Oliver Duffy-Lee

Founder of Authority Agency & Komms | 800+ Agencies Mentored | Previous clients include Volvo, Porsche and Unilever

21six is a brand and purpose studio that believe the world needs Brands That Care. More than that, we know that genuinely caring isn't just a slogan, it's a commercial strategy – we call it The Care Advantage™. It’s our simple but powerful system for helping the world’s leading companies grow crowded markets by showing they care – not as a slogan, but as a living, breathing part of how they operate.

We’ve used The Care Advantage™ to help Johnson & Johnson, The North Face, and Philips with global projects, capture new audiences, and create work that actually matters. And we apply it to every brief, from rethinking a brand’s positioning to igniting movements people want to join.

The age of simply churning out campaigns is over. We’re here to transform the way brands connect with people; faster, smarter, and with more humanity than ever before.

Founder

Website: https://www.authorityagency.co.uk

Welcome to the age of Thought Leadership.

Most B2B brands are drowning in a Sea of Sameness, unable to differentiate themselves from their competition.

And so they spend their time:

- Scrapping for low quality opportunities
- Unable to build an audience
- Failing to fill their pipeline
- Struggling to sign new clients 
- Pricing their services too low
- Stagnating and not growing
- Struggling to make pay day

The problem isn’t caused by lead generation, marketing or sales…

It’s a positioning problem.

Strong positioning will:

✅ Differentiate the business
✅ Attract high quality leads
✅ Convert them into high paying clients
✅ Grow the business month on month

And the strongest way to position in 2024?

Build Authority.

If you want help becoming the Go-To Authority Thought Leader in your space, book a call below:

https://content.authorityagency.co.uk/

FINALLY found some time to write a post for LI this week*… Here’s a small update on how our year has started…

1. In Amsterdam this week with one of the most exciting players in Optical Retail 🙏

2. Had a lot of RFP opportunities land so far this year, many of them unexpected. I’ve never had a problem pitching, I actually enjoy it… Never understood the anti-pitch policy many agencies have

3. Also had some really nice new client wins, including TDK, Asus and UCL… Very grateful for these amazing brands putting their trust in us

4. We’re learning to navigate a world where client decisions take longer and involve more stakeholders… This can be challenging, but it’s definitely not changing any time soon

5. More and more we’re productising our IP… Not to sell as it’s own product, but to help explain the value of our strategic thinking - this is definitely an area of the business I’m most excited about

6. Lot of travel to happen this year (all over Europe and Asia)… My view is that international business and expansion is crucial for UK agencies looking to grow. UK market alone isn’t strong enough right now to bank on for strong growth

7. Fascinating to hear the conversations in the agency world on AI influence… It seems to be having an HR impact already, especially in junior positions, but hasn’t transformed our world yet (A convo for another post)

*This is BS btw, it’s about priorities… Content hasn’t been a priority for me recently, but will get back to it. How are things in your world? Let me know 👇

CEO at 21six | The Agency for Brands That Care

Helping Executives and Professionals break into Private Equity as Operating Partners, Executives, Board Directors, or PE-Backed Buyers — positions most never knew were accessible to them.

The Real Problem: Most executives are invisible to PE not because they lack credentials, but because they position themselves wrong. They send resumes (job seeker signal) when PE needs Investment Theses (owner signal). They speak corporate language when PE needs value creation metrics.

My Background: Founder & CEO Single Family Office, Independent Board Director on a dozen boards and Chair of the PDA PE Portfolio Company Certification Task Force. Former PE Principal who made the same transition you want. 100+ M&A transactions and raised over $1 billion in capital. I've been the operator PE firms hire, the board director who advises them, and the investor evaluating thousands of deals & candidates. 

What I Do: I know exactly what they want and what works and compress the typical 18-24 month ‘if ever’ DIY struggle into 12 weeks. Executive & Professional strategic refinement of positioning and Introductions, without losing months of 'Opportunities'

•	PE Strategic Positioning 
•	PE-Readiness Assessment & Gap Analysis
•	Investment Thesis Development
•	Impact Story & Portfolio Examples
•	Targeted PE Network Introduction Map
•	Investment Thesis Pitch Event Invitation
•	Direct PE Introduction Events
•	Private Group Community (Peer networking bonus)

Your track record doesn't expire—your market window does. Let's talk about your PE transition.

Greg Head

I watched a PE firm reject their perfect Operating Partner.

His crime? No Fortune 500 name on the resume.

