Acquiring Minds artwork

Acquiring Minds

250 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 131 ratings

Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs. Learn how to buy a business from the entrepreneurs who have already done it. 2x per week: stories, insights, & valuable advice about acquisition entrepreneurship. Hosted by Will Smith, who is on his own path to acquire a business.

Also on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@AcquiringMinds

Sign up for episode summaries at:
https://acquiringminds.co

Entrepreneurship Business Investing entrepreneurship entrepreneur online business smb acquire acquisition
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Episodes

How to Buy a $2.3m Business with $100k in Cash + Your 401k

November 15, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 173 MB

Burk Adams tapped his 401k to buy a business that reinvented his career, gave him back time, and catapulted his wealth.  Topics in Burk's interview: Using your 401k to buy a business with ROBS Buying a business being the most impactful thing he's done in his life Realities of a C corp vs. LLC Teaching his kids acquisition entrepreneurship How it seems easier to have bought a business in 2015 than now The feeling of giant SBA loan repayments every month His business acquisiti...

How to Survive Buying a Bad Business

November 08, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 159 MB

It looked like a dream: $2m EBITDA, recurring, large market. Only after Judd Lorson bought it did he learn the truth.  Topics in Judd's interview: Searchfund accelerator pros & cons Understanding investors' role in your acquisition Importance of 100% transparency with employees (even pre-acquisition) Debt collection business pros & cons Discovery that he's acquired a bad business Managing hostility with sellers What is the proper attitude for buying a business? How to resig...

Buying Doggy Daycares After 10 Years in Tech

November 01, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 96.6 MB

Taylor Wallace was over tech. He acquired a small business and with it a renewed sense of impact (and opportunity).  Topics in Taylor's interview: Tech burnout Working in tech vs. running a small business Buying indy vs. franchise Injecting tech-industry best practices & ambition into small business How do friends in tech respond to his foray into doggy daycares? Going from digital nomad to brick-and-mortar business owner in Tampa Increasing doggy daycare capacity 2x Will m...

Would They Do It Again? 1 Year Later with 5 Early Guests

October 25, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 194 MB

Episode 100! To celebrate, 5 early guests come back to share how things are going at their acquisitions, 1 year later.  2:48 - Chris Edwards acquired a flooring business 18:15 - Philippe Vanderhoydonck, a B2B media business in the pets industry 35:49 - Cassi Niekamp, a fencing business 1:02:12 - Andrew Pierno is buying multiple small SaaS businesses 1:25:54 - Mike Botkin bought a small landscaping business and has quickly parlayed that into becoming a player in the landscaping ...

How to Buy a Seasonal Biz: Buy Another for Low Season

October 18, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 120 MB

Andrew Harbin first bought an awning business, then bought a fencing franchise to keep his crew working through summer.  Topics in Andrew's interview: Should you buy a seasonal business? Buying a second business to offset seasonality of first business Twitter thread that opened his eyes to building wealth by buying  a business Buying a business that is for sale by owner Revenue + SDE of the awning business he acquired Growth he's achieved in first years of ownership How the ...

How a $40k Acquisition Led to a Franchise Empire

October 11, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 142 MB

James Temple & his mother acquired a struggling Mathnasium franchise in 2009. Today, they do $7m across 19 locations.  Topics in James' interview: Buying vs. starting a franchise location Is rolling up easier in a franchise system? Turning around underperforming franchise locations How to assess the risk of a franchise system 3 criticisms of franchises that MBA student always have Numbers behind his first acquisition Growing to 19 franchise locations in 13 years How a 19-un...

Selling a Business for 5x a Year After Buying It

October 04, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 131 MB

Sumana Sanjeeva got into ecommerce by chance. 3 years later, she's acquired 4 ecom businesses & sold one for over $5m.  Topics from Sumana's interview: Brick & mortar vs ecommerce businesses Best type of ecommerce to buy for a first-timer Buying an ecommerce business knowing very little about it Learning quickly how to sell on Amazon Finding an ecommerce business on BizBuySell Terms of her deal One decision that made the business thrive during COVID Selling to aggregators ...

Ups and Downs of Buying Small (and Keeping a Job)

September 29, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 97 MB

Toni Kononova bought a ghostwriting business for $500k to experiment with buy-then-build while limiting her downside.  Topics in Toni's interview: What to love about a ghostwriting & editing business The business of self-publishing What is "vanity press"? Why a terrible website can be OK Getting close on a small B2B SaaS business Lowering her SDE criteria Numbers & terms of her acquisition De-risking an acquisition Buying a business while having a full-time job Why keepin...

