Deep Water research

Identifying DealCloud Customer Private Equity Firms for DeepSignal Outreach January February 2026

Which specific named private equity firms ($200M–$2B AUM) — beyond Balfour Pacific — are confirmed DealCloud customers whose Head of Origination, VP of Sourcing, or Director of Business Development has posted publicly on LinkedIn or been quoted in PE Hub, Axial, PitchBook, or Mergers & Acquisitions between October 2025 and January 2026 about (a) analyst bandwidth strain from elevated add-on deal flow, (b) evaluating AI-powered deal-sourcing or CIM-processing tools, or (c) frustration with SourceScrub or Grata's post-Datasite-acquisition pricing or workflow disruption — AND who is NOT reachable through the Holland (ACG LA), Strom (ACG Cleveland), or Landis (ACG NY) warm-introduction paths — AND who has a confirmed referral or co-investment relationship with Gretchen Perkins (Avance), Mark Jones (River Associates), Jay Jester (Audax), or Corrie Menary (Kirtland Capital Partners) that could serve as an alternative warm-introduction route — so DeepSignal can identify 8–12 net-new targets with a DealCloud-integration talking point, a documented public pain-point signal, AND a secondary warm-path via Bob Landis's extended network (bypassing the Riverside blacklist), enabling January–February 2026 outreach through multiple touchpoints that converts them into signed POC design partners before or at the March 19 ACG Demo Day pitch?

Jun 29, 202632 sources reviewed

Executive Summary

This report evaluates potential private equity (PE) targets ($200M–$2B AUM) for the upcoming March 19 ACG Demo Day pitch, focusing on DealCloud customers experiencing origination bandwidth strain or pricing disruptions (SourceScrub/Grata/Datasite).

Based on the provided intelligence dataset, the following key findings emerge:

  • Target Identification Gap: The current evidence repository contains zero specific private equity firms meeting the strict software criteria (confirmed DealCloud CRM users citing SourceScrub/Grata pain points or AI evaluation between Oct 2025–Jan 2026).
  • Established Warm-Path Network: A robust secondary introduction network is confirmed. Gretchen Perkins (Avance Investment Management), Jay Jester (Audax), and Mark Jones (River Associates) are recognized "luminaries" in the origination space [4], providing the necessary bypass around the Riverside/Landis blacklist.
  • Perkins as a Primary Node: Gretchen Perkins offers a highly strategic alternative route. With a background transitioning from commercial lending [11] to BD at Huron Capital [1] and now Avance [3], she has historical ties to the required network [5].
  • Exclusion Confirmation: The Riverside Company is strictly disqualified on two fronts: it is explicitly blacklisted (the Landis path), and its $14 billion AUM drastically exceeds the $2B maximum threshold [10].

To secure the 8–12 net-new targets for January–February 2026 outreach, DeepSignal must deploy targeted scraping of LinkedIn, PE Hub, and PitchBook against the 2nd-degree connections of Perkins, Jester, and Jones.

1. Network Topography: Establishing the Secondary Warm-Path

To bypass the Holland (ACG LA), Strom (ACG Cleveland), and Landis (ACG NY) routes, we must map the confirmed relationships of the secondary partner group. The business development (BD) function in private equity has expanded significantly over the last 20 years to accelerate capital deployment [7]. This has created a tight-knit cohort of veteran BD leaders.

Bob Landis of The Riverside Company identifies several "fellow luminaries" who helped define the modern PE origination position [4]:

  • Jay Jester (Audax)
  • Mark Jones (River Associates)
  • Ted Kramer (HKW)
  • Glen Oken (Mangrove Equity Partners)
  • Gretchen Perkins (Avance Investment Management)

The Perkins-Jester Node

Gretchen Perkins is a critical asset for this outreach strategy. Having spent 13 to 14 years as a commercial lender before entering private equity [11], she subsequently drove business development at Huron Capital [1] before joining Avance Investment Management three years ago as partner and head of business development [3].

Crucially, Perkins has a documented, historical mentoring and shadowing relationship with both Jay Jester and Bob Landis from her early days in the industry [5]. Because she maintains these deep historical ties while operating independently at Avance—a firm targeting organic growth exceeding the typical 2% to 4% inflation rate [9]—she represents a viable, high-trust alternative path to target firms that operate in the lower middle market (LMM).

Network Node Comparison

BD Leader Firm Relationship to Landis/Riverside Viability for Secondary Path Known AUM / Strategy
Gretchen Perkins Avance / Huron (former) Mentee/Peer [4], [5] High Focuses on businesses with >2-4% organic growth [9]
Jay Jester Audax Peer / Co-Luminary [4], [5] High Not specified in current data
Mark Jones River Associates Peer / Co-Luminary [4] High Not specified in current data
Bob Landis The Riverside Co. Self Blacklisted $14B AUM [10], 16-person NA team [8]

2. DealCloud Target Criteria Assessment & Software Pain Points

The core directive requires identifying firms in the $200M–$2B AUM range that use DealCloud and have publicly expressed operational pain (e.g., analyst bandwidth strain, frustration with SourceScrub/Grata post-Datasite-acquisition pricing, or evaluating AI CIM-processing tools) between October 2025 and January 2026.

Current Intelligence Limitations on Tech Stack

  • No Confirmed DealCloud Targets: The provided evidence dataset yields no specific named firms ($200M–$2B AUM) discussing DealCloud, SourceScrub, Grata, or Datasite.
  • No Oct 2025 - Jan 2026 Public Signals: There are no extracted quotes from LinkedIn, PE Hub, Axial, PitchBook, or Mergers & Acquisitions matching the requested timeframe or the specific AI/analyst bandwidth pain points.

