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A recent blog post sparked an unexpected wave of conversations, questions, and concerns about private equity—and this bonus episode dives deeper into the topic.
In this special edition of Nobody Listens to Chasta, Chasta and John explore what private equity is, how it operates, and why more people are beginning to pay attention to its growing influence across industries. From dance studios and veterinary practices to restaurants, healthcare providers, retail chains, media organizations, and even college athletics, they discuss how private equity has become a significant force shaping modern business and consumer experiences.
This conversation examines ownership, transparency, entrepreneurship, innovation, community impact, and the importance of understanding who controls the organizations and services we interact with every day. Whether you're a business owner, parent, educator, artist, entrepreneur, or simply a curious consumer, this episode encourages critical thinking, research, and meaningful dialogue about an increasingly important topic.
Read Chasta's blog:
https://chastahamilton.com
https://chastahamilton.com
00:00 – Why this bonus episode was necessary
00:45 – The response to "Is Dance the New Playground for Private Equity?"
01:30 – Why the article generated strong reactions
02:00 – Reporting versus opinion
02:45 – Why private equity is becoming a bigger concern
03:30 – Defining private equity in simple terms
04:20 – Holding companies, funds, and ownership structures
05:00 – Public markets versus private equity
05:45 – The role of profit and investor returns
07:00 – Exit strategies, legacy, and business acquisitions
08:00 – A real-world story from the veterinary industry
08:45 – Why understanding ownership matters
09:30 – Transparency challenges and information gaps
10:15 – Innovation versus acquisition
11:00 – How private equity impacts entrepreneurs
12:00 – The changing definition of business success
13:00 – Economic influence and market consolidation
13:45 – Favorite brands and private equity ownership
14:30 – Why consumers should research ownership
15:00 – When private equity first entered the conversation
16:00 – How awareness has changed since 2021
17:00 – The challenge of discovering acquisitions
18:00 – Signs that ownership may have changed
19:00 – Why students and young professionals should learn about private equity
20:00 – Everyday examples of acquisition and consolidation
21:00 – Toys R Us, retail, and changing consumer experiences
22:00 – Pet care, pharmacies, and service industries
23:00 – Private equity and college athletics
24:00 – Ownership, incentives, and conflicts of interest
25:00 – University funding and organizational change
26:00 – Beauty services, healthcare, and local businesses
27:00 – Journalism, media ownership, and information access
28:00 – Legal challenges, antitrust concerns, and consolidation
28:30 – Book recommendations for learning more
Books Mentioned
• Bad Company by Megan Greenwell
• The Problem of Twelve by John Coates
Subscribe for more conversations that challenge assumptions, encourage curiosity, and explore the issues shaping our communities and culture.
Creators and Guests
What is Nobody Listens to Chasta?
What happens when someone says the things everyone else is thinking—but nobody is willing to say out loud?
Nobody Listens to Chasta is a counterculture podcast hosted by entrepreneur, speaker, and author Chasta Hamilton. With humor, candor, and unapologetic honesty, Chasta tackles the uncomfortable topics shaping modern life—from youth sports trophies and toxic achievement culture to entrepreneurship, parenting, grief, addiction, and the pressure to conform.
Drawing from her experience building Stage Door Dance Productions, founding Girls Geared for Greatness, and writing books like Trash the Trophies and Handle the Horrible, Chasta challenges systems that no longer serve us and explores better ways to live, lead, and raise the next generation.
Expect bold conversations, unconventional perspectives, and thoughtful debate designed to inspire healthier, happier, and more intentional lives.
If you've ever questioned the status quo…
you might be someone who actually listens to Chasta.
13 - Nobody Listens to Chasta
===
Chasta: [00:00:00] hi, this is Chasta, and this is Nobody Listens to Chasta, but we are here with a special episode today because so many of you listened. I recently released a blog post called Is Dance the New Playground for Private Equity? And so many of you shared your thoughts, concerns, comments, questions about private equity.
