Mark Graham
LinkedIn Copy
Hey Mark — we both ended up in PE, though from different directions. been thinking a lot about origination in business services / industrial lately. would be good to connect.
Hey Mark, we both ended up in PE though from pretty different paths — I came through IB at CS & Greenhill in London, not through running businesses like you did before launching Markham. origination was always the same story for me — clear thesis, decent relationships, but no proprietary system of record tying anything together. 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 Mark, looks like we both ended up in PE, though I came through banking at CS & Greenhill in London rather than the operator route like you — running companies and then building Markham around that experience. 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 Markham? — Russ
hey Mark — 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 stay disconnected so there's tonnes of wasted energy. been helping a fund like Mentmore work through that in similar industrial verticals. curious if you've hit the same wall at Markham? — 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
Email Copy
Mark — hope you're having a good Tuesday. wanted to reach out for two reasons: a) jealous of what you've built at Markham. though we share a PE background, I hope to one day launch my own fund and buy a great founder-owned services business. b) in the meantime I've been building deal origination engines for investors like you — just finished one for Backer Group in the UK also acquiring founder-owned service and light manufacturing businesses. It takes your thesis, maps targets across various data sources incl. google maps, and runs the full engagement cycle (email/linkedin/whatsapp) — connected live to the crm. Given we've already built this out, I wondered if you wanted to jump on a quick call and take a look under the hood? very best, Russell searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
Prospect Research
## PROSPECT INFORMATION: Name: Mark Graham Title: Founder and Managing Partner Fund: Markham Capital Partners, LLC Background: Name: Mark Graham Location: Brentwood, Tennessee Current Focus: Mark is currently the Founder and Managing Partner at Markham Capital Partners, LLC (since September 2020), an operationally focused private equity firm targeting lower middle market companies. He also serves as Founder and Managing Partner of Wheelhouse Capital Partners (since 2015), an investment management firm in the Nashville area. Background: Mark is a seasoned executive and private equity leader with extensive experience in the CEO and Chairman roles. His career includes serving as Chairman and CEO of Industrial Rental Services (2010–2018), Chairman and CEO of REMEDPAR Healthcare Services (2003–2008), CEO of Valutec Card Solutions (2001–2003), and President of Pameco Inc, a $750 million distribution company (1991–2000). He began his career in Sales and Marketing Management at AlliedSignal Inc. Mark was educated at the Emory University Goizueta Business School and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Key Skills: Executive Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Strategy, Start-ups, Venture Capital, Strategic Planning, and Team Building. Posts: On April 25, 2022, Mark posted: "We are hiring and Executive Assistant for Markham Capital Partners, LLC in the Brentwood, Tn office to report directly to Managing Partners. Please follow up directly to me if you have an interest, or know anyone you know please pass along. www.markhamcp.com #hiring #executiveassistant #private equity" Fund details: - Description: Markham Capital Partners is a lower middle market private equity firm focused on business services, industrial services, healthcare services and light manufacturing. Founded by operators, MCP is driven by operational excellence with the mission to build enduring businesses in lower middle market companies. Target metrics include: $2-10MM of EBITDA, up to $150MM of revenue, controlling interest, large markets and in the contiguous USA. - Website: https://markhamcp.com - Location: Brentwood, Tennessee, United States - Lead qualification: Research: - Query: =Markham Capital Partners, LLC Mark Graham recent investments fund thesis - Answer: Markham Capital Partners focuses on lower middle market private equity, targeting business services and industrial sectors. Mark Graham is the founder and managing partner. The firm aims for $2-10MM EBITDA and up to $150MM revenue.