3/16/2018: Nathan Vardi, Forbes
A profile of Robert Smith and his private equity business Vista Equity Partners. A billionaire and married to a playmate, this would be a hell of a guy to trade lives with. Robert was relatively unknown until a couple years ago when his overwhelming success was brought to the mainstream.
Coming from a background in software the Vista story has always been interesting to me and this is the best profile I’ve read yet. Vista pioneered PE investing exclusively in software and the strategy has turned Smith and a co-founder into billionaires in just 18 years.
One thing that struck out to me was Vista consulting and Smith’s best operating practices. His successful approach seems extraordinarily similar to Ray Dalio’s Principles: figure out what works, write them down into best practices, continuously learn and evolve those practices then make all of your decisions within that framework.
Also Like: King of Capital, Last Tycoons, The Partnership
The Settle Inn 