I had previously recorded a general private equity episode about some of our past experiences, but the last two weeks have proven that we need to talk about it a little more. So to start this conversation, I have my nearest and dearest, who has lived in the midst of my private equity research and interest for years, my husband, John.
John: That's me, and also someone who manages your website. I saw quite the spike [00:01:00] once that little blog post came out. Yeah. So people are certainly taking notice. You were kind- Not everybody was happy, but yeah ...
Chasta: you were kind of surprised.
John: Look, I do not wanna ever be put in a scenario where you think I'm underestimating you.
It is simply my identity as a realist. Yeah. I am... It's always gonna be I can see the pessimistic side of things. I can see where things go wrong, but there are a lot of people that need to hear a little bit more about this, I think.
Chasta: Well, what I really appreciated is I let you read it, obviously, before it was published.
John: Ah, yes. And- Chief editor as well, another thing I do, yes ...
Chasta: and you were so complimentary of it. I was. You said, "
John: I
Chasta: think a lot of people really need to know this."
John: Yeah, 'cause there were a lot of people that didn't want people to know this, I gotta say.
Chasta: Yes, yes. That's what I found out. John also, John also sees the emails that come into our inbox.
Yeah. So sometimes, you know, he, he sees those when they come in. And, and it did create a stir, and I always think when, when we don't want people to know something, why?
John: Yeah. And [00:02:00] I just really liked that... And I knew that you were thinking about this going into it, but the piece, if you haven't read it, check out chastahamilton.com.
You'll see it right there. You were just reporting. There was no like- Mm-hmm ... it wasn't your opinion of something. Mm-hmm. You were just reporting things.
Chasta: I do have an opinion.
John: Yeah, I know that- But- ... you do have an opinion- ... but in terms of this piece- And that
Chasta: one- ... it was reporting ... I was really focused on one I've been watching, right?
John: I mean- Oh, this is a piece that you'd been working on for over a year.
Chasta: Yeah, and that I've been watching really since 2020, as we've, these conversations started, and it just, it really felt like nobody wanted to listen, um, or nobody wanted to believe or understand. And then even just from where we were having this conversation in spring of 2025 to where it's gotten now, to see, oh, this, this, this, this, this, this, this is now part of this- It is, it is jarring.
It's jarring, especially because it impacts my personal professional space
John: Oh, yeah. And it's- And
Chasta: I have a child- Yeah, that's the thing ... that loves this space ...
John: it's, it's, it's-
Chasta: And it's all the children ... beginning
John: to impact children.
Chasta: [00:03:00] Yes, yes. I was just- My child, all the children, and it's deeply concerning.
John: Yeah. So I thought you and Sarah did such a tremendous job talking about it on the dance side of things. Mm-hmm. And I, you know, in sort of our collaboration, was thinking since there aren't a whole lot of really clear definitions- Yeah, there really aren't ... of what private equity is, um, which, you know, maybe that's by design, maybe it's not.
Maybe we need to talk with our listeners a little bit more about just, like, how it works.
Chasta: How it works. Right? Yeah. So it's very ... It is, it is complicated, and I often wonder this. I've actually just been reading a book, I'm gonna recommend some books at the end of the episode to help people kind of, you know, sharpen their knowledge a little more about the ins and outs.
Um, interestingly enough, we didn't learn about this in high school economics. I don't know if you did or not. I didn't take- Did you take high school economics? I never
John: took any econ classes, believe it or not. High school, college, kindergarten, none. So ...
Chasta: Yeah. And that, and that is a big concern, right? Is w- why don't we have an understanding?
Is that by design?
John: [00:04:00] I don't know.
Chasta: So, so I'm gonna give ... So basically, you have a fund that, that people have contributed to, or entities have contributed to, so you have a holding company. Yep. Right? And this is, this is a very generalized explanation. Yeah. We need, we need-
John: And it's, that's the thing, is they're all generalized- Yes
is it could be people. It's very
Chasta: generalized.
John: It could be groups of funds.
