John Messer is the founder of Copilot Capital, a lower mid market SaaS investor.

John has spent a decade in private equity in the UK, including roles at Inflexion, Alchemy Partners and Tenzing, almost exclusively focused on software buyouts. In 2023, he founded Copilot Capital, which invests in founder led SaaS businesses in Europe. Copilot's first fund is now almost fully deployed, with investments in Sweden, Denmark and the UK.

In this conversation, we talked about:

• John's unusual route into private equity
• The “SaaSpocalypse” and how AI is reshaping software investing
• How AI could change the structure of private equity deal teams
• When founders should step back from the CEO role
• The trade-offs of taking seed capital as an emerging manager
• Why zombie funds may create new opportunities for specialist managers
• And of course, what John thinks success will look like for Copilot

First Close is powered by Langham Hall, the award winning provider of fund services to global emerging managers.

Mark Williams is the co-founder and managing partner of Goldenpeak, one of the most exciting private equity firms to have launched in recent years.

Mark began his career in investment banking at Close Brothers, before holding key investment roles at Bank of America, Sovereign Capital and most recently Inflexion.

At Inflexion, he was responsible for the sourcing, execution and management of private equity investments between £25 – 100m across business services, data and information, and education sectors. Most notably, Mark led Inflexion Partnership Capital’s most successful ever deal, reported to have generated almost 6x return in just 18 months.

In 2025, he co-founded Goldenpeak with ex-Houlihan Lokey banker Leon Gillespie, raising the debut fund at £375m, and hitting the hard cap in just 12 weeks.

In this conversation, we talked about:

• How Mark began a career in Private Equity
• The key factors that made such a fast fundraise possible, and the challenges along the way
• Where there is value to be found in the current market
• Building a high performing team
• And of course, what Mark thinks success will look like for Goldenpeak

First Close is powered by Langham Hall, the award winning provider of fund services to global emerging managers.

Each episode, Tom will sit down with emerging managers and the people who back, advise, and work alongside them — talking honestly about what it really takes to build a private equity firm from scratch. The fundraises, the failures, and the moments that define whether a first-time fund becomes a lasting franchise.

Episode 1 is coming soon. Hit follow to be the first to know when it drops.

First Close is powered by Langham Hall.