The Masters of Private Equity and Venture Capital

Management Lessons from the Pioneers of Private Investing

By: Robert Finkel, David Greising

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Ten leading private investors share their secrets to maximum profitability

In The Masters of Private Equity and Venture Capital, the pioneers of the industry share the investing and management wisdom they have gained by investing in and transforming their portfolio companies.

Based on original interviews conducted by the authors, this book is filled with colorful stories on the subjects that most matter to the high-level investor, such as selecting and working with management, pioneering new markets, adding value through operational improvements, applying private equity principles to non-profits, and much more.

©2009 Robert Finkel and David Greising (P)2020 Tantor

Really good experiences

I love that this is a collection of stories told in the first person. Firsthand accounts such as these always bring the lessons home and make them feel more relatable. Really good insights across the board

Good, overall, feels dated

Absorbed a lot of interesting nuggets of wisdom and experience. Unfortunately, this audiobook suffers from two flaws in 2023: reference material is a bit dated & having a male narrator was a bit confusing when listening to a chapter written from a female investor’s perspective.

Interesting if you're in the industry

Well written and well narrated collection of essays from some well known names in the PE / VC industry.

The 2nd 5 hours is awesome VC history

The VC chapters, the second 5 hours, are very informative and shows how the great VCs think and how they manage risks and harvest opportunity. Great and important companies like Genentech, Amgen, and other high tech companies were born this way and through these people. The selected people in each chapter are widely regarded as visionaries in VC.

The PE chapters are like many other books with a focus on management hero's. As a person who has worked with GE management hero's, I am not so sure about this content. I would say, understanding what PE thinks of senior management and how PE leaders steward investments to ultimate success, is the value of the 1st section.

The most boring business book I've ever read.

Fell asleep a couple of times, and it's for the first three minutes..)) unbelievably boring book!