Ramesh Swamy on The Achieve Podcast: Burn the Boats, Go Narrow and Deep, and Keep a Human Behind the Wheel
Halifax West founder Ramesh Swamy recently sat down with host Jessie Warner on The Achieve Podcast to talk about building a merchant bank for the lower middle market.
Here are the highlights.
From moonlighting to merchant bank
Ramesh spent years as a retail leader at a large consulting firm before becoming an operator in 2015. When former colleagues and private equity contacts kept calling for advice, Halifax West began as a side practice.
Three trends reshaping the lower middle market
Ramesh pointed to three connected trends: baby boomers exiting businesses with under $10 million in EBITDA, the rise of private credit funds focused on that market, and the growth of independent sponsors, who raise equity and debt one deal at a time instead of from a committed fund.
Marketing by doing deals together
Instead of hard selling, Halifax West asks sponsors to bring deals in and screen them together. "The best way to know what we do and what you do and get to know each other is to look at a deal together," Ramesh said. The firm underwrites and structures the deal, raises the debt, and co-invests alongside the sponsor, all on a success-fee basis. That keeps everyone aligned.
AI with a human behind the wheel
Ramesh uses AI agents every day, including a morning briefing that pulls from his calendar, CRM, and inbox. The team uses AI for research, outreach, and preparing deal materials. He was just as clear about the risks: "AI lacks context." His comparison was his Tesla: "I let it self-drive, but I'm always behind the wheel." His rule is that nothing goes out under his name until he has reviewed it.
Lessons learned
His biggest lesson is focus. "You could either be really wide and shallow, or you could be narrow and deep," he said. Halifax West chose narrow and deep. His advice to new entrepreneurs is to commit fully: "Burn the boats." It's normal to feel nervous in the first few months, and he encourages people not to give up too soon.
Watch or listen to the full episode: Ramesh Swamy (Halifax West) on The Achieve Podcast
