Business Owner Resources

Georgia Oak vs. Traditional Private Equity

Unfortunately, far too many of the stories that circulate about private equity are of businesses run into the ground with business owners left out to dry. For founders, these stories can really leave a bad taste in your mouth. 

To fully understand why private equity has gained the reputation it holds today, we need to acknowledge that there is a reason these stories were written in the first place. When improperly used, the traditional private equity model can give way to a number of obstacles for businesses to struggle with, like the following:

1. Aggressive cost cutting. With their investors top of mind, the PE firm’s priorities can become muddled, allowing financial decisions to lead the way rather than long-term value creation for your business.
2. Loss of culture and legacy. Some PE firms hold the belief that they are more capable of running the business than the founder of that business. As a result, they will wipe current management clean and bring in their own operators.
3. Short investment horizons and quick sales. The wrong team will not be deeply committed to your vision or the long-term health of your business.

While these stories have heavily tainted the image of private equity for some, what you’ve just heard only represents one approach to the practice. The right partner for your business will share the founder’s goals and commit themselves to doing everything in their power to see that you accomplish them.

As a grounded, value-centric team, Georgia Oak has built the following model to counter these detrimental practices. With this model in place, we aim to provide businesses like yours with as much support, guidance and success as possible:

Future-Focused

You’ve put years of hard work into your legacy. Rather than tossing it aside, the right private equity partner will sit with you for however long it takes to understand the effort you have put in and incorporate it into a sustainable plan for the years to come.

With this in mind, we set our sights on the future, focusing on long-term value creation for your business. With the support of our underlying investors, many of which are family offices, our team is prepared for the long haul.

We recognize that it will take time and energy to ensure continued success and sustainability for your business. While traditional private equity investment windows last three to five years, our philosophy is to stick with at least five to eight. 

Empowering Your Employees

Your employees are key to driving long-term success. Coming in to work day in and day out, their contributions are invaluable to the success of your business. In order for any partnership to thrive, those people need to feel valued and supported from all sides. Our goal is to ensure each of your employees are equipped with the tools and support they need to maximize their impact on the business. 

There’s more to a deal than what’s at the surface level. Your business got to where it is today thanks to the deeper levels of culture and humanity that define your legacy. With our Southeastern focus, our community-minded team embraces this culture in developing strategy.

Committed to Collaboration

Executing your vision takes time, and any private equity firm should be prepared to sit and work with you for however long it takes. We’re not the team that comes in pretending they know how to run your business– in fact, we prefer your involvement in our partnership. 

As we enter each deal, we lock arms with founders and commit ourselves to your vision and legacy. Rather than marching around and directing orders, exit plan in mind, we’ll sit shotgun. We work collaboratively with you, utilizing your knowledge and expertise to drive the partnership forward. 

Georgia Oak is committed to providing a stellar experience throughout the duration of all of our partnerships. For more information on how we differ from traditional private equity, please refer to the graphic below.