Why Ramiro Alfaro Prefers Committed LPs to Fund Capital
Ramiro Alfaro of Paltus Capital shares how deal-by-deal PE in Guatemala thrives with loyal LPs, long-term trust building, and first-mover market advantages.
Juan Aguilar, who has previously been a guest on our sister podcast Acquiring Minds, had successfully completed a search deal, enticing his best friend and BCG/HBS alumnus Ramiro Alfaro to return to their motherland, Guatamala, to try his luck in deal-by-deal private equity.
Reaching and persuading business owners is a different game in a nascent market. In Guatemala, selling a business is even stigmatized and viewed as a failure by some business owners (“don’t have you anyone to take it over?”). So, deal sourcing takes time. It’s not just about building a brand and reputation, but also about educating sellers and allowing them time to get comfortable.
That said, cold outreach is effective. Where US business owners are bombarded, it is still a novelty for business owners in Central America. Paltus Capital are experts on how to connect with business owners and expanding their regional network.
It took five years to close one deal, which underscores the long-term nature of doing business development in M&A. A big part of the BD effort is trust building.
With a long career in the United States behind him, Ramiro is perceptive in contrasting deal-by-deal PE in Guatemala versus the US. In his market, he sees good valuations, first-mover advantages, and market leadership potential. All hinges on building a good reputation in what is, after all, a small country, where everyone in business seemingly have heard about each other.
Towards the end of the conversation, Ramiro shares the advantages of having a homogenous cap table across multiple deals. It’s still deal-by-deal private equity, but by having the exact same investors, and ideally also in the same proportions, across multiple deals, one can seamlessly do cross-platform strategy that mimics portfolio management.
Check today’s new episode of the Minds Capital Podcast with Ramiro Alfaro.
More recent episodes
Grew EV 10x in 5 Years
Ben Rudman knew he wanted to work in food before he knew what investment banking was. His first independent sponsor deal, Western Smokehouse Partners, started with ~60 employees in 2018. By the time it sold 4.5 years later, it had almost 700 employees across 4 facilities and enterprise value had grown ~10x.
On the Ground at McGuireWoods 2026
Recorded from McGuireWoods in Dallas after Day 1, Niklas, Max & Will compare notes from the conference floor. Last year had ~2,000 attendees and this year felt bigger. The Minds team had ~30-40 meetings, found 3-5 qualified deal leads & ~6 prospective podcast guests. The day before, Minds hosted its annual Investor Day with 70+ RSVPs from 142 LPs and 8 portfolio sponsors attending.
32x MOIC After 100 Investors Said No
Since Kevin Ramsier's last appearance on this podcast, his firm, Sier Capital, has closed a new infrastructure platform (where Minds Capital is an investor) and exited another business that generated a 32x MOIC over a 7-year hold. The same business started with 95% customer concentration and nearly 100 investors said no.