Reflections After 1 Year of Searching Full Time

September 27, 2022 07:00 - 47 minutes - 64.6 MB

Frustrated searchers: this episode is for you. Jesse Sunquist shares 4 lessons from a year of hunting for a business.  Topics in Jesse's interview: What he learned going from part-time to full-time searching Why brokers prefer working with full-time searchers "Spouse-funded" searcher How TRULY difficult it is to get your first deal done Embrace change when it comes to your search criteria How personal each searcher's journey is The perils of comparing your search to others' ...

Not Just a Young Man's Game: Acquiring at 60

September 20, 2022 07:00 - 57 minutes - 78.6 MB

When most people would be considering retirement, Anne Ristic started a new chapter of her career by buying a business.  Topics in Anne's interview: Deciding to buy a business at age 60 How Ruth Bader Ginsburg inspired her to buy a business How she budgeted her target acquisition size Raising money from banks for an acquisition in Canada Canadian banks' familiarity with search About AES, the business she bought Growth potential for PEO in Canada How much industry research s...

The Appeal of Lead Gen Businesses (Especially Old Ones)

September 07, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 99.7 MB

A primer on lead gen businesses from Jaime Arias, who bought a 14-year-old biz that generates online leads for dentists.  Topics in Jaime's interview: Choosing self-funded over a traditional search fund Buying tiny sites on Flippa The opportunity with "old" internet businesses 3 types of sellers on Flippa Using BuiltWith to generate proprietary outreach list About Patients4you Lowering acquisition targets from $750k - $1m cash flow to $200k - $400k "Rank & Rent" model for l...

Rolling Up Real Estate Appraisal Firms

August 23, 2022 09:00 - 54 minutes - 74.5 MB

Kevin Swenson shares his story of buying a $3m real estate appraisal firm as a platform to roll up the fragmented space.  Topics from Kevin's interview: Why the real estate appraisal industry? How to add value as the entrepreneur doing a roll-up Roll-up dynamics Appraisal businesses vs. appraisal management companies Story of his acquisition, the platform business The "Your Sure Thing" philosophy Buying in an industry where you DON'T have experience The nature of real estat...

Growing an Ecommerce Acquisition 13x in 4 Months

August 16, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 101 MB

Ramon Van Meer bought an ecommerce business doing $30k/mo. A few tweaks & months later, it was up to $400k per month.  Topics in Ramon's interview: What to look for in an underperforming ecommerce business How to quickly improve an ecommerce business The effect of turning on paid advertising The true nature of running an ecommerce business The power of niches User experience buying a digital business versus an offline business Who should buy versus build How to make money i...

Flower Power: Buying a Rose Distributor Primed for Growth

August 09, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 120 MB

Jason Cline left corporate at age 50 to buy a flower distribution business (in cash). SDE is up 3x after just one year.  Topics in Jason's interview: Pivoting from 20+ years in corporate to SMB ownership 3 criteria for what business to buy Buying a business in cash (no SBA loan) The business of flower distribution Selling to big retailers like 7-Eleven & Circle K How to detect growth potential in a distribution business 2 ways to retain drivers in distribution/route business...

A Brutal Search Rewarded with Success After 3+ Years

August 02, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 114 MB

Jordan Carter started as a part-time, generalist searcher. 3+ years later, he bought a biz doing $2.4m with 40% margins.  Topics in Jordan's interview: Part-time vs. full-time searching Consulting in order to generate income while searching Misconceptions about how easy it is to find a business to buy How much cash Jordan saved for his self-funded search Generalist vs. industry-specific search Using interns for search Value of speaking with owners (even if they don't want to...

Buy a SaaS Business in 2022: How to Compete in a Hot Market

July 26, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 119 MB

A deep-dive into the market for SaaS businesses with Thomas Smale, founder of leading SaaS brokerage FE International.  Topics in Thomas's interview: Pros & cons of SaaS SaaS valuations SaaS vs. ecommerce Competing with private equity for SaaS deals Using an SBA loan to buy a SaaS business Micro-SaaS First-time buyers doing a career pivot by acquiring a business Most common mistake among first-time buyers Passive nature of online businesses SaaS products unlikely to go ze...