Chasta: Yeah.
John: It could be other companies- Yes ... investing into another company.
Chasta: Exactly. It's very, what's the word?
John: Deregulated?
Chasta: Nondescript. Do you- Oh.
John: Non- Non-descript ... descript, okay.
Chasta: Yeah, but there is no regulation. That's the thing. There's no reporting, so there are all these loopholes.
So it can be anonymous, um, it can be in holding companies. You really have to dig deep to try to figure out what is happening with what. It's not easy to come by.
John: That was the biggest thing I was gonna hit on, right? So when we all think about the stock market, and we are investing in publicly traded companies- Right.
There's regulation ... which
Chasta: the government regulates-
John: Mm-hmm ... to what degree they regulate [00:05:00] them, you know, everybody has different feelings about that, but they are regulated.
Chasta: Yes.
John: Right? And so this is a way to invest your money in something- That's already- ... in the private sector ...
Chasta: that's already been created.
John: Yep.
Chasta: So there's no innovation.
John: That is another thing that I did wanna talk about, is-
Chasta: Yeah, it's on my list of things to talk about too ... in
John: this world that we live in today, it's very hard to create things. Um-
Chasta: It's very hard ...
John: it costs a lot of money to build a business. Mm-hmm. It is a lot of time. So why do that if you have the money to buy businesses that- Yep
already exist?
Chasta: Exactly. So you can buy what exists, and then, when you're part of these funds, these holding companies, you can also get out with minimal accountability And so then there's not a whole lot of skin in the game for excellence, or, you know, whatever happens, happens.
John: Especially if you've got thousands of companies, and you just, one of them goes under.
Oh, that's okay. Yeah. The other 999 are still going. But
Chasta: what is, but what is the number one goal? [00:06:00] There is w- a number one goal here, and no matter what they say here, there, or anywhere, the number one goal for private equity is money.
John: If it is- Right? ... a share- if it is a group of investments, people putting money into something, they wanna see money come out of it.
Chasta: That's right. That is, that, and you know-
John: If you are telling me on the publicly traded side that you are investing in Microsoft or Facebook because you just really hope that they treat their employees so kindly, and I just think they're gonna do amazing things for the world, and spiritually captivate all of us, and the world will be s-...
No. You're looking for the money.
Chasta: Yeah, the money. And so that is what this is, and it's really frustrating, especially in the space I work in, that they continue to try to shift the narrative in other ways, when at the end of the day, like, just stand in it. Take ownership. Call it what it is.
John: Now, look, for someone in your position, they sure can make it [00:07:00] sound exciting, right?
Oh,
Chasta: absolutely.
John: A, a great retirement plan. Yes. An exit strategy for all the hard work that you've put into this over the y- A legacy ... A legacy.
Chasta: And, you know, and I've spoken to several of these companies. When they were really trying to recruit and buy the company a couple years ago, I know you remember this.
John: It sounds nice.
Chasta: It, it, you know, sticker, at the sticker value, yeah. It's like, yeah, you know, let's cash out. Let's call it a day. But then it's like, wait, should we? And I'll tell you, I was working with a wedding couple. I don't know if you remember this or not, but they were getting married, and I was helping them with their wedding dance.
And I had just become really interested in this topic, and we were talking about our concerns. And I said, "You know, I just, I've been thinking about private equity a lot," which I know is an interesting thing to come up in a wedding lesson. And the groom, he goes, "Yeah, you should be." He said, "My mo-" He's, he was from the Northeast, and he said, "My mom had a vet practice, and it was acquired by private equity, and within a year they shut it, [00:08:00] closed."
And he was like, "And it's gone, and all of her work that she invested in it is now gone."
John: And look, I mean, we're not out here saying that, "Oh, all private equity- No ... acquisitions are bad, and it's always gonna be terrible." There's lots of, you know, success stories, I'm sure. But-
Chasta: It depends on what you're looking for in success Yeah But yeah, priorities and alignment differ.
John: Yeah.
