He’s not alone. Bain & Co.’s 2025 Global Private Equity Report highlights a staggering backlog: 29,000 unsold portfolio companies representing about $3.6 trillion in unrealized value. Exit activity remains weak, stalled by high interest rates and even EBITDA declines. That’s not just capital sitting idle—it’s a call for proven operators. As one person put it bluntly to Business Insider, “Private equity was able to get lazy because of ZIRP—the Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate policy that began in response to financial crises in 2001. That’s gone away—you have to know your shit now.” In other words, financial engineering alone isn’t cutting it anymore. PE firms need talent that can actually drive performance inside portfolio companies or “portcos.”
I believe the best solution will come from millennials leaving the startup/VC world and moving into PE.
As the managing partner of Mauloa, I’m a PE investor, but I’m also proudly an operator. I cut my teeth as the co-founder of a tech company we launched straight out of college, which still thrives today. Later, I was recruited as CMO of a middle-market company, which was eventually acquired. I next served as the entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) to a global accelerator, helping build startups around the world, working in places like Norway, Ireland, Singapore, and Kona, Hawaii. I went on to become a fixer for family offices, helping grow or sometimes completely turn around startups in which they were invested, eventually leaning into one of those companies as CMO and helping it go public on Nasdaq. From complete cultural overhauls to post-merger integration, I’ve worked on a wide range of companies and industries.
Two years ago, I transitioned into private equity. It came about because my (now) business partner needed help growing two portcos from his second fund. One needed help improving ecomm and the other was looking to expand its live-streaming business. In a matter of weeks as an advisor, we knew that it was a good fit, and I joined full-time as a managing partner. As I tell other millennials curious about moving into PE, I’m doing the same kind of work I’ve always done—just with more mature companies. We’ve even applied best practices from the venture world to PE, like with our accelerator program for small and medium-size businesses, where the winning company receives a $10M investment offer.
Here’s why I believe the talent PE needs is sitting in plain sight: millennials from the startup world.
Talent Fit
They have the skills PE portcos need to grow. They’ve built products, sold them, found product-market fit, pivoted into better markets, assembled and led teams, scaled businesses, and even seen through exits like IPOs and acquisitions. While many have made some money, most still need to keep earning—and want to do meaningful, high-impact work.
Life Stage Fit
It matches where they are in life. Take a close friend of mine, for example—an Ivy League undergrad, MBA, and seasoned startup operator. He made some bucks during a historic startup IPO, but now he’s married, has a mortgage, and a toddler. His priorities have shifted. He’s still hungry, but his comp needs and work-life balance expectations have changed.
- Time: Great startups demand everything. But many millennials no longer want to grind 24/7. They want to be home for dinner. Company happy hours don’t hold the same appeal. They’ll still work nights and travel when needed—but they value balance.
- Compensation: Unicorn dreams once justified below-market salaries and kombucha perks. Today, many require higher base salaries, bonuses and/or meaningful performance-based upside.
Tech Fit
They’re digital natives. These operators understand product, growth, UX, data, and now, AI. They’re perfectly suited to lead legacy businesses through digital transformation.
So what’s the holdup?
Neither side is quite sure how to find the other—like two friends who should date but haven’t figured it out yet. PE firms need to start looking for this kind of talent. And these millennial operators need to network with PE principals and dig into their portfolios. The supply is there. The demand is massive. It just needs to be matched.
For many millennials coming out of college, the prestigious path was banking or consulting. Then it was startups and venture capital.
Now? It’s private equity—where experienced operators can help real companies grow.