Six months later, they hired someone with the pedigree.

Paid him $2M more in total comp over three years.

And he couldn't execute.

The guy they rejected had scaled three businesses from $10M to $50M each.

But his companies weren't "sexy enough."

This happens constantly in PE hiring.

Firms optimize for logos on resumes instead of results in businesses.

After 100+ M&A deals, I keep seeing the same mistake:

The best Operating Partners don't come from McKinsey or Goldman.

They come from the trenches.

They've fixed broken sales processes at 2am.

They've rebuilt supply chains that were hemorrhaging cash.

They've turned around underperforming teams without a playbook.

Brand names signal credibility to LPs.

But they don't predict execution.

The Operating Partner who scaled three mid-market companies has seen every problem you'll face in portfolio companies.

The Bain consultant who advised Fortune 500s has seen PowerPoint decks.

Not the same thing.

What actually matters:

1. Have they scaled businesses in your deal size range?
2. Can they operate without a safety net?
3. Do they know how to fix things that are broken?

The logos matter for fundraising decks.

The execution matters for returns.

Most firms confuse the two.

And it costs them millions.

Helping Professionals break into Private Equity as Operating Partners, Executives, Board Directors, or PE-backed buyer | How to sell your business to PE | Founder Single Family Office | 100+ deals | $1 billion raised

PE doesn't fund stories. It funds these 5 numbers (Bonus 6th) and a Pro-tip

The deal thesis that get funded share 5 components

1. Market Position Clarity

Don't say "we're a leader in our space."

Show the math:
- Revenue rank vs top 3 competitors
- Market share percentage
- Customer concentration (top 10 clients = what % of revenue?)

PE partners want proof, not positioning statements

2. Growth Trajectory Evidence

Past performance matters less than future momentum

Include:
- 3-year revenue CAGR
- Customer retention rate
- Pipeline coverage ratio
- New market expansion timeline

If you can't show 15%+ organic growth potential, explain the acquisition strategy

3. Operational Leverage Points

Most executives hand me a strategy deck

I want to see the math on what's broken and how you'll fix it

Last month, a CEO showed me their sales team was closing 12% of qualified leads

Industry standard? 28%

That gap = $4.2M in annual revenue sitting on the table

Or take tech stack

I reviewed a $50M business running on 6 different CRMs because they'd acquired competitors but did pre-diligence the data to integrating systems

Just consolidating to one platform would save $180K annually and cut their sales cycle by 11 days

But now it'ss cost them well into the six $figures to align the data

Working capital is another goldmine people miss

I've seen companies with 65-day payment terms to suppliers but giving customers 90 days

Flip that dynamic, and you unlock $2M in cash without changing a thing about the actual business

Put dollar amounts next to each lever

Real numbers from your P&L

Not "we'll improve margins." 

Show me: 

"Renegotiating our top 5 supplier contracts = 240 basis points of gross margin."

4. Management Team Depth

PE doesn't invest in solo acts

Show your bench:
- Who runs what P&L
- Track record of each leader
- Gaps you'll fill with their capital

I've seen great deals die because the CEO and his bench couldn't/wouldn't prove the transferability of their knowledge

They thought it gave them a stronger negotiating position and security

What it was weaken them

5. Exit Math

Work backwards from their return target

If they need 7x in 5 years:
- What's the exit multiple?
- What EBITDA gets you there?
- What has to be true?

BONUS #6:

If the plan is to take a $50M revenue company to $150M

Show them what it costs (or will cost) to add the next dollar in revenue...then multiply by $100M

That's what they need to know

Show you understand their business model

The executives who get funded think like investors before the first meeting

They don't pitch businesses

They present investment opportunities

PRO-TIP: Do it on a One-Page Deal Thesis

Want a copy of my 'The One-Page Deal Thesis Framework'?

1. Connect with me
2. Comment "THESIS"

I will DM the full 47-page vault to you

P.S. Repost this and I will send it to you first

RIP corporate titles. 

Your 20 year track record is invisible to Private Equity.

Most senior operators think a VP title earns them a seat at the table.

They are wrong.

PE firms don't buy titles. They buy value creation engines.

I spent 4 months documenting how top-tier operators translate corporate wins into PE equity deals.

I turned the entire process into a 24-page implementation guide.

It is the exact system I use to help executives move from salary to carry.

