Private Equity Moris Beracha Wuani

By Ana Alexandre A recent study by recruiting site Glassdoor published Oct. 18 found that crypto and blockchain-related job opportunities significantly increased in the U.S. this year, despite the slump in cryptocurrency prices. In the course of its analysis, Glassdoor examined a large number of online U.S. job postings on their site containing keywords related to blockchain, Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency. To ensure more accuracy, the company also included more general blockchain-related terms, while excluding jobs from third-party recruiting firms. To estimate salaries, Glassdoor used its “Know Your Worth” instrument. Per the report, as of August 2018 there were 1,775 unique blockchain-related job openings in the U.S., while at this time last year there were 446 similar job ads, which represents a 300 percent year-over-year increase. The highest proportion of job openings is concentrated in 15 cities, including New York City and San Francisco, wit...

By Mark Kovac, David Burns and Jason McLinn Private equity funds have historically leaned heavily on a combination of cost cutting and multiple expansion to underwrite future value projections. But today’s macroeconomic and competitive conditions challenge either approach. In most markets, slowing economic growth or the outright threat of recession suggests that multiples are more likely to retreat from current record highs than to expand even further. At the same time, the most obvious cost-cutting opportunities are typically baked into inflated asset prices or have already been captured by a previous PE owner. What’s typically not baked into the price is the ability to deliver profitable organic growth—and to do it quickly. As discussed in Bain & Company’s Global Private Equity Report 2018, that involves focusing value-creation efforts on the top line and developing commercial excellence capabilities to help portfolio companies sharpen how they approach their chosen ...