Duane Jackson
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Hey Duane — similar path (IB → PE), though I was in London not Chicago. been thinking a lot about origination in essential services lately. would be good to connect.
Hey Duane, looks like we share a similar IB → PE path, though I was in London at Greenhill not at Merrill Lynch in NYC. origination was always the same story for me — clear thesis, decent relationships, but no proprietary system of record. the people, tools and ideas were never really connected. every deal virtually sourced from scratch, nothing compounding over time. curious if that's still how most funds operate or if I'm behind the times? — Russ
Hey Duane, looks like we came up through a similar IB → PE path, though I was at CS & Greenhill in London doing european growth deals not at Merrill Lynch and then backing founder-led services businesses like you. the pattern I keep seeing with most funds is weirdly consistent — strong thesis, solid network, but no proprietary system of record. the people, tools and ideas are never really connected, so every deal is virtually sourced from scratch. nothing compounds on itself. curious if that resonates or if you've built something different at Author Capital? — Russ
hey Duane — no worries if the timing's off. most funds I talk to have tried some version of building origination in-house — analyst pulling from Pitchbook or Grata, maybe using ChatGPT to help qualify, dumping it into a spreadsheet. each piece kind of works, but there's no system of record tying it together. the people, tools and ideas are all disconnected so there's tonnes of wasted energy. been helping a few funds like Mentmore work through that. curious if you've run into the same thing at Author Capital? — Russ
totally get it if origination infrastructure isn't top of mind right now — most funds have 10 things ahead of it on the priority list. the funds I've seen crack it early just tend to compound deal flow in a way that's hard to replicate later. if it ever moves up the list, I'm easy to find. — Russ
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Duane — We've been building custom deal origination systems for funds that invest in founder- and family-led service businesses — pretty close to what Author Capital does, from what I can tell. also, incidentally, we share a similar-ish path — I did time at Credit Suisse and Greenhill before moving to the investor side at a growth equity fund in London. figured it made sense to reach out. One of our clients, Backer Group in the UK, uses a system we built to source and book meetings with owners of family-run service businesses. They're a small team, so the platform handles the full origination cycle — finds companies matching their thesis, scores them on owner readiness and acquisition fit, runs personalized outreach across email, LinkedIn, and letters, and keeps their CRM updated live. They still approve everything, but the leverage is 10-20x and they can focus on deals and the portfolio. Given we've already built out this infrastructure for funds with a similar profile to yours, I wondered if you wanted to take a look under the hood? fairly free this week and next — just let me know a time that suits if you're curious. very best, Russell searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
Prospect Research
## PROSPECT INFORMATION: Name: Duane Jackson Title: Co-Founder & Managing Partner Fund: Author Capital Background: Name: Duane Jackson Current Role: Founder & Managing Partner at Author Capital Partners, based in Chicago. Headline: Partner to Founder- & Family-led Services Businesses. Current Focus: Duane leads Author Capital, a private equity firm providing flexible capital and strategic advice to entrepreneurial family- and founder-led businesses. He currently serves on the boards of Countryside Property Maintenance, Vanta Diagnostics, and SilverIP. He is also an Investor-in-Residence at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Background: He has an extensive pedigree in finance and government, including roles as a Private Equity Investor at BDT & MSD Partners, a Toigo Private Equity Fellow at Vista Equity Partners, and an Investment Banker at Merrill Lynch. Notably, he served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury within the Chief Investment Office for TARP (2009–2011). He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from George Washington University. Key Skills: Private Equity, Financial Modeling, Valuation, M&A, Strategic Advisory, and Corporate Finance. Post Highlights and Quotes: 2026-02-20: Announced a partnership with Countryside Property Maintenance. Quote: "Countryside’s dedication to delivering quality, dependable maintenance solutions aligns perfectly with our mission to support essential services businesses and the exceptional founders who built them." 2026-02-05: Shared a milestone regarding Vanta Diagnostics. Quote: "Diagnostics play a critical role in healthcare, improving patient outcomes, and we’re excited to support the continued expansion of this national platform..." 2025-11-27: A personal reflection on the challenges of building a firm. Quote: "Neither Renee nor I would change the path we’ve committed our family to—building a firm that makes it possible for visionary founders and talented operators to realize their full potential..." 2023-08-28: Promoted a thought leadership piece in Crain's Chicago Business. Quote: "How can you leverage uncertainty and downturns to create value in your business?" 2022-11-24: Reflecting on his journey from the south side of Chicago to private equity. Quote: "Growing up on the far south side of Chicago, many kids like me had (and regrettably still have) few opportunities to even aspire to starting an investment firm—let alone viable paths to realizing that dream." 2021-08-16: Expressing gratitude for a board appointment at ESD. Quote: "I'm deeply honored by the trust ESD (Environmental Systems Design, Inc.) is placing in Jackson Private Capital to assist in achieving their long-term strategic objectives." Fund details: - Description: Author Capital Partners is a purpose-driven private equity firm that empowers highly entrepreneurial family- and founder-led businesses with flexible capital, strategic advice, and long-term partnership. - Website: https://authorcapital.com - Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States - Lead qualification: Research: - Query: =Author Capital Duane Jackson recent investments fund thesis - Answer: Duane Jackson is the co-founder of Author Capital Partners, focusing on diagnostics and essential services. He recently launched an acquisition platform for diagnostics labs. Jackson has 20 years of investment experience.