Inside "The Operator to Owner Path":

- The 3-step credibility framework PE firms actually use
- How to build a deal thesis that proves AI value creation
- 5 positioning shifts that turn you from an employee into a partner
- The math behind negotiating carry and equity stakes
- How to articulate AI-driven EBITDA growth in under 2 minutes
- Why your current resume is killing your PE prospects

This isn't theory. It is the roadmap for the next 10 years of your career.

Want the playbook?

1. Connect with me 
2. Comment "EXIT"

I will DM you the PDF link.

P.S. We must be connected or LinkedIn blocks the message.

P.S. ♻️ Repost this and I will give you priority access to the delivery queue.

I spent 25 years watching brilliant executives flame out in PE-backed deals.

Not because they weren't smart enough.

Because they couldn't get out of their own way.

PE operators don't care about your IQ.

They care about your ability to cut through noise and move.

Here's where smart people break:
They architect when they should act.
They debate when they should decide.
They perfect their corner while the business bleeds.

The executives who survive PE?

They walk into the room and deliver:
~The problem in one sentence.
~The decision that needs to happen today.
~Then they execute before the next meeting starts.

What trait beats raw intelligence in high-pressure roles?

Clarity under chaos keeps you there.

Nearly 70% of CxOs in Private Equity backed companies get replaced during the hold period

~ 60% of those changes happen in Year 1

And the financial cost is only half the story
* Lost momentum
* Cultural whiplash
* Strategic drift

All of it stalls growth right when PE firms need it most

What's actually broken here?

Most firms don't know what "good" looks like in an Executive/Operating Partner/Board Director

When 7 out of 10 CxOs fail under PE ownership, that's a PE problem

Not a talent problem

Leadership is the single greatest lever for value creation

Yet most firms treat it like an afterthought

They treat operators like vendors instead of partners

An Executive failing in Year 1 is usually a mismatch that happened before Day 1

Here's the playbook most firms use:
~ Call three references pre-selected by the candidate
~ Run a background check
~ Interview them twice
~ Cross thier fingers

What's missing is clarity on what success looks like for that specific seat, in that specific business, at that exact moment

Take the CEO role

A "wartime" CEO and a "growth" CEO are completely different animals

Put a growth CEO into a turnaround situation and they'll hesitate

Put a wartime CEO into a stable business and they'll over-correct

I've done both

The difference matters

But most firms can't articulate which one they need because they haven't built the muscle to define it

They haven't aligned the executive with the investment thesis before signing the offer letter

Once the clock starts ticking, there's no time to course-correct

I define what good actually looks like in a portfolio company seat

Not some generic leadership profile

The specific capabilities, situational awareness, and operating rhythm needed to execute the thesis

The industry needs a more disciplined approach to board readiness and executive alignment

We can't keep losing 7 out of 10 Executives and pretend it's acceptable

I've sat on both sides of 100+ M&A transactions over 25 years as a PE principal and family office CEO.

What Bain just quantified in their 2026 Global PE Report is something I watched happen in real time across deal rooms, board meetings, and portfolio company reviews.

The math of private equity has fundamentally changed.

A decade ago, a typical buyout needed 5% annual EBITDA growth to hit a 2.5x MOIC over five years.

Leverage was doing the heavy lifting at roughly 50% of the purchase price. 

Rates were 6-7%. 
Multiples were climbing. 
The operator was useful, not essential.

Today, with borrowing costs at 8-9% and leverage ratios compressed to 30-40% of purchase price, that same 2.5x return requires 10-12% annual EBITDA growth.

That is not a marginal adjustment.

That is a complete restructuring of where returns come from.

Multiple expansion is not reliable. 

Financial engineering is not sufficient. 

The operator is now the return.

Meanwhile, the industry is sitting on 32,000 unsold portfolio companies worth $3.8 trillion. 

Average holding periods have drifted to seven years. 

Distributions as a percentage of NAV have held below 15% for four consecutive years.

That is not a capital problem.

That is an operational execution problem at scale.

The executives who understand this shift, who arrive at PE conversations with an investment thesis instead of a resume, who speak EBITDA growth and cash conversion cycle instead of functional titles and team size, are the most valuable people in the room right now.

The ones waiting for the old playbook to come back are watching a window close.

12 is the new 5. 

The operators who understand what that means are already positioning for it.

Bain Global Private Equity Report 2026

Vanity Metrics that get you fired.

The metric that got you promoted won't survive PE diligence.

I've sat on both sides of the table in over 100 M&A deals.

Here's what breaks in the first meeting:

You crushed your internal targets. 
Revenue up 40%. 
Headcount doubled. 
Market share growing.

