Episode

Key Takeaways

Jake Heller's decorated military background significantly shaped his leadership and management philosophy.
KKR's growth technology strategy leverages extensive firm resources to accelerate growth for category-leading companies.
Growth equity targets established businesses with scalable products in large markets, differentiating from venture capital and buyouts.
The O9 Solutions investment exemplifies KKR's growth equity in a high-impact supply chain software company.
Heller's leadership style emphasizes team development and encouraging calculated risk-taking, influenced by key mentors.

Jake Heller, head of Tech Growth Equity Americas at KKR, served as a detachment commander in the Navy's special boat teams.
His role involved leading two Mark V high-speed assault boats, primarily for inserting and extracting special operations forces.
Heller pursued a Navy ROTC scholarship to fund his education at Harvard, where he also played football.
His military experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, including receiving the Bronze Star, profoundly shaped his perspective on leadership and management, emphasizing adaptability.

Jake Heller joined KKR in 2019 to help build a new growth technology franchise, a strategy that commenced in 2014.
The growth technology strategy is now 10 years old, managing its third fund, and focuses on scalable, repeatable franchise building.
KKR applies its extensive firm resources to category-leading companies to accelerate growth and minimize risk.
An integrated approach is fostered by a shared compensation pool across KKR teams, promoting global collaboration and market trend insights.

Growth equity involves investments in established businesses with scalable products in large markets where product and market risks are mitigated.
KKR targets companies with revenues between $5-7 million, becoming particularly interested when they reach $15-20 million.
The firm often prefers minority stakes and seeks alignment with management and existing shareholders.
This approach differentiates from venture capital, which focuses on earlier stages, and buyouts, which rely more on financial engineering.

O9 Solutions, a supply chain and business planning software company, serves as an example of a KKR growth equity investment.
Its founders, Sajeev Sidhu and Chakri Guramakala, previously built and sold I2, and O9 Solutions was bootstrapped until KKR's investment.
The company serves major clients like Walmart and Starbucks, demonstrating significant ROI and saving customers over $10 million annually.
KKR invested in March 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, with conviction in O9's platform to disrupt supply chain planning.

KKR's investment approach emphasizes a 'pull not push' mentality, focusing on category-leading businesses.
The firm leverages its comprehensive platform, including global reach, strategic advisors, and the Capstone operating group, to support portfolio companies.
This strategy aims to add significant value, accelerate growth, and minimize risk for invested businesses.

Jake Heller cites his father, a Little League coach, for instilling philosophies of preparation and setting people up for success.
Captain Rick Rushton, a Navy officer, profoundly influenced Heller by transforming ship morale through individual engagement and explaining the 'why' behind sailors' work.
This approach of fostering a supportive environment and encouraging risk-taking during a 'zero defect' Navy era now applies to his work at KKR.