The Firm That Said, “No.”

The K Street Firm That Keeps Saying No to Private Equity

Mike Catanzaro told Brody and me something on The Deciders this week that most CEOs in this town would never say on the record — not “we’ll consider it” and not “we’re staying flexible.” Just plain, no.

The Private Equity Problem on K Street

Private equity firms have been circling Washington lobbying shops for years, offering cash for growth and an exit for founders. CGCN Group, the Republican firm Catanzaro co-founded, keeps turning them down.

"We don’t want them to be our bosses. We don’t want people telling us how to run our business."

In this week’s episode, Catanzaro talks independence like a business decision.

His firm considered going bipartisan once, right after a brutal 2020 election, when plenty of Republican shops were quietly building out Democratic practices as insurance. CGCN said no to that, too.

What Trust Actually Buys You

"We’ve cornered the market on the best Republican information analysis in Washington because of that trust. If we go bipartisan, we lose it."

He was pleased to report that CGCN grew during the Biden years. Not despite being an all-Republican shop, but because of it. Clients needed help fighting regulations they hated and CGCN had built the muscle to do exactly that.

"We positioned the firm to be immune to what we once thought were adverse political cycles. For us, it doesn’t matter."

Most of Washington optimizes for the next election, not the next decade. Hedge the bet, diversify the client list, take the money when it’s offered because who knows what happens eighteen months from now.

That instinct makes sense, but it’s a different bet than the one Catanzaro made.

The Novak Rule

He learned to make it from Bob Novak — the columnist he worked for as a young reporter, decades before any of this. Novak’s rule was sit down, shut up and listen.

"No one cares what you think or what you say."

Everyone in this town wants to be the smartest person in the room. Novak taught a 20-something that the room doesn’t need him to be smart. It needs him to be paying attention.

I think that’s the thread running through all of this. The private equity offers. The decision to stay Republican. The way the firm grew during the Biden years.

Catanzaro built a firm that doesn’t need to know what happens next, it just needs to pay attention.

The Deciders with Mike Catanzaro hits YouTube tomorrow morning. https://www.youtube.com/@DecidersShow