Overview
Transforming Investing Through Data Science
$33+ Billion
Enterprise value of investments closed
$161+ Billion
Transaction level revenue data analyzed
25 Years
IP and research in data science
Two Six Capital pioneered Data Science for Private Equity in 2013. Backed by 25 years of research from Wharton, the firm was founded on two observations:
Using proprietary technology, we combine large-scale Engineering, Statistics, and Machine learning with one primary objective: Understand and Project Revenue.
Like an horologist who fixes watches, we carefully unpack the minute complications of the revenue drivers of a business. Imagine billions of granular transaction data points moving in different directions from the “bottom up”- by individual customer, product SKU, channel, and segment.
“What Two Six Capital has done is recognize that whether you have 100 customers or 10 million customers, you make profits one customer at a time. In today’s data-rich and fast-computing world, this philosophy is monetizable, and Two Six Capital is using state-of-the-art methods to accomplish it”
– Professor Eric Bradlow, Wharton
This is a moment in time for the private equity industry, similar to when hedge fund quants revolutionized investing in public markets. High performance computing can augment human judgment, giving investors human-machine-like, or “cyborg-like” sophistication. Leveraging the explosion of data and technology, private equity investors can unmask the intrinsic performance of a company. These advanced analytics applications are relevant across the entire deal lifecycle – due diligence, post-investment value creation, and vendor due diligence.
Two Six Capital has advised and co-invested globally with some of the world’s leading private equity firms. These marquee deals include take-private situations, IPOs, corporate carve-outs, secondary market sales, and vendor due diligence.
Applications
Two Six Capital’s technology platform has been purpose-built for the private equity industry. We start by identifying commercial hypotheses around growth, quality of customers, products, and channels. Relevant industries include Consumer, Retail, TMT, Business Services, Financial Services, and Industrials to name a few; in short, any company with a large dataset beyond the capabilities of Excel.
Two Six works closely with investment deal teams, boards, management teams, and operating partners. Our outputs are used by investment committees, lenders, ratings agencies, and LPs. We also work with deal teams to help construct their financial model, providing a differentiated view on top-line and gross margin build.
During due diligence, our data science approach can help de-risk investments by ensuring companies make their short-term numbers. Companies that miss their numbers after a deal closes can sap private equity investors’ attention to make up for the deficit needed to hit IRR thresholds.
Post-investment, our data driven value creation approach can quantify upside between best and worst customers, SKUs, and channel segments. These white space opportunities can be benchmarked across different metrics and industries using our systematized data comps.
As portfolio companies are primed for sale, we can help sellers in a vendor due diligence process. Using data, we can identify optimal time for exit and untapped upside for prospective buyers.
Technology
The Two Six Technology Platform requires zero on-premise software installation or systems integration. Two Six products harness the power of large scale Engineering and Statistics/Machine Learning libraries built on academic research and internal R&D. These products have four capabilities
Remotely ingest billions of data points with minimal delay. Compatible with variety of ERP, CRM, BI, BoS, DW, and DB enterprise systems. Detect and fix transaction data quality issues to minimize “garbage in garbage out” situations.
Wrangle data using a giant pivot table in the cloud, unbounded by column or row limitations. Slice and dice data by any combination of cohorts and business drivers. Pinpoint key segments contributing to volatility in company performance.
Project growth, repeat, and spend across key segments. Quantify TAM (addressable market), market saturation, and headroom for growth. Depict “what if” scenarios based on changes in macro or micro conditions (e.g., recession, marketing spend).
Gauge performance using proprietary comps curated from $161 billion of “digital receipts” data. Over 140 metrics analyzed across 5 industries worldwide. Mean, median, and mode value creation as well as untapped upside benchmarked across metrics and industries.
Team
Our roots are firmly grounded in academic research from Wharton. We collaborate on IP development with leading PhDs and professors who have pioneered the emerging field of Analytics. Two Six Capital is proud to serve on the Advisory Board for Wharton Customer Analytics (WCA). WCA and Two Six are promoting a new generation of business leaders—smart millennials who combine business critical thinking with a love for statistics and writing code.
Our firm culture is a hybrid of “Silicon Valley” and “Wall Street”. Our team comprises PE investors, consultants, data scientists, and software engineers. We strive to build a tightly knit team that is supportive, collegial, and professional. When we are not working on live deals or R&D initiatives, we like to enjoy the best of life in San Francisco on “Mandatory Fun Days”.
The firm invests time for people development through executive coaching, business school-style case study workshops, technology meetups, and knowledge management. We have a “Summer of Code” tradition at the firm where college interns work on specific R&D initiatives to drive technology platform improvements.
Advisors
News
Virtual Data Conference Sep 2020
Eagle Alpha
Data Science, M&A, and COVID-19
Harris Williams
Time to Find Your Inner Cyborg...?
Private Equity Wire
Realizing the Growth Potential of AI
Forbes
How Data Analytics Is (Slowly) Transforming Private Equity
Knowledge@Wharton
HBS VCPE Conference Recap - Why Data Science Will Improve, Not Replace, Human Judgment
Medium
We think of ourselves as cyborgs’: Why the future of investing may be half-human, half-machine
LinkedIn
Private Equity’s Impending Disruption
Private Equity International
How Private Equity Firms Are Hiring Data Scientists and Analysts
Business Insider
Alternative Data Summit 2020 - San Francisco
Neudata
Alternative Data Conference: Private Equity Stream - Harnessing The Power Of Portfolio Company Data
Eagle Alpha
How Private Equity & Venture Investors Are Using Technology to Accelerate Returns
Harvard Business School Club of New York
How private equity firms are creating value through digital transformation
London Business School
Podcast Episode 31 – Two Six Capital
Private Equity Technology Podcast
Two Six Capital Advises Montagu Private Equity on Universal-Investment Acquisition of CAPinside
Montagu
Two Six Capital Advises Baring Private Equity Asia on Acquisition of Acuon Capital
Business Wire
KKR is creating a new role overseeing its data strategy as private equity giants bet high-tech analysis will give them an investing edge
Business Insider
Five Questions with Sajjad Jaffer of Two Six Capital
PE Hub
Using Big Data Analytics to Enhance Private Equity’s ROI
RStudio
Q&A with Ian Picache, Managing Partner, and Sajjad Jaffer, Managing Partner, Two Six Capital
BackBay Communications
Private Equity Turns to Big Data to Find Deals
Wall Street Journal
Private equity firms embrace big data: Two Six Capital, Oak Hill, Clarion
Mergers & Acquisitions
Blackstone Data Science Team Takes Shape
FundFire
Co-Investor Groups on Rise, Driving Capital to Deals
FundFire
Big Data: Too Popular for its Own Good
Institutional Investor
The Pony Here
Wharton Magazine
Sajjad Jaffer ’95 & Chunyi Zhao’ 15: Asking the Right Questions
Bowdoin Magazine
Data Science Powering Private Equity
Wharton Magazine