No names of course

Wow: two and a half months have whizzed by, and the search continues. But in an altered way, given the state of the middle market for debt financing. In short, we've been searching for in-house positions at private equity-owned large chains. I took a look at a turnaround management job at a large casual dining chain, and both of us took some time to examine possibilities at a large fast food chain that changed ownership in the last year. We're also looking at sundry other opportunities at brands we admire, or business units we'd like to learn from.

Overall, what the last two months have revealed are the tradeoffs of choosing in-house positions over leading an acquisition. In short, we trade away control for higher salaries. We trade in brands we believe in for the ones that need fixing. We trade in a focus on improving the core business for extracting financial value.

The last point is nuanced. Obviously improving the core business will create financial value for investors, and of course extraction of financial value includes activities to improve the core business. There's a difference in practice, though, and it's in where one begins: the store experience, or the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

There isn't an inherently better set of characteristics. But our preference for leading an acquisition becomes more apparent the closer we get to the private equity opportunities. Frankly, we don't mind being paid less if it means we have more control. We find promising brands incredibly energizing, and dying brands (that we don't believe in) equally depressing. We want to start with the customer experience, not the financials.

Given our preferences, it's easy to moralize, and say that we feel "soulless" or like we're "selling out" as we seriously consider joining operating teams at top private equity shops. It's important to note that the sentiments don't speak to the opportunities or firms themselves. For each pair like us, there are many more people whose hearts are in the business of private equity, and who have happily bought into the merits of the industry. The words rather express our gut reactions to the possibility of shelving our original dream and taking on jobs that, admittedly, do promise a steadier and larger paycheck. Our own actions are what can feel immoral -- self-defeating -- and discordant with our longtime song of hope.

And so we seek a path forward. At the moment, interim consulting and writing gigs as we await a mid-market debt revival feels just about right... Stay tuned for more.