Buyouts: Off-duty: Lead Edge’s Brian Neider

Buyouts: Off-duty: Lead Edge’s Brian Neider on ‘All NightLong,’ Sunkist Zero and his dream job as a golfcaddy

Neider tells us about his summer bliss in Margate, New Jersey, his avocation as an Uber driver, andwhy he hates the phrase, ‘It’s a nice little business.’

Buyouts’ Off-duty provides a snapshot of top investors, including a few details about what they do when not chasing deals.

by Kirk Falconer

As a young man, Brian Neider, managing partner at Lead Edge Capital, always knew he wanted a career in business. The ambition was top of mind during a college job as a golf caddy, which gave him the opportunity to “build networks,” he told Buyouts.

Prior to doing his MBA at Columbia Business School, Neider was in 2005 hired by Bessemer Venture Partners to make cold calls for deal origination. It was there he met Mitchell Green, who later founded Lead Edge, a growth equity investor in software, internet and tech-enabled businesses.

After a stint working at FTV Capital, Neider was in 2012 invited by Green to join the newly launched GP. It proved to be “the best move I ever made,” Neider said, as it allowed him to participate in the brick-by-brick growth of the “small, but mighty” Lead Edge, a description he believes still applies to the $5billion firm of today.

Since then, Neider has led or co-led multiple deals, among them Toast, a restaurant management platform. Lead Edge, he said, “went all in” on the company, which went public in 2021 and now boasts a market cap of more than $25 billon.

Where is your hometown?

Boca Raton, Florida. Yes, believe it or not, you don’t have to be 80 years old to live there!

If you weren’t in PE, what job would you like to have?

I would be a golf caddy. I caddied during college at Merion Golf Club in Philadelphia, one of the best courses in the world. I loved being outside all day, getting exercise, and being able to talk with interesting people for hours at a time.

How do you relax when you’re not working?

I have three children aged 11, 13 and 14 … so when I’m not working it might be less relaxing! I’m pretty sure I’m an Uber driver in my spare time, and I always ask my kids to rate me five stars when I drop them off at their activities.

What book are you reading right now?

King of Capital by David Carey and John Morris, about the formation of Blackstone. It was written about a decade ago but provides interesting insight into their history. Does this make me a total stereotype for reading this? Probably.

What is your favorite song, album, performer or music genre?

My favorite song is “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie. I don’t know why but every time it ever comes on it makes me smile. That has been my favorite for a very long time.

I’m also a huge fan of “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band. My family listens to it frequently in the car, and it is a great sing along. It sends a real message about enjoying the simple things in life and never taking anything for granted.

I have a particular affinity for that song because the last verse is quite patriotic and was written shortly post-9/11. Despite some of the divisiveness that exists here today, I believe the USA is the greatest country the world has ever known and I’m lucky just to be a citizen. “I thank God for my life/And for the stars and stripes/May freedom forever fly, let it ring/Salute the ones who died/The ones who give their lives/So we don’t have to sacrifice/All the things we love…” I think it’s a perfect verse.

What is your favorite place for a vacation, sanctuary or to explore?

My sanctuary is Margate, New Jersey. It is a spot on the Jersey Shore, just near Atlantic City. I know what you’re thinking, but no, it’s nothing like the MTV show from years ago.

It is in Margate that I find pure bliss during the summer. The houses in town are close together and every street is lined with families walking to and from the beach. Late afternoons are filled with barbeques at each house, people laughing together on their porches, and generations spending time with one another.

What is your favorite meal, recipe, cocktail or bottle of wine?

I’m not a big drinker, so don’t love any fancy cocktails. My drink of choice is Sunkist Zero (f/k/a Diet Sunkist). You can find my fridge at home stocked with it 100 percent of the time. I could’ve given an answer that made me look more sophisticated, but the reality is that if I said anything but the above, I wouldn’t be true to myself, and my wife would ask why I lied.

Who in your career do you regard as a mentor?

Webster’s Dictionary defines a mentor as a trusted counselor or guide, tutor or coach. Thinking about it on this continuum I’ll give you two answers.

First, I’d say Jeremy Levine, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. Jeremy hired me for my first job in private equity. I learned much of what I know about evaluating investments from him.

Second, I’d cite my partners at Lead Edge. As corny as it sounds, when you surround yourself with amazing people, you constantly have the opportunity to elevate your own game. I’m surrounded by an incredible partnership, who counsel, guide and teach me every day and in a unique way. I consider them all mentors as well.

Professionally, what was your toughest moment?

There have been numerous times in which we’ve had great people at our firm or at portfolio companies who just might not be right for the next phase of growth in the business. In nearly all cases, ripping the band-aid off and parting ways is the right thing to do, but it is always difficult and uncomfortable to have those conversations.

What was your most rewarding moment?

At the end of the day, the goal of our business is simple. We take LP capital and try to compound it at a high rate of return, both on an absolute basis and on a relative basis against our peers. My most rewarding moments are when our LPs are-up for a next fund because they believe we’ve met or exceeded their expectations of us historically.

What PE buzz words or jargon do you hate most?

I can write a book on this. But I have one I particularly hate. Sometimes private equity folks will look at a company and say, “It’s a nice little business.” I think it’s an extremely patronizing way in which to describe an enterprise. Iwouldn’t be so arrogant as to describe my kids’ lemonade stand in that way, let alone a business worthy of PE evaluation.

What advice would you give a young person interested in a PE career?

Treat your career as an investment. When you make a private equity investment, you do your diligence. You will evaluate the team, product, business model, etc. Career choices should be handled the same way. Who will you be working for? How successful is that person? What do you believe you can learn from them? Where have other people who have done that job landed later in their career?

I know plenty of people who were incredible students in school and had tremendous potential early on. They took jobs that they probably knew were wrong for them on Day One and that set them off on the wrong foot.

Treating your career decisions as an investment doesn’t mean that everything needs to be perfect. There is risk to every investment. But you should go in eyes wide open and not be afraid to ask the right questions to make sure you know what you’re getting into.

What word or phrase best describes you?
Traditional and results-oriented.