Your board loves you. 
Your CEO promoted you. 
Your bonus cleared.

Then PE shows up with their diligence team.

And suddenly, none of it matters.

The vanity metrics that got you promoted

Total revenue growth. 
Headcount expansion. 
Market share gains.

These look incredible on internal dashboards.

They get you the corner office and the equity bump.

But PE firms don't care about vanity metrics.

What PE actually examines

They rip apart three things most executives ignore:

1. Unit economics per customer

2. Customer acquisition payback periods

3. Margin consistency across cohorts

If your revenue grew but unit economics declined, you built a leaky bucket.

If headcount doubled but payback periods extended, you're burning cash faster than you're creating value.

If market share expanded but margins vary wildly across cohorts, you don't have a repeatable business model.

The gap between promotion metrics and diligence metrics is where deals die.

And where executive careers stall out in PE-backed companies

Before Layoffs, Fix This One Invisible Cash Leak

Cash flow problems aren't always revenue problems.

They're timing problems.

Last quarter, one of our portfolio companies was burning through their line of credit.

Revenue was up 40%. 

Contracts were solid. 

Team was executing.

But they were 90 days behind on collections while paying suppliers in 30.

We didn't change their business model.

We restructured when money moved through their system.

Started collecting at 25 days instead of 31 and definitely not at 90. 

Same team. Same contracts. Same operations.

Just better timing.

Three months later, they had $2M sitting in the bank instead of their credit line maxed out.

Here's what most people miss about cash flow:

Your money is already there.

It's stuck in the wrong places at the wrong times.

The fastest improvements come from collecting what you've already earned and moving what you've already bought.

That inventory sitting in your warehouse? 

It was purchased with cash months or years ago.

Every day it sits there, that's cash you can't use to pay this month's bills.

The timing gap between when you spent the money and when you'll get it back is killing you.

Year-end is the perfect example of bad timing decisions.

Most companies buy equipment in December to "save on taxes."

You get a deduction. 

You also tie up cash for the next 12 months.

Here's the timing play instead:

Pre-pay next year's rent or bills in December.

Same tax deduction.

But now you free up cash every single month next year instead of locking it away in a depreciating asset.

You can't pay bills with your truck

You just shifted when cash leaves your account and turned a one-time hit into 12 months of breathing room.

If you're looking at headcount cuts before you've analyzed your cash conversion cycle, you're missing the real problem.

Your cash is there.

You just need to know where to look.

Is Private equity’s biggest risk labor?

Private equity is missing its most profitable AI trade

The best PE opportunities hide in plain sight.

Right now, everyone's chasing AI Data Center deals.

But there's an elephant in the room everybody is trying to ignore.

Labor!

You can't build data centers without electricians...or plumbers

And we're running out of both.

But I think the real risk is energy.

The US will not lose 'AI-Race' because of Data Centers

US has 5,500’ish centers and 650’ish hyperscalers(54% global share) vs China’s 500’ish centers and 190’ish Hyperscalers (16% global share)

Portfolio companies are bleeding value. 

Construction delays are killing IRR calculations. 

Exit timelines are getting pushed back.

Firms are sitting on billions in dry powder they can't deploy. 

LPs hate paying management fees on uninvested capital.

Capex is exploding. 

Projects underwritten at $X per square foot now cost 20-30% more. 

That means additional capital calls and squeezed returns.

Is the bottleneck the opportunity?

• Vocational schools and trade certification companies
• Modular construction that cuts on-site labor needs
• Specialized staffing roll-ups for data center trades
• Workforce housing near construction hubs

I’m not sure…what do you think?

But what about grid infrastructure?

Electricty Generation?

I think who ever wins the energy generation race will win AI

I spent 20 years watching lawyers get paid hourly while deal architects got equity.

The difference isn't skill. 

It's positioning.

Private equity doesn't want more outside counsel. 

They have plenty of firms billing by the hour.

They want Wealth Preservation Deal Architects who structure entities for maximum exit value and minimum tax leakage.

Family offices are bypassing PE funds to do direct deals. 

They're avoiding the 2 & 20 fee structure.

But they have a problem.

They need someone who speaks both "deal language" and "legacy planning."

The lawyer writes trust documents and gets paid billable hours.

The Wealth Preservation Deal Architects structures the acquisition inside the trust to eliminate millions in future tax liability.

One gets a salary. 

The other gets carry.

