Private equity firms compete for deals. Everyone reads the same industry publications, attends the same conferences, and receives the same banker pitches. Differentiation comes from proprietary sourcing—identifying opportunities before they reach competitive auction processes.
Waud Capital Partners developed a proprietary platform it calls “Ecosystem” to support deal sourcing and company building. This system tracks data on millions of companies and helps identify attractive subsectors before they become crowded with competing buyers.
2.2 Million Company Database
Waud Capital’s Ecosystem platform maintains information on 2.2 million companies. This database serves as a foundation for identifying investment opportunities within the firm’s healthcare and software/technology focus areas.
The platform aggregates data from multiple sources: public filings, industry databases, news articles, conference presentations, and proprietary research. For private companies, information might include estimated revenue ranges, employee counts, geographic footprints, and customer segments.
Reeve B. Waud discussed this approach in a 2018 interview with Buyouts magazine. He explained how the firm uses data to identify promising niches and companies within its target sectors. Rather than waiting for investment bankers to present opportunities, Waud Capital proactively researches subsectors and reaches out directly to company owners.
Identifying Attractive Niche Sub-Sectors
The Ecosystem platform helps Waud Capital spot subsector trends before they become obvious to other investors. Perhaps veterinary practice ownership is consolidating, or home health companies are seeing payor mix shifts, or certain healthcare IT applications are gaining adoption.
Identifying these trends early provides advantages. Waud Capital can establish relationships with potential sellers before competitive processes begin. The firm can recruit executive partners with relevant experience. It can develop investment theses that guide due diligence and post-acquisition strategies.
In the 2018 Buyouts interview, Reeve B. Waud mentioned interest in several areas: veterinary care, home health, and specialty pharmacy services. These comments reflected the firm’s research identifying these subsectors as attractive for consolidation or growth investment.
From Research to Recruitment
Once Waud Capital identifies an attractive subsector, the firm often recruits executive talent before acquiring a company. This approach pairs strong management with good opportunities rather than accepting existing management that may lack skills for growth.
“Human capital is at the heart of everything we do at WCP,” Reeve B. Waud explained. The firm maintains a five-person internal human capital team dedicated to recruiting and supporting executives.
Executive partners play multiple roles. They help evaluate acquisition targets, bringing operational perspective to financial analysis. They serve as board chairmen or CEOs at portfolio companies. They mentor existing management teams and facilitate best practice sharing across the portfolio.
Brad Staley exemplifies this model. An Executive Partner at Waud Capital with over 25 years in healthcare operating roles, Staley recently became Executive Chairman of Mopec Group following its January 2025 acquisition.
The Ecosystem also supports portfolio companies post-acquisition. Teams focused on business development, human capital, operations, and other functions provide resources that middle-market companies typically cannot afford independently.Waud Capital Partners, founded by Reeve Waud in 1993, has completed more than 460 investments across healthcare and software sectors. The firm manages approximately $4.6 billion in assets.
