Brendan Renehan

Specialized Focus on Enterprise Software

Before joining Vista, I was more of a generalist, assessing investment opportunities across industries, from healthcare to chemicals and everything in between. The opportunity to specialize in enterprise software and technology-enabled businesses – the area I was always most interested in – was one of the biggest draws for me in choosing Vista.

It became evident early on that Vista believes that to be the best partner and execute on opportunities, we have to provide more than just capital; it’s about working alongside our partners from day one. To see a deal go from a potential investment to signing and then watch it continue to grow is incredibly rewarding.

Fostering Intellectual Curiosity

My job is not easy to describe, and I love that. I get to take on several different roles and responsibilities throughout the investment lifecycle. For me though, one of the most enriching parts of my job is the “everything else” that I do outside of investing capital. I am fortunate to have helped recruit many of our Credit team members and to now be in a position to help them manage not only their day-to-day responsibilities, but to help them think about their careers and the opportunity set at large within Vista. And this experience isn’t exclusive to me. Vista encourages its employees to take advantage of opportunities and share their unique expertise — that’s how we, as a firm, can continue to evolve.

When you look across Vista, you’ll see a mosaic of backgrounds and experiences. But a common thread is deep intellectual curiosity. In my experience, people who are naturally intellectually curious experience the full value of being part of the Vista ecosystem because they’re able to quickly get up to speed on Vista’s processes and approach, all the while bringing their own ideas and perspectives to the table. And that desire to constantly learn and improve isn’t something that can be taught.

Embracing the Unknown

I try to spend a lot of my spare time fly fishing. And in fly fishing, there’s no such thing as a wasted cast, which is a lesson that I think can also be applied to your personal and professional life. Even if you throw a cast in the wrong spot, you learn something that will improve your next cast. Just because something isn’t guaranteed or doesn’t turn out the way you wanted doesn’t mean it wasn’t valuable.

Experience, knowledge and success are gained by taking risks and learning from the outcomes, good or bad. I would say, particularly for those beginning their careers, don’t be afraid to take risks. See each opportunity or each position as a building block for where you want to be in your career. No career is a straight line, so embrace the detours and the unknown.