Leaving Apple to Buy a Real Estate Business with 150+ Agents

July 19, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 100 MB

Kinza Azmat arrived in the US at age 6, speaking little English. Today she's the new owner of a thriving RE brokerage.  Topics from Kinza's interview: Becoming a business broker to learn acquisition & access deal flow Thinking that finding a business to buy would be easy How business brokerages generate deal flow Financial & location criteria of her search Unlocking deal flow by expanding geographic criteria Dealing with gender, racial, and other biases in sellers Tying sell...

7 Findings from the New Data on Self-Funded Searches

July 15, 2022 09:00 - 29 minutes - 40 MB

Lisa Forrest shares key findings from a survey of 49 entrepreneurs who bought a business after a self-funded search.  The findings discussed were based on these questions: How did you find your deal? Did you conduct a full-time search? How long did you search before you found the deal you closed on? Do you think your acquisition price valuation was fair? How long did it take you to discuss valuation with the seller? Did you have a competitive deal process where multiple buyer...

Why Chenmark Bought a Boat Tour Business

July 12, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 102 MB

Seasonal. Nonrecurring. Key person risk. Trish Higgins recounts how Chenmark got excited about an unlikely acquisition.  Topics in Trish's interview: Building a holdco versus taking a job in private equity What Chenmark does, why it's special Chenmark's founders' goals: impact, interestingness, financial Why isn't the holdco model taught in business schools? The story of Cap'n Fish Cruises Unit economics of a boat tour business Is seasonality really so bad? Managing seasona...

The Weird & Wonderful World of Vending

July 06, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 147 MB

Ujwal Velagapudi acquired a multimillion dollar vending empire with thousands of machines & 7 figures of cash flow.  Themes from Ujwal's interview: Big vending businesses vs. small Building a big vending business by acquiring small routes Economics of vending Logistics of vending Tiny acquisitions to build confidence & experience Differentiating yourself as a buyer on MicroAcquire Using phantom equity to hire general manager Benefiting from OnlyFans growth Working with a d...

Don't Be Tempted: 8 Signs of a Bad Business

June 28, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 91.4 MB

A lender and a searcher explain how to quickly identify a business you should NOT buy, saving you months of wasted time.  Themes from Ryan & Heather's interview: Killer #1: Valuation Killer #2: Stupid Margins Killer #3: Going Too Small Killer #4: Bolt-on vs. Platform Killer #5: Competing with Private Equity Killer #6: Geography Killer #7: Red Flags Killer #8: Needs to Support Leverage Links & mentions: 15 Time Killers in SMB Search - full document from Live Oak All of Li...

How to Acquire & Grow an FBA Business

June 21, 2022 09:00 - 59 minutes - 81.2 MB

Alex Michael bought a wallet brand doing $650k on Amazon. Alex delves into how FBA works & what the growth levers are.  Themes from Alex's interview: Why ecommerce? Difficulty competing to buy an ecommerce business Process of a ecommerce acquisition with a Quiet Light listing Anatomy of the first call with a seller How to be a good buyer What to say to a seller in a competitive environment Diligencing an ecommerce business Cost breakdown of an FBA business Supply chain ris...

Good News for Ecommerce Buyers

June 20, 2022 09:00 - 57 minutes - 79.5 MB

Multiples for ecom businesses jumped 50% since 2018, but Quiet Light's Joe Valley says that trend is about to reverse.  Themes from Joe's interview: The ecommerce buying mania of 2021 2 pieces of advice for acquisition entrepreneurs looking at ecommerce How ecommerce multiples will change How ecommerce deal terms will change Seller financing in ecommerce Future of the ecommerce aggregators History of the ecommerce aggregators Reach Joe at: LinkedIn joe at quiet light dot ...

Search Success in a Small City: $500k SDE, 95% Recurring

June 14, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 97.7 MB

How James Maxwell & his partner found a 22-year-old janitorial biz & successfully installed a GM in a city of 100,000.  Themes from James' interview: Searching in a small market Choosing NOT to outsource due diligence Janitorial business pros & cons Partnered search What deal flow looks like in a 100k city Hiring a general manager Does an MBA help with buying a business? Why self-funded over traditional? Reach James at: LinkedIn Twitter jmaxwell 814 @ gmail dot com Get...

