Saket Pachisia | Paragon Partners

Saket currently works at Paragon Partners since 2019. Prior to joining Paragon Partners, Saket was at Everstone Capital from 2018-2019 and previously was with Avendus Capital based in Mumbai. Saket holds an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and a B.Com from St. Xavier’s University. Saket will be sharing his experience from his stint at Paragon Partners focusing on sharing insights about the PE industry in India.

Interview

How did you recruit for this role? What would your advice be for potential candidates aspiring to get here? (recruiting strategy, cycle, process etc.)

True for most domestic PE firms, recruitment is a function of usual churn and expansion needs during the fund life. The suggestion is to build a network with the firm employees and to be in touch with HHs who typically handle the process. At a high level the process is a mix of interviews, creating an IC memo and presentation

What are the key skills that are required for this role?

As with any typical PE role, individuals need a good mix of technical and soft skills. In terms of technicals being able to analyse, form thesis and crunch financials is essentials. For soft skills, interaction with management and effective structured written communication is essential

What is the typical feeder profile (typical previous work experience) for this industry in general and for your firm in particular?

PE firms generally prefer individuals with prior PE, IB and consulting work experience

Is there an education path that is preferred for getting a role in this industry?

Corporate strategy and/or entrepreneurial experience

What is your total team size and what is the typical team staffing on a case/deal?

It’s a small team of 7 members. Typically it’s the associate and MD/principal who get involved

What is a typical day at work for you?

It’s a good and dynamic mix of deal sourcing, deal evaluation, monitoring of portfolio company performance and being involved in company exit process. The relative mix is largely a function of top down approach and depends on their priorities

What are your key responsibilities and deliverable on a case/deal?

As an Associate, you’re end to end involved right from preparing the screening memo to conducting diligence to having an opinion on documentation. You are like the firm’s representative who’s in contact with the external world

What is the typical exit that people get from this role?

PE, consulting and corporate strategy

What are the pros and cons about this role?

Pros: Fast paced learning environment, access to management and involvement in complete deal cycle

Cons: Day to day work might get monotonous and multiple reiterations are part of the job

What are your typical work hours in a week (including weekends)?

60-70 hours a week

How do the responsibilities evolve as one grows in this industry into senior roles?

It shifts from operational to strategic decision making eg documentation, portfolio decision making, getting on investor calls etc

What would be your advice for people aspiring for a similar role?

I would suggest building a typical feeder profile and creating a network to leverage upon as these roles are highly competitive and process is conducted in a secretive fashion