the practical mental edge, the realities of current real‑estate fundraising, and the simple mantra: 'don't give up.'

Why it matters

Ian, co‑founder of a multi‑billion‑AUM private equity firm profiled by Mikk Markus (@PrivatEquityGuy on 2026-08-07), has $3.1B in deployed capital, 110 investments and 44 live investments.

Key details

  • He attributes his ability to capitalize coming out of the GFC (2010–1H22) to a sales & marketing background, lessons learned after leaving Pepsi, and complementary skillsets with his wife, which required on‑the‑fly adjustment and hard work.
  • Ian emphasizes the 'mental edge' and perseverance needed for entrepreneurship—'don't give up'—warning success may not come on the first or even first five tries and noting very few people achieve business success; the episode also addresses today's deal‑by‑deal real‑estate fundraising realities.
Source evidence

Initially when the episode went live, many people reached out saying they liked that it wasn't fluffy (we try not be!), but very practical in addressing the mental edge required in the marathon of entrepreneurialism and also addressed some realities around the state of today’s real estate fundraising environment, deal by deal and into a committed fund.

Ian has a level of humility and confidence that seasoned entrepreneurs tend to possess. He’s had ups and downs. He acknowledges that 2010-1H22 was a great time to be in the real estate industry. At the same time, he needed the learned experiences that he’d had after leaving the corporate world of Pepsi to be able to capitalize on the moment coming out of the GFC.

Ian discusses his sales & marketing background; how he and his wife complemented each other’s skill sets, but then had to learn on the fly, adjust and act accordingly… just putting in the work.

I find this episode to be great because he is a true builder… and now pays it forward by sharing lessons learned to those next generation of builders.

Simply fascinating.

PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus) (@PrivatEquityGuy)

$3.1b in deployed capital
110 investments
44 live investments

Just a short list of accomplishments from, Ian, a co-founder of a PE firm that manages a multi-billion-AUM PE firm.

On top of that, here's a powerful message from him which I believe is relatable to a lot of investors, business buyers/builders, and capital allocators (And also something I keep coming back to once a quarter, happened today, for example):

"The thing that I kind of knew anyway, and I would urge other people who are looking to go on an entrepreneurial journey, is: don't give up. It probably won't go right the first time, or it might not go right the first five times, because life isn't like that.

It's hard. Very tough to do these things. Very few people achieve any business success."

— https://nitter.net/PrivatEquityGuy/status/2085782272025014317#m