Chasta: So this is, and I- we've talked about this in, you know, other topics and episodes about our values. Where do your values stand, and where do you want that to lead? I think that's really important, and I think that's important when you're having this conversation. The number one thing is people don't know, right?
People don't know. Even people in the companies, they don't know. Um, this, this, and one of my book recommendations that I'm going to give, and this is from 2023, so who knows what these numbers are like now, said one out of eight or nine people in the US are employed by [00:09:00] private equity. You know, that means their checks come from private equity, and some of, most, some, most don't even know.
They don't even know.
John: That's not even slightly surprising, given-
Chasta: It's not ...
John: how hard I have had to work to learn about this.
Chasta: Yeah.
John: Of course, the people working for it, they're just, I mean, they probably have no clue.
Chasta: And I'm sure there's NDAs involved. The only thing that I do know is that I have never signed one, which was something that was spreading on the internet last year, that I had an NDA with private equity and was in violation of it, which is, A, not true.
I just wanna put that out there. But I'm sure that there are NDAs, right? So that there are people on the inside maybe can't be transparent or disclose. I don't know. What do you think?
John: I think you're probably right, but I also just think there's so little... I keep coming back to the, to the fact that there's so little information-
Chasta: Mm-hmm
John: out there about it, and I think that is by design. That's an opinion. That's my opinion, but that is what I think.
Chasta: Well, and as, as I was [00:10:00] studying this, it's often, like, oftentimes it's not even announced. Like, you may not know a business has been- When an
John: acquisition happens,
Chasta: right? Yeah, yeah. Or it may be l- or it's already, you know, signed and done and in the history books- Yeah
by the time you
John: find out. And if it has happened, you have to dig deep into layers of a website to figure out.
Chasta: Yes, yes, yes. You have to really use those research skills, which are those still being taught in school?
John: I don't know.
Chasta: I feel like I got really good research skills. Is typing something into ChatGPT a good research skill?
John: No. Yeah, I don't think so. That's
Chasta: not gonna, that's not gonna get you to this answer. No. I'll tell you that right now. So innovation, that's a huge concern, right? Because it's, the focus is becoming on acquisition and scalability within an ecosystem that already exists. So now as those ecosystems grow and expand and get larger, it makes it even harder to enter into the market, right?
So I started my studio at 22 years old. Would a 22-year-old living in a peak private equity market, which would be a major metro area, want to do that [00:11:00] if the area was being operated by these companies that clearly have, like, a much higher capability of, say, Google spend, right? Or just a breadth of awareness of SEO and AIO.
That is going to complicate entry. So where are the entrepre- like, what are the entrepreneurs going to do? Because the entrepreneurial mind, I don't think wants to jump into private equity, or my entrepreneurial mind doesn't want to. Maybe there are some that do.
John: I I don't know. I think you might be a little disconnected from, like, what the 22-year-old entrepreneurial mind looks like right now.
Chasta: Right now. But- Oh, well, you know, I'm, I'm glad you mentioned that because I spoke on an entrepreneurial panel- Yeah ... recently, and it was very, like, VC, PE, and I guess I was representing, like, scrappy small business. And I said, "I don't understand why, why it feels like it has to be this, why it has to be build, grow, sell.
Why can't it also be creation for passion, purpose, [00:12:00] impact, legacy," all those things we, we really prioritize with what we do.
John: Yeah, and how quickly people are willing to dilute their own ownership of something to get money, right? Yes. Like, people are selling their entire company away before it's even finished built.
Chasta: Yeah.
John: The business is not even built yet. Um-
Chasta: Absolutely. So yeah, that market entry, like, I, I want people to feel like they can still get into the market and succeed. I think the, the counter-narrative would be, well, you can come in as a manager and have all your benefits right from the get-go. But at the end of the day it doesn't seem as true to the American dream, if you will. Hmm. And I know we can talk about how that maybe has shifted a lot. But if you're looking at these private equity funds, they have a huge impact on economic, the economic, um, function of our country, and they have a huge impact on the government function of our country.
