Constellation Software vs Private Equity Software Strategy

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How do you go about fixing that kind of situation when you're missing deadlines and spending too much time on implementation?

Running software businesses is challenging because you rely heavily on two sets of people that are difficult to manage. Salespeople have a different mindset, and if you don't understand that and haven't managed them, you won't get the best out of the sales team. You'll choose the wrong people, and the sales team will do what they want, not necessarily what you want. The second, perhaps even more difficult group, is software engineers. They love solving problems but dislike fixing existing ones, especially those created by others. They prefer starting from scratch to build something beautiful.

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How do you go about fixing that kind of situation when you're missing deadlines and spending too much time on implementation?

A software engineer's typical response is to avoid fixing something because they believe it was done wrong initially and want to rewrite it. If no one manages these decisions, the wrong choices are made, which can negatively impact the company and the client. I've had situations where I had to explain to programmers that the customer didn't buy a Rolls Royce, nor did they buy one to be delivered in a year. The customer wanted a car tomorrow for a journey and would be very unhappy if they didn't get it because they've paid and expect a reward. We need to deliver a car as quickly as possible, not build the most beautiful car without considering the time it takes.

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How would you characterize the approach that a sophisticated PE investor in software would have compared to Constellation Software?

Constellation is looking to buy companies that it can improve over time, while PE wants a big hit in the shortest possible time. Constellation says, "Okay, we're buying a lot of things." They don't really have failures in the sense that things don't produce at the level they're supposed to. But because they're buying for the long term, they have time to pivot and improve. They can endure bad years if they make a poor purchase.

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