Mark Johnson

1 appearance on the record.

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founderinvestorexecutiveastracapitalmgmt.com ↗

Mark Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Descartes Labs. He spoke at Data Driven NYC in February 2018 regarding data and machine intelligence.

9statements → 2claims → 0claims resolved → 3.78/5average certainty → 1.78/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated →

1 not yet assessed 1 not checkable as stated how the 2 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

1 prediction · 1 assertion · 1 opinion · 5 insights · 1 disclosure · every statement was checked. The prediction and assertion are the 2 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 0 are resolved, 1 is not yet assessed, and 1 names no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Mark argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of Mark Johnson on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

What they said9 Episodes1

Everything Mark Johnson said on Capital Allocators that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Insight

Johnson: Complementary partners, not capital or ideas, bottleneck new PE firms

“The number one limiting reagent in starting a new private equity firm. It isn't capital. It isn't investment ideas. It's other skilled investors that are complimentary to you that are great people that you can work closely with.”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 15:06 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Insight

Johnson: First-time PE managers should focus on deals to attract aligned LPs

“The way I think about it and the advice I give others who are beginning that journey is you want to focus on the deal making. Focus on the type of deals that you think you and your firm are suited to do. That will attract the types of investors that are lookin…”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 17:52 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Prediction Not checkable as stated

Johnson: In-building wireless infrastructure will be a major mobility growth area

“We think that one of the major growth areas in going forward in mobility is the in-building world.”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 29:38 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Opinion

Johnson: 5G is best suited for low-latency indoor industrial environments

“The rise of five G technology actually is best suited for in-building environments where low latency is required and the capacity to monitor a propeller as it's built or monitor a robot as it's picking and packing on a factory or shop floor is something that w…”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 29:45 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Insight

Johnson: PE firms must foster portfolio independence or risk holding forever

“I always say we plan to exit these investments for ourselves and our investors. And if we don't foster independence, then we'll own them forever.”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 37:00 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Disclosure

Johnson: Astra prefers utilizing co-investments over raising larger funds for $100M deals

“We bring a lot of co-invest into our deals today because what we're really trying to do is perfect the art of doing the types of deals that we do. And regardless of the size of our fund at a given time, what we want to do are a handful every year of great deal…”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 40:31 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Insight

Johnson: Mega-cap PE club deals died because fund growth enabled solo buyouts

“And I think that's why as those firms began to grow, you saw a little bit less and less of it because there was more competition going on than there was real value creation because everyone could do the deal pretty much themselves.”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 46:19 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Assertion Not publicly verifiable

Johnson: 100% debt-financed Park Communications deal generated $200M profit on zero equity

“I started in investment banking, and then while I was at Merrill Lynch, I worked on a deal called Park Communications. It was an odd communications Broadcasting company that was owned by two entrepreneurs with 100% debt, and we were in the process of refinanci…”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 3:56 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Insight

Johnson: Emerging private equity firms must resist the pressure to chase volume

“It sometimes seems when you start a business that is a private equity firm and your product is deal making, the impetus is to say, well, let's go do some deals because that's the product we need to go produce. But the inherent tension that everyone needs to un…”

Mark Johnson May 6, 2021 ▶ 46:59 Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (Capital Allocators, EP.193)

Appearances (1)

Episode	Date	Speaking time
Innovation in Private Markets 2: Mark Johnson – New Leaders in Private Equity at Astra (C	May 6, 2021	42m

Mark Johnson

The record, in short

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Appearances (1)

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