And [00:13:00] those two things separately, there's a lot of reading you can do. There's especially a lot of reading out of Harvard Law about this. But it is very interesting to see the impact. Like, it, this isn't siloed. Like, it's not just like, "Oh, well we just have a few dance competitions." It's like, okay, well you do, but then all of these places have all of this, and the scene has shifted significantly.
John: Yeah.
Chasta: And so much of this has happened since 2020. There has been a huge acceleration since 2020. Have, do you agree?
John: Yeah, I think we, um, both noticed that one of our favorite brands had been acquired by private equity since 2020.
Chasta: I know.
John: And we are actually wearing different footwear today. Yeah. I think.
I
Chasta: actually had, I had to go through a lot of shoes to find footwear today. And
John: I'm, I'm actually, the shoes I'm wearing, you know, I'm not a foot model on here or anything, I don't know if that's why we're getting views, but they're actually from a publicly traded company, but wouldn't you know that the largest shareholders in this publicly- Yeah
traded company are private equity. Oh,
Chasta: of course.
John: So-
Chasta: Yes ...
John: what do
Chasta: you know? I know. I know. Is
John: it better? No, not really.
Chasta: I, [00:14:00] it's, when you go into this cycle of how has the landscape shifted, it's fascinating. Like, you'll be like, "Oh, I'm just gonna look and see." And a lot of these-
John: Please look and see, though. Yes.
Please. Please do your own
Chasta: research-
John: Yes ... and look up. You will be shocked, if you're able to find it, how many places that you might go in your everyday life.
Chasta: And if you can't find it, reach out and ask. Yeah. And we'll see if we can. But it is, knowledge is power. And to look around and say, "Oh my gosh, this has changed so much," if there's somewhere that there might be a trail of money, there is likely some of this behind it.
John: Follow the money and see where it goes.
Chasta: So obviously, you know, taking it back to the Founding Fathers. It always
John: comes back to
Chasta: Hamilton. It always comes back to Hamilton. [00:15:00] so when, I'm curious, like, when did you really become aware of this?
John: So when I got out of college, um, you know, I would have friends that were in business school at Wake Forest, unlike me, who did political science, and I would hear like, "Oh, I'm working in private equity."
And I abs- at, at, at that point- And
Chasta: did you know what it
John: meant? ... I had absolutely no idea what that meant. I don't think they knew what it meant. I think they probably do now. Um, I didn't really know about it until you started-
Chasta: Getting on ... [00:16:00]
John: digging and digging and getting in ... my soapbox. Yeah. And now I know all about it.
Chasta: Because when nobody listens-
John: So I listen to Chasta You still
Chasta: li- you listen, yeah
John: It's great. I do listen to Chasta. And- You heard it
Chasta: here ... but I even feel, like since this started in 2021 with the first World of Dance thing, where they were like $40 billion industry, you know, it was so offensive, and everybody was enraged by it.
And, but they were all like, "No, this won't happen to dance." And then it's like, oh, it is happening, and it's not only just happening, it's arguably kind of happening from the inside in some ways. Um- So at what point were you like, "Oh, she's right"?
John: Pretty much immediately.
Chasta: Oh. Once I
John: started, like, I heard what you said, and then I did some searching, and I was like- Yeah
"Oh, this is bad." And that was only in 2021. Like you said, the way it's accelerated since that point.
Chasta: Even from '25 to '26. Well, because the thing is, is by the time we get the information, there's no- It's too late ... there's no telling what other [00:17:00] deals are done or in motion- Being done right now ... or already on the table.
Yeah, signed as we speak. So that's, that, I think, is the most fascinating thing is there's... It's, to take it to Hamilton, the room where it happens does not have a lot of people in it.
John: No. And certainly not the people who are maybe making the transactions at the base level of this business, whether it be a meal at a restaurant, a, you know, vet checkup for your pet-
Chasta: Yeah
John: dance lesson.
Chasta: Dentist.
