How the Right Private Equity Partner Can Help Founders Build and Scale Their Companies
The Founder’s Guide to Choosing—and Scaling With—the Right Private Equity Partner
Isaac Ullatil In collaboration with Enhanced Healthcare Partners
Executive Summary
Healthcare and technology markets are undergoing rapid and profound transformation. Innovation cycles are shorter, customer expectations are rising, competitors are scaling faster, and operational discipline now determines whether a company becomes a category leader or stalls out after early success. In this environment, founders face an inflection point: product-market fit may be proven, demand may be accelerating, and momentum may be strong—yet the organization increasingly needs systems, leadership, and capital beyond what early-stage foundations can support.
Capital alone does not solve these challenges. The companies that break away from the pack are those that pair entrepreneurial vision with a partner capable of turning potential into predictable, scalable performance. When the alignment is right, a private equity (PE) partner becomes not just an investor but a strategic amplifier—providing resources, operators, and expertise that unlock the next phase of growth.
This white paper—developed with Isaac Ullatil, Operating Advisor at Enhanced Healthcare Partners—offers a founder-led perspective on what transformative PE partnerships look like. Through practical insights and case studies from healthcare technology, it highlights how the right partner helps build enduring companies, not merely larger ones.
The Founder’s Growth Dilemma
Every successful founder eventually confronts a set of growth challenges that cannot be solved with early-stage tools. As demand grows and complexity rises, organizations begin to outgrow the resource constraints, infrastructure, and leadership bandwidth that enabled the first wave of traction.
Typical inflection-point challenges include:
Scaling operations without compromising product quality, customer experience, or culture
Expanding the leadership team to match increasing organizational complexity
Securing capital to invest in new products, modernization, or strategic acquisitions
Entering new geographies or verticals with different regulatory and market dynamics
These are not signals of weakness—they are indicators that the business is entering a second, more sophisticated phase of growth. At this stage, the founder faces a decision: continue stretching internal capacity, or bring on a partner capable of institutionalizing the foundations required to scale.
The right PE partnership enables founders to convert momentum into a repeatable, scalable, enterprise-grade operating model.
What the Right PE Partner Brings to the Table
Strategic Capital With Purpose
PE capital is fundamentally different from traditional financing. It is deployed with a targeted strategic mandate: accelerate scale, strengthen the platform, and reduce execution risk. High-value PE investment typically supports:
Expansion into adjacent, complementary, or higher-value product modules
Strategic acquisitions that enhance capabilities or consolidate market share
Technology modernization—from founder-built systems to enterprise-grade platforms
Prioritized expansion into new verticals or geographies
In many cases, these are initiatives founders have already identified but postponed due to capital constraints or risk concentration. PE capital unlocks their execution.
Operational Expertise: The Value Creation Engine
Modern PE firms are increasingly operator-led, bringing playbooks and subject-matter experts who have scaled dozens of businesses across similar stages and industries. In healthcare technology—where regulatory complexity, integration requirements, and enterprise buyers add unique challenges—this operational guidance is especially valuable.
Operational value creation typically includes:
Establishing governance, forecasting, and reporting frameworks that sharpen decision-making
Building a scalable go-to-market engine, including pricing, segmentation, and channel strategy
Driving digital transformation, process standardization, and automation
Recruiting and developing leadership teams capable of operating at enterprise scale
This transforms organizations from reactive and resource-constrained to predictable, data-driven, and execution-aligned.
Network and Market Access: Accelerating Time-to-Scale
A well-connected PE partner can meaningfully compress the time required to expand into new markets, establish credibility, or access enterprise buyers. The right introductions unlock opportunities that previously required months—or years—of effort.
A strong PE network typically provides:
Introductions to health system leaders, enterprise technology buyers, and strategic partners
Access to integrators, distribution channels, and vendor ecosystems
Partnerships across compliance, infrastructure, and technology domains
Cross-portfolio insights that help avoid pitfalls and accelerate decision-making
This access accelerates revenue, sharpens strategy, and unlocks expansion pathways.
Alignment of Vision: The Differentiator of Exceptional Partnerships
The most successful founder-PE relationships are built on shared mission, mutual respect, and transparent communication. Founders should look for partners who:
Preserve the entrepreneurial energy and cultural DNA that fuel innovation
Invest with a long-term perspective rather than short-term financial engineering
Communicate consistently and operate as strategic thought partners
Remain flexible as opportunities evolve and markets shift
When alignment is strong, the partnership becomes a force multiplier. When it is weak, even strong companies struggle.
