Many smart people who leave their big corporate jobs to start a company don’t make it very far. Startups are just a very different sport than big companies.
It can take time to learn the scrappy new rules of the startup game, even if you are an expert in the industry you serve.
The sooner you realize you’re on your own and nobody is coming to help you, the better.
Richard Change is co-founder and CEO of PFA Solutions, the provider of FirmView software.
FirmView® is the leading carry and compensation management platform for private equity investors to manage their internal compensation from fees and carried interest.
Richard was a senior software architect for a large private equity firm when he discovered this complex problem that was being managed on spreadsheets.
He left to start PFA Solutions and bootstrapped the development of FirmView with consulting revenue.
Through growth and ultimately acquisition, Richard never took any outside funding from inception.
FirmView adoption grew steadily, serving large private equity firms. PFA Solutions eventually grew to 34 employees before being acquired by Allvue Systems in 2024.
Allvue is a private-equity-backed software company that serves the alternative (private) investment industry.
Richard describes his biggest rule of the startup game:
“Once you’re in it, once you’ve decided to start a company, own it. No regrets. No one’s going to save you. There’s not a fairy godmother that will come and wave all your problems away. You have to own it.
“There’s no magic wand that will come and say, OK, all your problems are solved. And that magic wand in my mind wasn’t outside capital; it wasn’t VC funding. That wasn’t magic because what do you do when the money runs out?
“Is your product generating revenue? That’s the real problem. If there’s a problem to be solved and you have a great idea or solution, you can generate revenue from it. Prove to yourself and the world that this is viable and has product-market fit.”
Richard sold his bootstrapped company to a strategic buyer that also sells to private equity firms.
They paid a strategic valuation to buy his growing and efficient company before it got too big. He knew what they were looking for.
Now he’s back as the scrappy acquired product business owner inside a much bigger company. Congratulations on playing another new sport, Richard!
Check out this amazing interview with Richard Change on the Practical Founders Podcast.
