Software, AI, and the Next Innovation Cycle: A Conversation With David Breach (EP.41)

**Alex Cavallari** (0:00)
Welcome to the CAIS Live Conversations podcast. I'm your host, Alex Cavallari, Chief Marketing Officer here at CAIS. We are the leading alternative investment platform for the independent wealth community. In these conversations, I'll sit down with industry participants from asset management executives to RIA and IBD leaders to uncover their insights and stories that may be driving the growth in the world of alts.
Each episode, we take a deep dive into the views of those who are breaking down the barriers and making alternative investments accessible to financial advisors.
In this episode, listeners get a look inside the discussions we bring to advisors at our CAIS Live events. At CAIS Live South, Brad Walker, our co-president, sat down with Vista Equity Partners, David Breach, to explore the macro signals David sees shaping portfolios today. From shifting rates and inflation dynamics to geopolitical uncertainty, they discuss what David believes advisors should be watching as they think about allocation. Let's get into the conversation. The views and opinions expressed by the speakers herein are as of the date recorded and solely reflect the views and opinions of the speaker and not necessarily the views of CAIS or the broader financial industry. This podcast does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy, sell, or hold any securities, financial products, or services on behalf of CAIS, its affiliates, or any third-party investment managers, their affiliates, or strategies. This podcast is provided for informational purposes only and is intended for an audience of investment professionals.

**Brad Walker** (1:24)
This is a fun session. I've had the chance to get to know David for the last couple of years, and his story is out of this world. For those that don't know David, David is the president of Vista Equity Partners, and he wears a lot of hats at Vista.
So I'm really excited to have this conversation with you, David. Thank you.

**David Breach** (1:41)
It's great to be here.

**Brad Walker** (1:42)
If you don't mind, let's just jump right into this.

**David Breach** (1:44)
Let's do it.

**Brad Walker** (1:45)
So David, I had a good chance, we had dinner the other night, and I asked him a question. Tell me something unique about you that many people don't know.
David graduated high school at the age of 16 years old, went on, paid his way through high school as a salesperson, went on to graduate Michigan Law, which I think everybody would agree is probably not the typical private equity journey. No. What drove you to get to where you are today? What was that driving factor?

**David Breach** (2:18)
Yeah. So it's interesting. I mean, I just had a very non-traditional background. My parents did not graduate high school, they grew up in a rural part of Canada and dropped out of school to support their families back in the day. So my parents just taught me the value of hard work and grit and determination. I'm the middle child with two brothers, so they taught me another level of grit and determination.
I guess just throughout my career, I've always been in search for where is my ceiling, putting, I think earlier some talked about being in uncomfortable situation, just putting myself in situations to see what I can do and not being afraid of change. Each of the times that I made a big career pivot, whether it was like being a food salesman and going back to law school, whether it was being a lawyer in Detroit and entering the private equity world with Kirkland and Ellis and then ultimately joining Vista, I was just willing to see what I can do. There's this expression we've all, don't be afraid of failure. I was not so motivated by not being afraid of failure, but just I want to go see what I can do and just the work ethic that my parents taught me was something that just helped me drive along.
I think I've been coming up on my 30-year wedding anniversary, hard to believe. I think my wife would tell you that through 30 years of really hard work, I've just really enjoyed and had fun on the journey, and I just have a very deep sense of gratitude for what I get to do every day.

**Brad Walker** (3:53)
By the way, that comes out. You can see the humbleness in you as I've gotten to know you. So, all right, we're all thinking the same thing. Salesperson, lawyer, investor, which one of those three made you better at the other two?

**David Breach** (4:08)
For sure. I'm sure everyone in the audience would agree being a salesperson. Sure. Learning at a young age, I was 19 when I got my first full-time sales job, and having the ability to get up every day with enthusiasm, knowing you're going to get told no 37 times to try and get that one yes, and being able to accept that and self-motivate and do that, and also learning, which is obviously all of you do it for a living, like learning to how to understand what your client or your customer's needs are and what you can do, or your company can do to fulfill that. Like a lot of people go in and like I'm going to sell you what I'm here to sell you, as opposed to understanding what do you need and how can I help you.