Trevor Lunsford is a Director of Investment Banking with more than 8 years of experience in sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory, specializing in advising vertical SaaS companies and their investors. Over his career, he has transacted over $5 billion in closed transaction value.
A former Atlanta native, Trevor began his career at Cumulus Media, working on the company’s Chapter 11 reorganization alongside PJT Partners while simultaneously earning his Master’s in Finance from Georgia State University. He previously worked at District Capital Partners, supporting leading software investors such as Insight Partners, Genstar Capital, Marlin Equity Partners, and Serent Capital. His notable M&A transactions include work with companies like CivicPlus, Optimizely, Bullhorn, and Diligent.
Trevor has been recognized by The M&A Advisor as a recipient of their “Emerging Leader” award and his contributions have led to numerous “Deal of the Year” awards. He holds both a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
Outside of work, Trevor is a Ducati enthusiast, Formula 1 fan, and avid hiker, often found in the Shenandoah Valley or at Barry’s Bootcamp.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
A typical day for me starts around 6 am – I usually catch up on any urgent emails from clients that may have come in overnight, scan CNBC for a preview of what to expect in the market that day, and then I head off to Barry’s Bootcamp around 7 am for a HIIT workout and a run. As a former fitness night owl, waking up early to put myself and my health first has dramatically changed my life over the last two years, and I would highly recommend to anyone and everyone I can. By 9, I’m in the office, catching up on calls and emails and working with my junior team to set a plan for what needs to get done for the day. A typical day for me in the office is 9-9, with frequent travel (both for work and for play) keeping things fun and fresh.
The single most important thing anyone can do to improve productivity is to prioritize their health and wellness. This comes from not only what you eat and how you move your body, but to what you consume audibly, visually, and spiritually.
How do you bring ideas to life?
As many others have said before, I like to start with the end in mind. Want to see yourself running (and more importantly, finishing) a marathon? Okay, you’ll have to run 26+ miles. Can’t run a mile? Let’s start by walking. The biggest changes in your life will almost always be driven by consistent, repetitive small changes that add up in a big way over time.
What’s one trend that excites you?
At the risk of leaning into a very common narrative, seeing how AI is changing the entire world (not just software) is fascinating. While the news quips and headlines focus around how AI is driving up unemployment, what I see in the middle market is AI acting as a labor-force multiplier for business that enables people to do more smart work faster. There will be a natural restructuring of the labor market overall in the next two to 10 years as AI continues to disrupt, but I do believe the end result is a more efficient, productive, and healthy society overall.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Setting aside dedicated time for deep work is critical. It’s very easy to get caught up in the shuffle and flow of daily work, but tackling deep problem-solving (where most all value is created) requires dedicated time, absent phone calls, emails, slack notifications, or news. For me, that time is most often sought in the evenings or first thing in the mornings.
What advice would you give your younger self?
You cannot control what others do; you can only control what you do.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
As a former ATL native, I genuinely believe that despite their current shortcomings, the Falcons did NOT deserve to lose to the New England Patriots (that year). Everything after that is fairly deserved. 😊
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Read, read, read! Fiction, nonfiction, how-to, anything!
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
A run, a workout, and/or a cold shower or a cold plunge is a reliable way to “reset” your body (and more importantly your mind) and help reframe your current perspective and situation.
It’s also helpful to look in the rearview mirror a bit. Did I sleep properly the night before? Did I eat something new or otherwise unhealthy? Have I drank any water? How’s my screen time looking? Did I get to see the sun today?
While these might not entirely change the situation or the news you are faced with (loss, grief, troubling circumstance or challenge), oftentimes, tending to these first and foremost helps reframe and lessen the magnitude of the emotion around how the current situation feels.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Find problems and be the one to fix them. Don’t solely propose solutions; be the one to be willing the take the trash out. Many people will talk and offer opinions; very few will roll up their sleeves and get in the weeds to fix problems.
Once you are solving problems, you are creating value. Do it long enough, you are the person who employers, clients, colleagues can’t bear to live without.
Is your junior team struggling with the cheap desks that came to your office?
Be the one to go in on a Saturday and build and setup new ones.
A deal can’t close because your CFO has no experience setting up a special payroll run that needs to be scheduled and confirmed before signatures can be released from escrow? Guess who is diving into the ADP website with them to help? You!
A deal can’t close because an 85-year-old shareholder doesn’t have access to the internet? Be the one who orders a Task Rabbit to help them out of their house and an Uber to take them to the library to execute the Docusign needed to close.
While these are extreme examples, very few people are willing to go above and beyond to do what is needed to deliver exceptional outcomes. Doing so will differentiate you in ways that words cannot.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Professionally, ndaOK is one of the best solutions I’ve used in the last several years. I’ve gotten back hundreds of hours reviewing and redlining NDAs, and the team at ndaOK is top notch. Shoutout to James Weir and the entire ndaOK team!
Personally, I’ve started using Opal regularly. It’s a productivity-oriented application blocking software that can be set and scheduled around various apps and schedules and has helped me reclaim (and redirect) valuable screen time.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
Angela Duckworth’s Grit is an excellent read. The core foundation of the book is centered around the theme of “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
There are a number of leaders and athletes that she surveys in the book that all confirm over and over again that their success is due largely (in part or in whole) to consistently showing up and putting in hour after hour to hone and perfect their craft.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I stumbled upon Landman on a flight recently and immediately locked in. Billy Bob Thornton’s character, Tommy Norris, plays a “fixer” for a smaller but highly lucrative oil conglomerate in West Texas, an area known as the Patch. Tommy is always wheeling and dealing and keeping things moving, no matter the circumstance; that’s something I can very deeply relate to.
Key learnings
- Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
- There is no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and doing the work.
- Health comes first; everything else will follow.
- Don’t undervalue yourself, your skillset, or your network.