Beyond the Deal: Building the Explore Platform

Beyond the Deal: Building the Explore Platform

From Thoma Bravo's Behind the Deal by Thoma Bravo

April 9, 2026 · 23 min · Season 4 · Episode 13

About this episode

The episode discusses the creation of the Explore platform and the challenges faced in building it from scratch.

In this episode of Beyond the Deal, Thoma Bravo Partner Carl Press is joined by Adam Kinalski and Sam Yules to tell the inside story of building the Explore platform from the ground up. What started as a blank slate in 2019 has grown into a high-velocity investment platform focused on emerging enterprise software leaders. The team shares how Explore was created to stay true to Thoma Bravo’s middle-market roots, the early challenges of building a pipeline from scratch, and the lessons learned from sourcing, mentorship and long-term relationship building. From cold starts and conference room pitches to navigating deals with imperfect data, this conversation offers a candid look at what it takes to build a platform—and a team—inside the world’s largest software-focused investment firm. For more information on Thoma Bravo's Behind the Deal, visit https://www.thomabravo.com/behindthedeal Learn more about Thoma Bravo: https://www.thomabravo.com/ Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an advertisement. Views expressed are those of the individuals and not necessarily the views of Thoma Bravo or its affiliates. Thoma Bravo funds generally hold…

People in this episode

Host: Carl Press

Guests: Adam Kinalski, Sam Yules

Topics covered

  • investment platform
  • enterprise software
  • relationship building
  • mentorship
  • challenges in investment

Keywords

  • Explore platform
  • Thoma Bravo
  • investment
  • enterprise software
  • relationship building
  • mentorship
  • challenges

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Thoma Bravo, Explore, Thoma Bravo's Behind the Deal

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