How to Get Good Deals from Brokers

June 07, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 96.3 MB

Business broker Clint Fiore explains how to most effectively work with brokers to find good businesses to buy.  Themes from Clint's interview: Brokers' pet peeves about acquisition entrepreneurs... ...and how to avoid them Most important thing you communicate to a broker Life cycle of a business for sale Searcher branding The reality of the "silver tsunami" Seller psychology The master skill right now for buying businesses Reach Clint at: Twitter LinkedIn Get compliment...

What Searchers Can Learn from Big PE

June 02, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 93.1 MB

Alex Mears draws on years of experience at Carlyle & Blackstone to support and invest in searchers (70 & counting).  Themes from Alex's interview: The most valuable businesses of all Attractiveness (or not) of home service businesses Seller integrity When to require speaking with key employees Thesis-driven search Search accelerators New accelerator The Brydon Group Alex's pivot to entrepreneurship: why now? Reach Alex at: alexander dot mears @ brydon dot com LinkedIn T...

Buying a High 7 Figure Business with a Buy-Side Advisor

June 01, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 91.3 MB

Jason Andrews paid $250k to a buy-side advisor to help find & acquire his first business — and would 100% do it again.  Themes from Jason's interview: Paying a premium for a good business Working with a buy-side advisor: price, value, what they do Speaking to 30 sellers Buying a business in your 40s Taking a big swing Where he invested his time during due diligence Whether he was "buying a job" The consulting agreement he structured with the previous owners Buying big or b...

How to Buy a Big Business with a Buy-Side Advisor

June 01, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 91.3 MB

Jason Andrews paid $250k to a buy-side advisor to help find & acquire his first business — and would 100% do it again.  Themes from Jason's interview: Paying a premium for a good business Working with a buy-side advisor: price, value, what they do Speaking to 30 sellers Buying a business in your 40s Taking a big swing Where he invested his time during due diligence Whether he was "buying a job" The consulting agreement he structured with the previous owners Buying big or b...

7 Common Mistakes Across 250 Searchers

May 23, 2022 07:00 - 46 minutes - 64.5 MB

Chelsea Wood has worked with 250+ business buyers & identifies 7 challenges that commonly interfere with their success.  Themes from Chelsea's interview: The irrational need to be an expert on every part of your acquisition‍ Incessant need for more, more, MORE information ‍Good ol' imposter syndrome ‍You don't brand yourself ‍You're too rigid ‍You're too loose, get desperate You don't put in the effort for deal flow Reach Chelsea at: chelsea at buythenbuild dot com Linked...

Acquiring a Business in Florida, Living in California

May 16, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 87.2 MB

How Chris Munn runs his first acquisition, a $800k cleaning business in Tampa, while being based in LA.  Themes from Chris’s interview: Real estate vs. small business acquisition The importance of getting reps — modeling deals as practice for the real thing Running an acquired business remotely Buying a business that’s too small Being an African-American man and dealing with “pattern matching” from banks How Chris gained 30k followers in six months Reach Chris at: On Linked...

Why Buy a Small Manufacturing Business

May 09, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes - 67 MB

Ex-cop John Hubbard bought a $5m trailer manufacturing biz from an absentee owner & expects to grow to $12m by 2024.  Themes from John’s interview: Learning how to run a business, hands-on, before acquiring one Transferring military skills to business acquisition Raising money on Searchfunder.com Asking “dumb questions” to learn quickly Choosing self-funded over a traditional search fund to achieve the lifestyle he wanted Firing half his customers in the first month of owners...

Buying Digital Businesses in 2022

May 02, 2022 07:00 - 51 minutes - 70.1 MB

Digital business buyer Dom Wells shares where he looks for opportunities today in the shifting sands of online business.  Themes from Dom's interview: Affiliate, e-commerce, and SaaS businesses and each one's pros/cons Online course and content businesses Where Dom sees opportunities in digital acquisition How to source deals Leading brokerages of digital businesses Flippa & MicroAcquire How to approach the digital space as an outsider Connect with Dom: Twitter: @DomWellsO...

Lessons from a Founder Who Then Started Acquiring

April 25, 2022 07:00 - 57 minutes - 78.7 MB

Mike Loftus started his landscaping business from scratch, then began buying others to accelerate growth to $4m/yr.  Themes from Mike’s interview: Growing a landscaping business organically from the ground up Acknowledging your weaknesses and handing them off as soon as you can The advantages familiarity with technology bring despite a lack of experience Finding acquisition opportunities through unconventional methods The importance of recurring revenue in landscaping The pot...

