In this episode, we sit down with Mike Rubel, Managing Partner at RFE Investment Partners, to discuss the firm’s long-standing approach to small buyout investing and its recent successful succession plan. Mike shares how RFE continues to stay true to its founding principles while evolving to meet the needs of founder-led businesses poised for transformational growth. Founded in 1979, RFE is a private equity firm with over $800 million in assets under management, focused exclusively on building market-leading platforms in the lower middle market. Now investing out of its ninth fund, RFE partners with management teams to scale businesses from $25–75 million in revenue to $150 million and beyond—addressing key challenges like building out senior leadership, modernizing sales processes, and upgrading operational systems along the way. Mike joined RFE in 2009 and brings prior experience from Weston Presidio and Harris Williams. He holds degrees from James Madison and Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. Tune in to hear Mike’s perspective on investing in people-first cultures, minimizing capital structure constraints, and why consistency in strategy has been RFE’s greatest asset over four decades. Feel free to reach out to me at zev.zaretsky@sierracapital.com if you’d like to be connected with Mike.