Jesse Yanocha
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Hey Jesse — similar path (CS → PE). been thinking a lot about proprietary origination in industrial and energy transition lately. would be good to connect.
Hey Jesse, looks like we overlap a bit — both came through CS, though I went to Greenhill in London after and into growth equity rather than GSO and Ares like you. origination was always the same story for me — clear thesis, decent relationships, but no proprietary system of record tying anything together. 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 Jesse, looks like we share a similar IB → PE path, though I was at CS & Greenhill in London doing european growth deals not at Credit Suisse and Ares in NYC building out a PE portfolio. 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. every deal virtually sourced from scratch, nothing compounds on itself. curious if that resonates or if you've built something different at Penn Hill? — Russ
hey Jesse — 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 and everything ends up out of sync. been helping a few funds like Mentmore work through that. curious if you've run into the same thing at Penn Hill? — 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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Jesse — We've been building deal sourcing infrastructure for funds investing in industrial and energy-adjacent businesses — and Penn Hill came up while i was poking around. we also share a similar-ish path. I started at Credit Suisse in NYC (tech banking) before moving to M&A at Greenhill and then to the investor side at a growth equity fund in London. Two of our clients are closest to your mo. Backer Group sources service and light manufacturing businesses → scores on owner readiness and acquisition fit → runs personalized outreach across email, LinkedIn and letters. Small team, so the system handles origination end to end while they focus on building the portfolio. Mentmore does something similar but layered with a geographic mapping system using Companies House and Google Maps to find targets in niche industrial verticals. Given Penn Hill's focus on established businesses with growth potential (and the overlap with what we've already built), I wondered if you wanted to take a look under the hood and see if any of it's relevant. I'm fairly free this week and next, just let me know a time that suits. Russ searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
Prospect Research
## PROSPECT INFORMATION: Name: Jesse Yanocha Title: Founder & Managing Partner Fund: Penn Hill Capital Background: Jesse Yanocha is the Managing Partner at PennHill Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm based in Los Angeles, California. He has held this leadership position since July 2021. His professional background is rooted in high-level private equity and financial services. Before founding PennHill Capital, Jesse spent over 12 years at Ares Management Corporation, progressing from an Associate in 2009 to a Partner within the Private Equity group (2018–2020), and finally serving as a Senior Advisor in 2021. His earlier career includes experience as an Associate in Credit & Mezzanine at GSO Capital Partners and an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Operations & Information Management from the University of Pennsylvania (2001–2005). Key Skills and Expertise: - Private Equity and Venture Capital - Leveraged Buyouts (LBO) - Valuation and Capital Markets - Credit and Mezzanine financing - Business Strategy and New Business Development - Energy Industry expertise Posts: The provided data contains no post history. Fund details: - Description: PennHill Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, founded by former executives from Ares Management. Created with the intention of capitalizing on major macroeconomic themes of increasing globalization, accelerating technological development, and decarbonization, PennHill is well positioned to pursue opportunities in the industrial, energy transition, and technology-enabled services sectors. History of investing across a variety of industries Experience investing across the capital structure Navigated numerous macroeconomic cycles Focused on applying extensive experience in private equity, credit and investment banking to drive value creation in its investments. - Website: https://www.pennhillcapital.com - Location: Los Angeles, California, United States - Lead qualification: Research: - Query: =Penn Hill Capital Jesse Yanocha recent investments fund thesis - Answer: Jesse Yanocha's recent investments focus on industrial, energy transition, and technology-enabled services sectors. He targets companies with established business models and potential for growth. His firm, Penn Hill Capital, invests across the capital structure.