The Situation:
Working with private equity requires understanding how sponsors operate. They're on a clock, managing returns across a portfolio, and need to control their exit. Bill learned this by actually being in the room on deal after deal, and he built relationships by structuring around those realities instead of against them.

Bill’s Approach:
Developed PE expertise through direct engagement across acquisitions, recapitalizations, and portfolio company refinancings with firms including DLJ Merchant Banking, CIVC Partners, Merrill Lynch, GRP Partners, Upfront Ventures, Blackstone, and Riverwood Capital. Understood that what sponsors value most is speed, execution, and someone is upfront about potential issues. Structured deals that worked within their fund economics instead of against them.

The Outcome:
Individual transactions turned into ongoing relationships across multiple deals and funds. Sponsors started calling Bill earlier, not just when they needed capital, but when they were thinking through how to structure something or evaluate risk.

The Lesson:
"Capital works best when it is designed around the way private equity actually operates."