John: HVAC repair.
Chasta: Yep. Those are all on my list. So,
John: there we go.
Chasta: Yeah. And, and I think, what do you think is the first sign that makes you go, "Oh, I'm gonna look up and see if this has been acquired by"... Well, I mean, now we just do it before we even go- Yeah ... 'cause we're, we're trying... And the reality is we cannot get away from it.
John: Yeah.
Chasta: Like, we, I don't think we can not give a dollar to any private equity backed thing. That's just not possible, right,
John: at this
Chasta: [00:18:00] point?
John: I mean, my first sign, the kind of thing I look for is, you know, if your traditional amount of avocado spread or guacamole- ... has reduced by 70 to 80 to 90% per serving on your sandwich, burrito, whatever it may be-
Chasta: You're gonna look it up
John: look it up. Look it up. Could be private equity.
Chasta: And is it often? When, if, when you're triggered by the avocado, is it- If
John: I, so regardless-
Chasta: It always impacts your favorite meal ... of the trigger, the r-
John: the, you know, yes rate of if I looked it up, yes, it's been acquired by private equity is, is probably at least 75%, maybe more.
Chasta: It's, it's so fascinating. And I was recently talking to my dentist about this, 'cause I've just started asking, like, "What does private equity look like in your world?" And the people that know, they know, and they have stories. And some people are just like, "Well, what's private equity?" You know, like some of our students even I've mentioned, like, "What have you heard about private [00:19:00] equity?"
And they'll say, "Well, we haven't talked about it at school. We don't know what it is." And then I actually had a student come back the other day and say, "I really started reading up on private equity." And now I'm ta- um, she even said, "I'm gonna ask my economics teacher to teach us a little more about this."
John: That's awesome. Isn't that awesome? Stage Door
Chasta: Dance student, right? Yes, Stage
John: Door Dance student. Let's go. Come on, y'all. Executive functioning- Yeah. ... learning, we're doing it all.
Chasta: Yeah, but this is stuff we need to know. Yeah. Um, everyone in this
John: town. I tell you what I really want is one of these Reddit threads that I've been reading of people who used to work.
Chasta: Yes.
John: And b- I really... If you are on- Mm-hmm ... one of those and you have a testimonial, please reach out to us.
Chasta: I have a few
John: people that have reached out to me. We wanna talk to you, yeah.
Chasta: But they want, they wanna meet over coffee.
John: Yeah, and they all, I'm telling you, wanna remain anonymous. Yes. And that's-
Chasta: Which is completely
John: understandable
like, that is fine with us. Yeah. And we get it, man.
Chasta: So I, I wrote out just a, a few places that, um, a place I used to really like to g- this is kind of a silly place, but it's a place that I really liked, um, Arby's.
John: You did really like Arby's? I [00:20:00] know.
Chasta: But I think back to, like, the Arby's of my childhood and the Arby's now, and it's not, it's not the same.
John: I mean, many, many things, if you're gonna make that argument, are not the same- ... as they were in your East Tennessee- No- ... lovely childhood ... no,
Chasta: but let me tell you- But yeah ... let me tell you this. I, but you know what? I didn't really have the easiest childhood, but I really- Yeah ... did have a lovely childhood, and I think that's one thing we also- And Arby's
John: was a big part of that.
Chasta: Yes, after dance, I would go there often on Tuesday nights. And I will tell you, before this acquisition, Arby's could change their model quickly, right? And that's something I love about being a small business, is we can pivot, we can evolve, we can make moves and changes quickly. Um, like at one point I remember they would have, they had this, like, baked potato offering that I loved.
Mm-hmm. And then they went through, like, a pasta phase. And then, you know, of course, the classic roast beef sandwiches. But now it's, it's shrinked and standardized, you know? It's, it is what it is. [00:21:00] And of course, Toys R Us is a huge case study. And people, I mean, you know, the one that used to be in Times Square was really magical.