Self-Funded Search vs. Traditional Search Funds

April 18, 2022 07:00 - 58 minutes - 80.8 MB

Lively debate between Greg Geronemus & Robert Graham about the 2 most common models searchers use to acquire a business.  Covered in the debate: Quick definitions of each model How the economics differ Why are traditional search fund terms so fixed? CEO vs. Owner Accountability, governance, boards, mentoring Flexibility & optionality Relative risk of both models Probability of close Probability of success Assembling the board as a self-funded searcher Is either model pre...

8 Figure Exit, 2 Years After Buying the Business

April 11, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 101 MB

How Keith Leimbach paid 6 figures for a business he saw on QuietLight, then exited for 8 figures two years later. *** Register for live episode here: https://bit.ly/3r6P1bD ***  Themes from Keith’s interview: The difference between buying and starting a business It’s never “just add marketing,” even when it seems like it is Growth by creating new products that customers are telling you they want Not being afraid to outsource or delegate Why Amazon FBA businesses aren’t for e...

2 Common Risks in Search & How to Mitigate Them

April 07, 2022 07:00 - 27 minutes - 37.1 MB

Due diligence expert Elliott Holland looks at industry & owner/seller risk, and exactly what you can do to address them.  *** Register for live episode here: https://bit.ly/3NGoSKa ***  How to reach Elliott: Guardian Due Diligence LinkedIn

How to Buy a $4m HVAC Business (at Age 24)

April 04, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 88.8 MB

After big success with affiliate marketing online, @Gundwolf sought to acquire & build a more durable business.  *** Register for live episode here: https://bit.ly/3tXHIEH ***  Themes from @Gundwolf’s interview: Appeal of durable offline businesses vs. online marketing businesses Getting up at 4am to work 4 hours before going to day job Achieving success in the affiliate marketing world @Gundwolf’s personal philosophy of goals Not being taken seriously as a 24-year-old Prot...

What to Love About HVAC Acquisitions

March 28, 2022 07:00 - 46 minutes - 63.6 MB

Nathan Lenahan acquired an HVAC company with ~$1.2m in revenue for $400k. He's aiming to double sales in 2022 to $2.72m.  Themes from Nathan’s interview: The appeal of HVAC over other businesses in the trades All the numbers behind Nathan's acquisition Benefits of “buying small” in the SMB acquisition world High professional satisfaction for skilled trades  Acquiring an HVAC business without industry knowledge The importance of first-rate customer care Leveraging multiple ac...

How & When to Make Changes at Your Acquisition

March 24, 2022 07:00 - 53 minutes - 73.9 MB

This is the rebroadcast of a panel that Acquiring Minds recently moderated at the annual ETA Summit at MIT.  MIT's panel description: "First do no harm, then pull on the growth levers." Should you wait to make changes? Or take every opportunity you see? How and when should you make changes to your team or to your organizations that will help you get the most out of your organization? Speakers: Trish Higgins - Partner, Chenmark Holdings; CEO, Cap’n Fish Holdings. Trish Higgins is...

Shut Out by Industry Brokers, an Entrepreneur Finds a Way

March 21, 2022 07:00 - 58 minutes - 79.9 MB

Having witnessed the power of clean books, Patrick Dichter was driven to buy a $1.2m bookkeeping & accounting business.  Themes from Patrick’s interview: The appeal of bookkeeping for acquisition entrepreneurs Seeing the power of clean books to transform a small business Messaging used to reach out to owners of accounting & bookkeeping firms Definition of bookkeeping vs. accounting What it’s like to acquire a bookkeeping business when you’re not a CPA Industry- and geography-...

How to Buy a Business Using Tactics from B2B Tech Sales

March 14, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 93.1 MB

George Vallone unpacks how he used cold outreach to find an off-market cleaning biz doing $1m and buy it for 2x EBITDA.  Themes from George’s interview: Prioritizing recurring revenue in the search criteria The importance of messaging when approaching business owners Using a funnel approach in the search The differences between residential cleaning and commercial cleaning The economics of apartment turnover Using customer service as a marketing tool Getting a good deal by be...