And deal architects now face a new vulnerability they're uniquely positioned to solve:

The SEC's 2026 examination priorities explicitly target "AI Governance failures" in private funds.

Funds are scrambling because AI tools touch every deal process. 

Due diligence, valuation models, portfolio monitoring.
Each AI vendor is a potential liability exposure.

Sound familiar?

It's the same risk assessment you already do for M&A transactions. 

You evaluate third-party dependencies. 

You map data flows. 

You quantify operational vulnerabilities.

AI Governance is vendor risk management with a new label.

If you've done M&A and regulatory work, you're already qualified to protect funds from these liabilities.

You don't need to be a coder. 

You need to be a risk guardian.

General Counsel builds compliance frameworks and gets a salary.

Operating Partner prevents deal-killing liabilities and gets equity.

Same expertise. 

Different frame.

Stop selling compliance. 

Start selling deal assurance.

Your title determines your cap table access.

I love this raw perspective from Allison Felix, MBA, SPHR.

We often talk about Imposter Syndrome as something to "cure," but Allison frames it perfectly: it’s less about making the voice disappear and more about ensuring the drive to move forward is louder.

I believe the "Imposter" voice is actually a sign of growth.

I’ve definitely felt that "jaw-drop" moment she describes: Realizing that the feeling of being unqualified isn't a fact; it's just a byproduct of stepping outside my comfort zone.

Key takeaways from her post that resonated with me:

~Titles don't kill doubt: Even at the COO level, the voice stays.

~The Cost of Inaction: The fear of staying stuck should always outweigh the fear of failing.

~The 'And' Factor: You can feel unready and do it anyway.

If you’re feeling a bit of that 'slump' or doubting your "qualifications" for your next big move, give this a read.

Strategic Advisor to Founders & CEOs | Helping professional service firms move from chaos to clarity

View Allison Felix, MBA, SPHR’s profile

I’ll never forget the moment I first heard the term “Imposter Syndrome.” My jaw literally dropped.

Finally, there was a name for what I’d been living with for years.

I don’t remember exactly when that voice became so loud, but I vividly recall finishing my MBA and thinking I hadn’t truly earned it - that I wasn’t as qualified as others who could attach those same letters to their name.

Later, I was promoted to COO and still didn’t feel like a “real” COO (whatever that means).  Somehow, I convinced myself that others with the same title had earned it more than I had.

That voice never fully goes away. No matter how often I catch myself in a moment of self-doubt and manage to silence it, it inevitably sneaks back in … and often louder than before.

But here’s what I’ve also learned: the ability to push forward anyway is just as ingrained in me as the fear itself.

I’ve learned to quiet that voice by recognizing something important: the fear of staying stuck is far worse than my doubts about whether I’m “qualified enough.”

Leaving a secure job. Launching my own business. Positioning myself as a Fractional COO. Each step has required pushing through the doubt.

As we enter the last week of January, when most resolutions have long been forgotten - I’m still pushing forward. Because even when I’m not ready, I’ve learned to do it anyway.

That’s what growth looks like: the gap between “I’m not ready” and “I did it anyway.”

#impostersyndrome
#pushforward
#ididitanyway 
#2026goals

You Make Money When You Buy, You Cash Flow When You Sell

Cash is not King, CASH FLOW is king

Most people get this backwards.

They think profit comes from the daily grind. 

The hustle. 

The operations.

Wrong.

After 25 years of running businesses in the trenches, I've learned this: 

Two moments determine your entire outcome.

The buy and The CASH FLOW

Everything else is just maintenance.

The Buy: Where your return gets locked in

Your ROI is decided the second you sign the deal.

If you don't have equity or a clear value-add on Day 1, you're not investing.

You're hoping.

The winners bought right. 

The losers crossed their fingers and prayed the market would save them.

It never does.

You don't manufacture profit through operations alone. 

You lock it in by buying smart.

The Sell: Where theory becomes reality

Here's what kills me.

I see operators sitting on millions in paper value with zero liquidity.

The founder with millions of used utilized equipment and inventory 'Just in case' who can't afford to hire.

Their cash is illiquid and wonder why they have liquididy issues and no actual capital to deploy

Profit lives in your balance sheet. 

Cash flow comes when you sell.

It turns dead equity into active money you can redeploy into bigger, better deals.

Cash is not King, Cash Flow is king

Not by 'sitting' on... 

By moving.

The bottom line:

Don't fall in love with the asset. 

Fall in love with the math.

Buying right gives you margin.

Selling right gives you freedom.

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