Who We Are Brentwood Associates is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm with over 30 years of experience investing in middle-market growth businesses. Our investment strategy is focused on companies providing essential services and products, including tech-enabled business services and software companies. Since 1984, we've backed more than 50 companies, with a combined transaction value exceeding $7 billion.
Our specialty is partnering with ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams to scale great businesses, typically through control transaction in fragmented markets that benefit from consolidation and product or service innovation. If you love numbers, deals, and the thrill of building something big, you’ll fit right in.
Check us out at www.brentwood.com. What You’ll Be Doing We’re looking for a highly motivated Associate to join our tech-enabled Business Services investment team. This role puts you in the driver’s seat of deal sourcing, due diligence, financial modeling, and portfolio management.
Translation: you’ll be at the heart of the action, working closely with senior leadership and portfolio company executives to help shape the future of our investments. You will be leading the evaluation of differentiated tech-enabled business services and software companies with up to $75 million of annual recurring revenue, strong growth profiles of 15-20%+, and attractive gross margins and cash flow profiles.
We target businesses in fragmented end markets where there is an opportunity to supplement strong organic growth with thoughtful and strategic add-on acquisitions. Such end markets include education technology, healthcare technology, and financial technology/integrated payments, among other vertically focused markets. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys dissecting businesses, diving into financial models, and debating the finer points of EBITDA over coffee, this might be the perfect role for you.
- Find and Close Great Deals:
- Identify and evaluate investment opportunities that fit our strategy.
- Build and maintain relationships with key industry players (think executives, bankers, consultants and advisors).
- Conduct deep research to develop investment theses—you'll conduct deep research through live customer calls and competitor reviews to thoroughly understand market dynamics and industry trends.
- Crunch the Numbers and Think Big:
- Analyze financial, strategic, and operational performance.
- Develop and own detailed financial models.
- Present findings to our Investment Committee in a clear and concise way.
- Structure transactions to ensure well-thought-out, strategic deal-making.
- Manage Investments and Create Tangible Value:
- Lead due diligence processes and coordinate with third-party advisors.
- Support portfolio companies’ growth by collaborating with their leadership teams.
- Drive governance best practices and participate in Board-level initiatives.
- Make Brentwood Even Better:
- Help recruit top talent (we love referrals!).
- Build relationships with bankers and strategic partners to set up future exits. Location: Los Angeles, CA (in-office Monday-Thursday, with flexible Fridays). Strong preference for candidates that prefer an in-office working environment (West LA, near Westwood) with strong ties to the LA area. Timing/Program Length: Immediate start. This program is a two-year commitment, with an opportunity to earn a third year based on exceptional performance and fit. The firm is built from within, with tenured employees at all levels.
What We’re Looking For
- Up to 5 years of experience in private equity, corporate development, investment banking, or strategy consulting.
- A self-starter who’s comfortable juggling multiple responsibilities.
- A proactive and driven individual who takes initiative and approaches responsibilities with a sense of ownership and accountability.
- A sharp analytical mind with problem-solving skills that impress even the toughest critics.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills —you should be able to explain complex concepts clearly and persuasively.
- A positive, low-ego, team-oriented attitude —cultural fit is incredibly important to us.
- Willingness to travel and attend relevant conferences, management meetings, diligence sessions, etc.
- A degree from a top-tier university with strong academic performance.
- Advanced skills in Excel and PowerPoint, demonstrated intellectual curiosity in learning and leveraging new tools and approaches including ChatGPT, systems thinking, advanced prompt engineering, etc.
- Interest or experience in recurring software, technology, or business services (bonus points for knowing the latest SaaS trends!).