One trait I've long admired about Orlando Bravo, shared among many great PE leaders, is his directness. No hesitation, no BS, admits to making a huge mistake. Reflects on what went wrong, why, what he learned, and how to move forward. Direct, succinct, effective.
Doesn't hide, sugarcoat, or make excuses. It takes a lot of humility + self confidence to do this, publicly. There's a lot that VCs can learn from this.
BoringBusiness (@BoringBiz)
Last month, Thoma Bravo announced that they were handing over keys to lenders on software company Medallia after restructuring negotiations failed
Here is Orlando Bravo on what he learned from the mistake
1/ Dont underwrite overly optimistic growth projections just based on historical levels
2/ Pursuing growth at all costs by changing management teams and culture can lead to innovation deficit in the long term
3/ Do not enter into verticals where you dont know the customers and sector at a deep level
"We underwrote really fast growth because the company was doing well then, and in hindsight, we paid too much because the growth did not materialize."
Video
— https://nitter.net/BoringBiz_/status/2055687747495432562#m