Robert F. Smith
person on 7 shows · 11 statements across 1 episodes · said 53 times in 28 episodes since 2017
Top Founders 24 
Capital Allocators 17 
20VC 4 
My First Million 3 
Startup Acquisition Stories 2 
the a16z Podcast 2 
Sourcery 1
On the record as a speaker too: Robert F. Smith across every show, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.
Mentions by year, every show
tap a year for its mentions
Top Founders 24Capital Allocators 1720VC 4My First Million 3Startup Acquisition Stories 2the a16z Podcast 2Sourcery 1
2026 1 mention in 1 episode
2025 10 mentions in 3 episodes 3 per episode
- David Breach – Software Specialist Enters Private Wealth (Private Wealth 6, EP.450)
- Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
- Figma’s IPO: The Full Breakdown & Why Melio’s $2.5BN Acquisition is “Discouraging” · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
- every mention in 2025, scene by scene →
2024 1 mention in 1 episode
2023 11 mentions in 5 episodes 2 per episode
- How to do $500,000 Revenue in 8 Weeks launching new AI SaaS Tool
- José E. Feliciano – Flexible Private Market Investing at Clearlake (Capital Allocators, EP. 297)
- Tony Robbins on the Future of Health & Longevity
- Martin Shkreli Reveals How He Made His First $100 Million (#445)
- Gregg Lemkau - The Evolution of MSD (Capital Allocators, EP.291)
- every mention in 2023, scene by scene →
2022 9 mentions in 5 episodes 2 per episode
- What you can learn from Vista Equity's former head of pricing
- Ranking The Best And Worst Businesses To Start w/ Billionaire Investor Andrew Wilkinson (#386)
- Startup Acquisition Stories with Colin Keeley, Founder at Verne (Acquire'd 2x)
- Year in Review 2022 (Capital Allocators, EP. 289)
- Latka IPO Watch: 24.7 About to File? A look back
- every mention in 2022, scene by scene →
2020 5 mentions in 3 episodes 2 per episode
- Checkli Launches Enterprise Plan To Get Past $5k in MRR
- 20VC: Upfront's Mark Suster on COVID Redefining What A Great Company Looks Like and What Valuations Look Like, Why Pay-To-Play Is Back On The Table & Why We Will See The Death of Party Rounds
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 1: Jacob Walthour – A Blueprint for Diversity (Capital Allocators, EP.151)
- every mention in 2020, scene by scene →
2019 9 mentions in 6 episodes 2 per episode
- 1554 $130M ARR Vista Owned Company Made These 2 Moves Right After Acquisition
- 1500 BullHorn Sold 60% Early On, Now $200m in ARR, E50+
- 1292 How Cvent Hit $500m Bookings with Eyes on $1B in Meeting and Event Space
- 1501 247.ai Passes $300m ARR, 10% EBITDA, No $6B Vista Sale
- Michael Novogratz – Galaxy Digital (First Meeting, EP.06)
- 1313 He Runs $1b Buyout Fund Think3 Giving Founders Free Time for Second Shot on Goal
- every mention in 2019, scene by scene →
2018 3 mentions in 2 episodes 2 per episode
every mention on every show, scene by scene, with the transcript →
11 statements about Robert F. Smith, every show
Late 1990s software industry lacked established standard operating procedures
“Well, it was a new industry, and because it was a new industry, there were very few, call it, operating procedures that were, how do you run a software company?”
Vista scaled software best practices using a McDonald's franchise model
“So I had the good fortune in that regard to actually evaluate hundreds and numbers of software companies, and one in particular I saw had some standard operating procedures that were used to actually make software companies efficient, and then took those and r…”
Late-1990s private equity firms overlooked enterprise software for chips
“And I realized that none of them, like any in that period of time, none of them are really thinking about software as an area of investment. Some may have had one or two software investments, but they were thinking about technology broadly, and at that time, t…”
First-time scale CEOs lead 70% to 80% of Vista acquisitions
“Probably 70, 80% of the companies that we buy is led by someone that this is the largest company either they've been in or the largest company they've ever led that day.”
Vista has likely executed more cloud migrations than any global institution
“And so I think we've done more of those migrations than probably any institution on the planet today.”
Over 400 executives have completed multiple tours across Vista portfolio companies
“I think it's 400, over 400 executives who've been on their second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth tour of duty at a Vista company.”
Vista's operational reputation yields proprietary, off-market enterprise software deals
“And so that leads to a really interesting deal dynamic for us, which is we get a number of deals that no one ever sees. Because executives will come to us and say, hey, I saw what you did with Jamf, and Ping, and et cetera, and just spectacular performance.”
Traditional 10-year private equity fund lifecycles misfit enterprise software durability
“The construct of our industry is one of invest over five years, return over that next five, and so that's kind of, it was built 30 years ago. I don't think that model really applies specifically to enterprise software.”
Vista's 71-company portfolio generates 92% recurring revenue with 90% retention
“I look at my portfolio today, 71 companies, I think we're 92% recurring revenue, over ninety-plus percent in retention rates with our customer base, and the average customer you have for a decade or more, well, it creates a massive amount of certainty, especia…”
Vista Equity Partners completes approximately 50 to 60 deals per year
“The good news is we work on a lot of companies, probably do 50 deals, 50, 60 deals a year, so they have a lot of, like, completed, which means we're doing multiples of that in evaluation, and so our people have an opportunity to really become expert at underwr…”
Smith mentors the Morehouse class of 2019 via monthly calls
“The benefits that I really derive from this is I have a monthly call with our class, Boar House class of 2019, and engaging with these young men, answering questions about life, engaging on how to solve certain issues that they're facing as young twenty-year-o…”