Bill BrownFounder of ServiceTitan Hacks community (9k+ pros) | INC 5000 Contractor | Helping contractors win with AI & Automation

Private Equity in the Trades: Growth Opportunities and Exit Strategies Explained

8 Feb 2026 · 0 min

Watch on YouTube

0:12

A former M&A professional explains how private equity has reshaped the trades since COVID, delivering real outcomes for multi-generational family businesses while using financial engineering to drive growth. PE firms bring capital and strategy, but understanding their perspective matters for what comes next in the industry.

As a former M&A guy, or I don't know if you still consider yourself one.
Yeah.
Private equity obviously has played such a huge role in the trades really since COVID Where do you see that relationship evolving over the next few years?
I'm not a private equity shill. I'm not a private equity guy. Sell to them oftentimes, but I also have to understand where they're coming from. Yes, they want growth and yes, they wanna financially engineer things, but think about all the outcomes they've provided for business owners and their families generationally.
Yeah.
That didn't exist. It's been sprinkled throughout. Now it's a massive industry with players at all sizes, from one-person shops through multibillion-dollar funds. You see all the roll-ups that are going on in the trades. Generally, professionalization is a good thing.