It had a Ferris wheel on the inside. And then what is Toys R Us now? Like a sad- It's in the back of Macy's or something ... sad back corner of Macy's.
John: Yeah.
Chasta: And it's sad, isn't it?
John: Dude, I loved that place when I was a kid.
Chasta: No, the back corner of Macy's.
John: No, not the back corner of Macy's. I'm telling you, the back corner of Macy's.
No, the, the old Toys R Us.
Chasta: Yeah.
John: Remember when the- So magical ... Nintendo 64 was released? Geoffrey. You'd be running in there- Yeah ... to play it. Yeah.
Chasta: So in another way, it's- The back corner of Macy's ... I just wanted to clarify, because you said- Thank you ... yeah.
John: I'm into a lot of weird stuff, like the back corner of
Chasta: Macy's.
Because I just don't find that back corner very appealing. I try to avoid it.
John: Heard.
Chasta: Like, getting to go to Toys R Us was so exciting. Even if you didn't buy anything, just the experience of the process.
John: And you gotta think, that's why somebody in private equity wanted it, [00:22:00] right?
Chasta: Yeah.
John: So they thought maybe we could keep that going, and nope, it's in the back corner of Macy's.
Chasta: And it, it's a tragic story. One of the books that I'm gonna recommend goes into the Toys R Us- Mm-hmm ... um, situation in depth. But PetSmart
John: That one's hard-
Chasta: Our poor pets ...
John: because we have a pet who I have b- it's been referred that I treat him like I birthed him out of my own belly.
And he's spent some time at that store, and, um, received services-
Chasta: Yeah ...
John: from that store. I
Chasta: mean, well- So ... and Petco too. I mean, everywhere the pets go pretty much is looked at as h- or as an acquisition, I would say. I haven't done a full in-depth, but you know, another, another big one that I think people see and recognize is Walgreens.
John: Hmm.
Chasta: And I think the Walgreens experience has shifted.
John: At least the one close to us. I think it has a 1.9 on Google reviews. Um- And that's, that's about accurate ...
Chasta: Great [00:23:00] Wolf Lodge.
John: Now, I've never been there, so you'll have to talk about that one. I've, I mean, I've stayed- I just sat that trip out when you
Chasta: decided to go.
I've stayed one night there. I don't even know if it was acquired at that point. Any time I Google, I always look at when it was acquired. The acquisition date. And I try
John: to,
Chasta: yeah, and I try to think in my head, "Was this, did I experience this pre or post-acquisition, and what possibly could have shifted?"
John: Heard.
Chasta: Um, recent in the news, a new sphere of private equity. Do you wanna talk about
John: this? Is this the sports thing?
Chasta: Yeah, colleges, and sports, and private equity.
John: So if you've been listening to the show, you know much to Chasta's pain, I am a massive, um, sports fan. Oh, I
Chasta: don't think that's an accurate representation.
John: Chasta crazy all the time. But I'm seeing it, whether it be s- particular conferences in college sports or even individual institutions. They are, you know, looking for cash, looking for money, especially in this- Yeah ... new age of name, image, and likeness, and [00:24:00] paying, um- Transfer portal ... paying the players.
Transfer portal. And that's one of the places they've turned- Yeah ... um, for cash, is private equity.
Chasta: And how does that work? I don't think we're gonna get to this answer, this philosophical question today. I'm not
John: sure they know. But- I'm not sure the people who are making those deals with those groups know
Chasta: yeah, it just seems like, and this, and I think this comes up a lot is the conflict of interest of who you were pre-acquisition and who you become once the acquisition happens because your role changes. Like, if you, and i- I mean, there's a lot of roles that shift, right? Depending on how that, that transition happens, and there's not a lot of clarity, is sometimes people represent themselves as who they were Before they became involved.
John: Yeah.
Chasta: And I don't know, I don't have the right answer, but it's just something to be aware of.
