The Drawdown recently released their Technology Report, featuring a piece on how GPs are harnessing big data and AI to boost portfolio company performance and provide a competitive edge.
NorthEdge Partner, Lucie Mills; and Senior Director, James Hales, recently sat down with The Drawdown to discuss how NorthEdge is incorporating technology into the front- and middle-office functions of deal origination, deal executive, portfolio management and value creation.
James Hales explained: “We have worked on developing our own AI and machine learning tool for about seven years now. We first worked with Peak, an AI consultancy in Manchester, to get the platform off the ground, and now we are working with Alliance Manchester Business School to develop the technology further.
He continued: “Fundamentally, we are trying to develop a tool that uses a variety of financial metrics and selection criteria to catch businesses with high potential early, in a more sophisticated way, so that we can build relationships with relevant businesses that we may invest in.”
Lucie Mills added: “We have also built a platform for our portfolio community called Nexus. It is a propriety product that we built ourselves, exclusively for our portfolio company management teams. Portfolio company chief executives, chief financial officers, sales leaders, marketing leaders and technology leaders all use it, and it also interfaces with our operating partner network.
“Nexus has been a really efficient way to bring relevant groups of people together across the portfolio to share knowledge and information and facilitate networking. The technology is there to make resources and contacts available to portfolio company teams without overwhelming them. Nexus is a ready-made content hub – covering everything from pricing strategies and recruitment to customer engagement and supply chains – that portfolio companies can draw from whenever they require it.
The full Q&A interview piece, alongside their contributions to the Technology Report, can be viewed here.
Read the full Q&A article online here.