Choosing the Right PE Partner
Selecting a PE partner is not simply a financial decision—it is an executive hiring decision with far-reaching implications for the next five to ten years of a company’s trajectory. Founders should evaluate candidates across five key dimensions:
1. Track Record
Depth of experience scaling similar business models or industries
Proven ability to build platform companies, not merely invest in them
Understanding of relevant regulatory, payer, and technology landscapes
2. Partnership Philosophy
Hands-on or hands-off operating approach
Board engagement style and expectations
Communication rhythms, transparency, and accessibility
3. Cultural Fit
Alignment of values, leadership style, and strategic ambition
Commitment to founder-led innovation
Shared belief in the mission and market opportunity
4. Value Creation Strategy
Clear, thesis-driven approach to the business
Demonstrated operating playbooks and strategic frameworks
Ability to diagnose challenges quickly and take decisive action
5. Exit Strategy Alignment
Agreement on timeline flexibility and value-creation milestones
Shared philosophy on strategic vs. financial exit paths
A commitment to preserving optionality as the company evolves
A well-chosen partner strengthens the founder’s vision rather than redirecting it.
Case Studies: Partnership in Action
Each of the following case studies illustrates how the right PE partner doesn’t replace the founder— they amplify them. EHP’s approach elevates founder intuition with enterprise-grade capabilities, building companies that scale faster, execute smarter, and achieve outsized outcomes.
Case Study 1: Scaling a Healthcare IT Platform from $7M to $70M ARR
A healthcare IT company at $7M ARR partnered with PE to accelerate growth beyond its strong but capacity-constrained early success. Together, they executed a three-pronged strategy:
Product Expansion: Launched two high-value modules addressing labor optimization needs for health systems and provider groups.
Go-To-Market Transformation: Built an enterprise-ready sales organization with dedicated vertical specialization and a structured pipeline management system.
Market Diversification: Expanded channel partnerships and entered adjacent healthcare verticals previously inaccessible due to resource limitations.
Outcome: A tenfold increase in ARR in three years, positioning the company as a category-leading platform.
Case Study 2: Founder-Led Transition to Enterprise Leadership
A high-growth SaaS company with strong early traction struggled with leadership bandwidth and operational complexity. Through a PE partnership, the company:
Recruited a seasoned GTM executive from a scaled industry peer
Standardized product development processes to improve predictability
Re-architected the platform for performance, scalability, and security
Outcome: Revenue doubled within 24 months and the business achieved enterprise-grade readiness, enabling a successful strategic acquisition.
Case Study 3: Accelerating Global Expansion
A healthcare technology platform sought to expand internationally but lacked market intelligence, compliance expertise, and channel infrastructure to do so efficiently. With PE partnership support, the company:
Conducted data-driven global market prioritization
Established channel partnerships in target regions
Customized products and workflows to meet country-specific compliance needs
Outcome: Entry into three new international markets within 18 months—an acceleration previously considered unattainable.
The Founder’s Playbook for Successful Collaboration
Founders can maximize the impact of a PE partnership by embracing five key principles:
1. Define the Vision Early
Establish shared clarity on what success looks like—whether platform expansion, market leadership, mission advancement, or a strategic exit.
2. Protect Cultural Foundations
Culture is a competitive advantage. Scaling should reinforce a company’s core identity, not dilute it.
3. Embrace Governance
Boards and operating cadences are strategic assets when used effectively. They create alignment, visibility, and discipline.
4. Leverage Operating Expertise
Operating Partners and advisors are extensions of the leadership team; engaging them early accelerates execution.
5. Build Optionality From Day One
Maintain flexibility around timing, strategic pathways, capital needs, and market shifts. Optionality protects long-term value.
6. Maintain Founder Authenticity
Founders’ intuition, customer proximity, and category insight remain irreplaceable—even as the company scales.
Conclusion
Private Equity partnership is transformative not because it introduces capital, but because it amplifies vision, sharpens execution, and strengthens organizational foundations. In fast-moving healthcare and technology markets—where precision, speed, and adaptability shape competitive advantage—the right partner helps founders convert momentum into durable leadership.
A great PE partner is more than an investor.
It is a multiplier—of capability, of opportunity, and of legacy.
Founders who choose well don’t just scale companies, they build platforms capable of shaping the future of healthcare.