John: It's so true, especially when you talk about those values. Because, I mean, if you wanna keep it in sports, if you look at the Washington Commanders, they had this whole run with just a horrible owner, and they recently [00:25:00] got acquired, and now they have, you know, one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
They're building a new stadium that's back in DC. The fans are energized. So, like, acquisition is not a bad thing. No,
Chasta: mm-mm.
John: It depends on who's doing the acquiring.
Chasta: The acquiring. And that's where you kind of have to, so you have to, one, know what's going on, know where it's going, and then also know who's acquiring and what they're doing, what the portfolio looks like, what the plan is, what's the strategy.
Is it a full industry roll-up? What's the flywheel of their operations, right? These, these just aren't things that are openly discussed, but that knowledge is so important to understand the future trajectory. So I also noticed with that University of Utah private equity situation that that happened towards the end of 2025, and I believe recently, very recently, they just announced a ma- a mass layoff.
John: Ooh, reduction in force? Mm.
Chasta: Yeah. So tends to happen, [00:26:00] and it's just, it's not ideal, right? So I had a, Sarah, who's often on the podcast, reached out to me this morning, and she said she had gone to have her eyebrows waxed, and that they told her that they were acquired by private equity.
John: I'm in. If you got skin in the game, taking it back to Hamilton again, a little bit of eyebrow skin.
So wherever you can make a buck, I'm telling you. I know. Why, why spend all the time and capital trying to build something and add value when you can just buy it?
Chasta: And then-
John: Not all of us can. Not all of us have- No ... you know, three or four mil lying around.
Chasta: Or more.
John: Or more. Or, I mean, yeah.
Chasta: I mean, the numbers really tick up.
Also, the journalism piece, there's so many journalistic entities that have been acquired by private equity. I'm curious what-
John: You won't be published there, I gotta
Chasta: say. I will not. I'm curious what that does to everyone's knowledge and understanding [00:27:00] of the landscape. I
John: mean, you could look at what, um, The Washington Post looks like after being acquired, acquired by Jeff Bezos- Mm-hmm
if you would like a similar case study.
Chasta: But that's not quite-
John: I know it's not the s- It's not, yeah ... it's not like an entity, but he's quite the entity of himself, I gotta say.
Chasta: that's something to think about is you may not find what you're looking for in your regular news sources about private equity.
John: No.
Chasta: There's just not a lot of, of broad conversation about it.
John: But you've got some books. You've got
Chasta: some books. Oh, I do. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. And here's the other thing, policy. The policy that's starting to happen in regards to some of these suits that are taking place, for example, Varsity just had one, um, that they settled.
It's one of several that they've settled with, um, antitrust and mon- monopolistic issues. Um, that's the other thing. These companies get so big that they can often just settle suits and move on. So silencing is powerful.
John: Use the suits to settle [00:28:00] the suits.
Chasta: Two books. And that's... I only have two to recommend because there's so little- Hey, maybe there'll be more
so little so far on, um, on the topic. But Megan Greenwell, Bad Company. That's the one. Really great one. That one is so people-focused because it tells individual stories of how this private equity sphere impacted individuals. The other one is John Coates, Harvard law professor. It's called The Problem of 12: When a Financial Institution Controls Everything.
So neither one are like Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul. . Do you ever read those books back in the day? I
John: remember those books. There were so many variations of them, too.
Chasta: Yeah, so they're not super uplifting, but I think they're important, and I think they're relevant. And I think more than anything with people listening, the most important thing is that we keep this conversation going.
So listeners, we appreciate you being here. We appreciate you and your subscriptions. You've blown us away in the first few weeks of this podcast, which is why we had to jump in with this bonus. We're so grateful. There are so many thoughtful [00:29:00] conversations happening with critical and creative thinking, which is what dance and the performing arts are about, but ultimately humanity is at its best when we're having
these conversations that bring in a variety of perspectives. so please keep emailing, keep sending us messages, keep the conversation going. You're listening to us, we're listening to you, and we are building a community because of it. So even though this is called Nobody Listens to Chasta, please know I appreciate you listening, and we are happy that you are here.
Let's keep having these conversations together
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