Guest: Greg Moran – Multi-exit founder, investor, and Managing Partner at Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners Host: Alex Rawlings, Founder of Raw Selection ⏱️ Timestamps & Topics 00:00 – Introduction to Greg Moran Alex welcomes Greg Moran, a multi-exit founder turned investor, and Managing Partner at Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners. Greg introduces his background in scaling businesses, raising $500M+ in capital, and his current focus on future-of-work technologies. 01:29 – Biggest Mistakes in Private Equity & Venture Greg highlights two major missteps: Private Equity: Disrespecting existing leadership and stripping company culture. Venture Capital: Failing to deeply understand a founder's motivations under pressure. 03:51 – Behavioral Due Diligence: The Adaptive Innovator Greg explains how Evergreen Mountain uses a proprietary founder archetype model based on studying 100+ founders with multiple 9-figure exits. 📘 Book: The Adaptive Innovator 🔬 Assessment Tool: theadaptiveinnovator.ai 06:11 – The Four Pillars of the Adaptive Innovator Model Creative Resilience – Performing better under pressure Balanced Risk-Taking – Small experiments lead to bold moves Humble Assertiveness – Leading without being the loudest voice Strategic Accountability – Owning failures and empowering teams 09:09 – How the Assessment Works Greg walks through the free assessment's design—competency-based and situational judgment questions that help reveal how founders respond under real pressure. 11:37 – From Operator to Investor: The Shift Greg discusses the personal challenge of moving from "solver" to "sounding board" and helping founders overcome small thinking and incrementalism. 15:01 – Scaling Requires Talent Transformation Once you think bigger, the next hurdle is team capability. Greg discusses the importance of upgrading talent and how average hires dilute culture and repel A-players. 18:26 – “Hire Fire and the Walking Dead” Greg's framework on talent management: Hiring is easy Firing the clearly bad is manageable The real issue? Keeping the “walking dead” – the average, inoffensive underperformers who drain momentum. 20:21 – Coaching Founders Through Tough Talent Calls Greg explains his approach as an investor: gently keeping the conversation alive, helping founders reach the inevitable realization themselves. 🗣️ Anecdote: The "5-second hesitation test" from a former board member. 31:27 – Recommended Reading & Interests 📖 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – a yearly re-read for Greg 🎒 Outdoor adventure and Alaska documentaries (his son is a bush pilot) 32:52 – How to Connect with Greg Moran 🌐 Website: gregmoran.me 🧠 Assessment: theadaptiveinnovator.ai 💼 Fund: emep.io 🔗 LinkedIn: Greg Moran 📺 YouTube & X (formerly Twitter): Active channels for the docuseries and insights 🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/ 🌐 Visit Raw Selection: www.raw-selection.com Looking to grow your team? Check out our Hiring Guides for proven strategies, templates, and best practices to make smarter hires.