Transatlantic Search for a $1m+ EBITDA Business

March 07, 2022 08:00 - 45 minutes - 62.2 MB

Before embarking on his search, Alex Glasner interviewed 50 searchers & uncovered 2 key attitudes necessary for success.  Themes from Alex’s interview: Wanting to run a business, but not knowing where to start Learning from people whose searches failed The importance of moving quickly with sellers Buying a mission and not just a job The value of being decisive in a search Merging proprietary and brokered search styles Pausing to understand the business before making another ...

Buying a 20-Year-Old Online Business

March 03, 2022 08:00 - 33 minutes - 45.6 MB

Looking to buy a part-time online biz as he neared retirement, Dave Bramlett found it in a resume service doing $1.5m.  Themes from Dave's interview: Making a career of buying small businesses Buying a functioning business allows for immediate cash flow Finding businesses on BizBuySell Bring in the experts for due diligence Maintaining a positive relationship with the seller Know your strengths as a buyer Always be open to new businesses for sale Reach Dave at: dave at res...

6 Months in the Truck: Buying an Ice Delivery Biz

February 28, 2022 08:00 - 57 minutes - 78.7 MB

Brandon Adams bought a $850k EBITDA ice delivery company only to discover he'd be doing deliveries himself for 6 months.  Themes from Brandon's interview: Doing a local proprietary search Identifying brokers you can trust Managing purchase price after an anomalous year The silver lining of a due diligence oversight Being a great leader as a new owner The appeal of owning businesses in various industries Reach Brandon at: brandon at k4inv dot com

Nailing the Trifecta: B2B + Remote + Scalable

February 22, 2022 08:00 - 48 minutes - 67.1 MB

Damon Chlarson had 3 key criteria, and he found them in an insulation supplier doing $380k EBITDA and selling for $1.1m.  Themes from Damon’s interview: Defining your acquisition criteria  Finding your niche in the market Imagining yourself doing the job before buying the business Tapping into people’s talents Mental health and business success Finding opportunities in times of crisis Looking back and growing ambition Reach Damon at: @LumberyardDamon

Overcoming a Career Rut by Buying a Business

February 14, 2022 08:00 - 53 minutes - 73.5 MB

Frustrated after losing 3 jobs, Bruce Vann used savings to acquire a 25-employee, 7-figure curtain manufacturer for 2x.  Themes from Bruce’s interview: Paying 2x for a growing 70-year-old business Buying a business to pull out of a career rut Why finding a business is like a full court shot The need for persistence Abandoning a proprietary search because of seller overvaluations Chasing down leads and not becoming complacent The importance of documenting business processes i...

Building a Blue Collar Empire

February 07, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 98.5 MB

After seeing 9-figure businesses built through acquisition, Adrian Pinto bought a landscaping biz to build one himself.  Themes from Adrian’s interview: Buying a $3-5M landscaping business with 15-20% margins Paying 3x, but rapid growth making it more like 2x What a buy-side advisor is and when it might make sense to work with one How COVID helped his search process Why doing his own search was less stressful than a traditional search would have been The excitement versus the...

7 Years Later: Leaving Wall Street to Buy Small Businesses

January 31, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 104 MB

The 3 founders of Chenmark left promising corporate careers to pursue a multi-decade path of acquiring small businesses.  Themes from the interview with James & Palmer Higgins: Why the Chenmark founders decided to do this Lessons learned from 30+ acquisitions How the founding thesis is performing 7 years in The value of an "extreme delayed gratification muscle" Intellectual stimulation in corporate life vs. small business Buying big vs. buying small How has competition in se...

How to Build a Holdco (4 Acquisitions So Far)

January 24, 2022 08:00 - 44 minutes - 61.1 MB

With 4 acquisitions since starting in 2018, Justin Turner explains how his team is building a permanent equity holdco.  Themes from Justin’s interview: The appeal of holding on to companies for a longer period Why buying a $4-5M business might be easier than buying a $1M one Letting the seller relationship develop naturally Why paving companies make great acquisitions Waiting to finalize the equity until after the deal is in hand Setting acquisitions up in a holdco structure ...

Buying a Business & Having a Blast

January 18, 2022 08:00 - 45 minutes - 62.9 MB

@Fundof1 was searching for a business in a tight geography, and found a great fit in a $760k appliance repair company.  Themes from John’s interview: Buying a $760k appliance repair company How to balance very specific search criteria Choosing a steady industry Walking into a business with an established sense of community Deciding between using investors or not Focusing on improving the business rather than day-to-day operations Remembering to have fun Building trust with ...

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