Investing in the hospitality industry with Nate Edgerly

In this insightful episode, Nate Edgerly, CEO of Enzo Group Inc., discusses his journey from CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers to a seasoned private equity investor and executive leader in the hospitality industry. Nate shares valuable insights on leadership, long-term investing, and what makes hospitality businesses thrive or fail.

Key Takeaways:

Nate’s journey from CPA to CEO, highlighting his pivotal experiences in private equity and operating roles.Lessons learned from running a business, enhancing empathy, and effectively partnering with leadership teams.What separates exceptional CEOs: empathy, people-focus, and creating a supportive culture.Common private equity mistakes: prioritizing short-term gains over long-term strategic growth and cultural investment.The decision behind Enzo Group's unique approach to raising capital—democratizing access beyond institutional investors.

Notable Mentions:

Book Recommendations:Unreasonable Hospitality by Will GuidaraWarren Buffett’s investor lettersLeadership insights by Simon Sinek, Daniel Pink, John MaxwellMastery by Robert GreeneBrands Admired:Ladybird Taco, Original Chop Shop, Cava, McDonald’s, Chipotle, Golden Corral

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction to Nate Edgley02:30 – Nate’s early career and transition to private equity06:10 – What Nate learned from operating roles10:00 – Qualities of exceptional CEOs13:15 – Mistakes private equity firms make and Nate's long-term investment philosophy17:20 – Enzo Group’s unique capital-raising strategy21:45 – Why choose the volatile hospitality industry?27:30 – Critical success factors for restaurant businesses32:00 – Brands admired by Nate and reasons behind their success38:00 – Nate's insights on executive search firms42:00 – Influences, recommended readings, and learning resources45:20 – How to connect with Nate Edgley

Raw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.

🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/
🌐 Visit Raw Selection www.raw-selection.com

Hosted by Alex Rawlings, Managing Partner of Raw Selection, a specialist executive search firm. Join us as we interview the leading experts in Private Equity, unlocking their secrets of success to share with you. 

Discover how some of the top Private Equity professionals got into Private Equity, how they rose to success and learn about some of the mistakes they made along the way.

Alex has strong connections to the Private Equity industry through his executive search firm, Raw Selection, which specialises in working with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies across Europe and North America. Alex is straight talking and to the point and aims to unlock real gold you can build into your firm or portfolio companies. Find out more at www.raw-selection.com

• No. of episodes: 167
• Latest episode: 2025-07-08
• Education Business Self-Improvement Investing

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