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Once upon a time, when I was a banker, one of my responsibilities was to come up with actionable ideas for companies that private equity firms could invest in or buy outright. This was decades ago, mind you, when private equity firms were known as L.B.O. businesses—very small and entrepreneurial shops filled with partners willing to listen to a banker who might have a random idea that could be spun into gold for their L.P.s or G.P.s. It was a weird assignment: If the idea hit, the unstated arrangement was that the firm would hire me and the bank to advise on the deal and provide financing.