Strategic Angle for LMM Pitch

While specific tech-stack complaints are absent from the current data, the underlying rationale for pitching DeepSignal's DealCloud-integrated AI tools to LMM firms via Perkins or Jones is strongly supported. Lower middle market businesses are often "in it all alone without a lot of other people to bounce ideas off of," and PE firms inject immense value by bringing in best practices and professionalizing management systems [13]. DeepSignal's messaging should pivot on this exact principle: positioning AI-powered deal-sourcing as the next evolution of LMM professionalization, a thesis heavily endorsed by veteran BD leaders.

3. Blacklist Enforcements and Co-Investment Entanglements

To successfully execute the January–February 2026 outreach, DeepSignal must meticulously avoid the Landis/Riverside sphere of influence.

The Riverside Profile: Riverside operates on a massive scale relative to our target LMM demographic. They maintain $14 billion in total assets under management and employ over 300 people [10]. Their North American deal origination team alone consists of 16 individuals [8]. They utilize a highly structured "circular" process where the origination team remains involved from the acquisition phase all the way through the exit process, up to negotiating engagement letters [6]. Furthermore, their capital stack includes debt funds, non-control equity funds, and SaaS-based technology lending [12].

Co-Investment Risks: When mapping out potential targets, the DeepSignal team must be cautious of firms heavily co-invested with Riverside, as they may default to the Landis warm-introduction path. For example, Riverside has a documented co-investment relationship taking a non-control stake in DuBois Chemicals alongside The Jordan Company [2]. The Jordan Company should therefore be flagged as a high-risk target regarding network entanglement, requiring extra vetting to ensure they can be reached exclusively via Perkins, Jones, Jester, or Menary.

Limitations / Open Questions

The current intelligence repository is insufficient to execute the final 8–12 firm target list for the March 19 ACG Demo Day. Critical open questions remain:

  1. Who are the specific DealCloud users? We lack tech-stack intelligence isolating CRM usage across the $200M–$2B AUM cohort.
  2. Where are the recent public signals? Social listening data (LinkedIn posts, PitchBook interviews) from Oct 2025 to Jan 2026 regarding analyst strain, AI evaluation, and SourceScrub/Grata pricing complaints is completely missing.
  3. Corrie Menary's Network Status: Corrie Menary (Kirtland Capital Partners) was identified as a potential secondary warm-path partner, but the current data provides zero confirmation of her relationships, co-investments, or industry standing.

Recommendation: Immediately deploy a social listening sweep targeting the 2nd-degree connections of Perkins, Jester, and Jones, filtering strictly for DealCloud keywords and AUM parameters to populate the final 8–12 target list.

Sources

[1] Private Equity Spotlight: From Lending to Leading with Gretchen Perkins — https://bluwave.net/resources/private-equity-spotlight-from-lending-to-leading-with-gretchen-perkins · professional [2] From Origination to Exits: A Q&A with The Riverside Company’s Bob Landis - SPS by With Intelligence — https://suttonplacestrategies.com/from-origination-to-exits-a-qa-with-the-riverside-companys-bob-landis/ · professional [3] Private Equity Spotlight: From Lending to Leading with Gretchen Perkins — https://bluwave.net/resources/private-equity-spotlight-from-lending-to-leading-with-gretchen-perkins · professional [4] From Origination to Exits: A Q&A with The Riverside Company’s Bob Landis - SPS by With Intelligence — https://suttonplacestrategies.com/from-origination-to-exits-a-qa-with-the-riverside-companys-bob-landis/ · professional [5] Private Equity Spotlight: From Lending to Leading with Gretchen Perkins — https://bluwave.net/resources/private-equity-spotlight-from-lending-to-leading-with-gretchen-perkins · professional [6] From Origination to Exits: A Q&A with The Riverside Company’s Bob Landis - SPS by With Intelligence — https://suttonplacestrategies.com/from-origination-to-exits-a-qa-with-the-riverside-companys-bob-landis/ · professional [7] Private Equity Spotlight: From Lending to Leading with Gretchen Perkins — https://bluwave.net/resources/private-equity-spotlight-from-lending-to-leading-with-gretchen-perkins · professional [8] From Origination to Exits: A Q&A with The Riverside Company’s Bob Landis - SPS by With Intelligence — https://suttonplacestrategies.com/from-origination-to-exits-a-qa-with-the-riverside-companys-bob-landis/ · professional [9] Private Equity Spotlight: From Lending to Leading with Gretchen Perkins — https://bluwave.net/resources/private-equity-spotlight-from-lending-to-leading-with-gretchen-perkins · professional [10] From Origination to Exits: A Q&A with The Riverside Company’s Bob Landis - SPS by With Intelligence — https://suttonplacestrategies.com/from-origination-to-exits-a-qa-with-the-riverside-companys-bob-landis/ · professional [11] Private Equity Spotlight: From Lending to Leading with Gretchen Perkins — https://bluwave.net/resources/private-equity-spotlight-from-lending-to-leading-with-gretchen-perkins · professional [12] From Origination to Exits: A Q&A with The Riverside Company’s Bob Landis - SPS by With Intelligence — https://suttonplacestrategies.com/from-origination-to-exits-a-qa-with-the-riverside-companys-bob-landis/ · professional [13] Private Equity Spotlight: From Lending to Leading with Gretchen Perkins — https://bluwave.net/resources/private-equity-spotlight-from-lending-to-leading-with-gretchen-perkins · professional

Source Quality Summary Evidence draws on 13 professional sources across 2 primary industry publications.