Kevin McArdle is on a mission to build a better private equity firm. Working with two other tech industry veterans and friends, McArdle launched Big Band Software in late 2022 and has been targeting software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. Whereas many private equity firms tend to buy and quickly flip businesses, McArdle plans to hang on to his purchases for as long as possible: “If you do all this work to buy a company, grow it, and make it even better, why sell it?” So far, Big Band has purchased two companies, with plans to acquire at least two more before year’s end.

Return to TCB 100 for 2024