Krista Morgan: Stage Fund

The Investor With Joel Palathinkal

In this episode, Joel Palathinkal chats with Krista Morgan about her transition from private equity to launching Stage Fund. They discuss the challenges of starting the fund, the role of family dynamics in business, and Stage Fund's acquisition and restructuring strategy, highlighted by a retail tech case study. The conversation covers founders' roles post-acquisition, creative deal structures, and asset disposition strategies. They also explore roll-ups in private equity, control investments, and leveraging platforms for deal sourcing. Krista shares insights on engaging Limited Partners, syndicating with high-net-worth individuals, and future fund structure trends. (0:00) Introduction and Christa Morgan's early career in private equity (2:28) Launching Stage Fund and overcoming challenges (6:02) Family dynamics in business operations (7:37) Stage Fund's acquisition and restructuring strategy (10:16) Case study on a retail tech company (16:12) Post-acquisition role of founders and cap table restructuring (21:07) Creative deal structures in distressed investing (25:35) Asset disposition strategies in software companies (28:39) Utilizing roll ups in private equity (30:28) Leveraging platforms for deal sourcing and innovation (32:15) Control investments and deal structuring techniques (34:26) Lessons from fund management and firm building (37:47) The role of founder retention during acquisitions (42:34) Engaging and growing the LP community (45:31) Strategies for effective LP communication and networking (48:17) Syndication with high net worth individuals and episode recap (49:04) Future trends in fund structures and closing thoughts