Beta
Logo of the podcast Acquiring Minds

Acquiring Minds (Will Smith)

pod@acquiringminds.co
Show detailsEpisodes (349)Links (1136)RSS Check (59%)Related content (100)

Explore every episode of Acquiring Minds

Dive into the complete episode list for Acquiring Minds. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

Rows per page:

1–50 of 349

Pub. DateTitleDuration
18 Mar 2024Reward for a Brutal Transition: 3 Hours/Week with 2x EBITDA01:52:11

Register here for the webinar, Working Capital 101

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 11th:


Despite an overwhelming transition, today Dan Tagliatela has 17x'd his initial investment and delegated the day-to-day.

Topics in Dan’s interview:

  • His background in investing
  • What margins indicate about a business
  • Return on assets as a quality metric
  • Acquiring a pavement sealing company
  • Geographic density advantage of the business
  • His goal to double volume over 10 years
  • Replacing the antiquated robocall machine
  • Stress of learning and upgrading at the same time
  • Buying a window cleaning company
  • The Goldilocks approach to management

References and how to contact Dan:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

07 Apr 2025When Buying a Retail Business Makes Sense01:26:19

Register for the webinar: 

Ken Eyjolfson looked at tons of businesses before deciding on a mattress outlet with $500k SDE and 700 5-star reviews. 

Topics in Ken’s interview:

  • 8 years with the Soccer Shots franchise
  • Spending too long searching for the perfect deal
  • Buying a discount mattress retailer
  • How the Canadian mattress industry works
  • Buying from a “shady seller”
  • Getting the lowest wholesale mattress prices
  • Starting with a large Facebook following
  • Expanding through pop-up shops
  • Private equity acquiring mattress companies
  • Financing without the SBA

References and how to contact Ken:

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 3rd:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

08 Nov 2021How to Buy a Salon as an Industry Outsider (and Survive)00:52:12

Sarah Romer bought a large but tired hair salon in Austin for $80k. Her first year as owner was the hardest of her life.

Themes from Sarah's interview:

  • The formula for estimating the value of a salon or beauty business
  • What to do when sellers overestimate the worth of their company
  • Where to cut costs after you’ve made an acquisition 
  • Underestimating the importance of company culture
  • The stress of owning and managing a retail business
  • The process of exiting a business you’ve acquired

Reach Sarah at:

  • Sarah dot Romer at gmail dot com

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

04 Apr 2024Roofing + Florida = Path to $100m01:30:57

Only after Matt Jackson bought a roofing business in the hurricane state did he realize just how big the opportunity is.

Topics in Matt’s interview:

  • His experience with Acquira
  • Keeping the seller as an employee
  • Why he likes roofing despite drawbacks
  • How he satisfied his licensing requirement
  • Moats around spray foam roofing
  • Standing out in the roofing industry
  • His vision for organic growth
  • How insurance companies drive demand for new roofs
  • Using ROBS for financing
  • Why he won’t buy the ROBS ownership interest back from his 401k

References and how to contact Matt:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

31 Jan 20227 Years Later: Leaving Wall Street to Buy Small Businesses01:15:39

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 search evolved over the last 5 years
  • Chenmark’s diversification strategy

Other recommend podcasts where Chenmark has appeared:

Subscribe to: Chenmark’s Weekly Thoughts.

07 Apr 20222 Common Risks in Search & How to Mitigate Them00:27:00

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:

09 Apr 2021How to Buy a $2m Dying Business Then Sell It for 5X00:50:52

Mike Yarmo bought a struggling distributor & turned it into a local powerhouse in a different niche — then sold for 5x.

Key points from Mike's acquisition:

  • Owner was disengaged, retiring, and looking to sell his food distribution company
  • Company was 25 years old but had terrible margins
  • Mike & team acquired for low 7 figures, or ~2x earnings
  • Pivoted the company, grew aggressively over next few years
  • Sold 5 years later for 5x earnings, and 5x original acquisition price

Reach Mike Yarmo:

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

17 Apr 2023How to Build a Portfolio of 20 Franchise Locations01:33:39

Michael Horowitz was looking to buy an independent business when a different path opened up. Today he owns 20 Wingstops. 

Topics in Michael’s interview:

  • Pros and cons of searching within franchises
  • Why Michael was attracted to QSR’s (quick service restaurants)
  • Buying 7 Wingstop locations in Ohio
  • Writing an operating agreement for 3 co-owners
  • Development agreements with franchises
  • Operating QSR’s during Covid
  • Opening and closing a ghost kitchen
  • Daily operations of owning 20 Wingstop locations
  • Motivating hourly restaurant employees 
  • Michael’s advice for searchers considering QSR’s

Links and how to contact Michael:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

06 Mar 2023Growing a Small 1st Acquisition into a Holdco Platform01:26:39

Andrew Hitchings bought a $250k SDE cooling biz. It has grown 3x and will now fund a 2nd acquisition, with more to come. 

Topics in Andrew’s Interview:

  • Andrew and his wife bought a home ventilation business in April 2020
  • How 7 months on a motorcycle prepared them for running a business together
  • His history in the Army, business school, and McKinsey & Company
  • How his business partner Max improved employee training
  • Why he looks at the P&L every day
  • Expanding their seasonal business to a year-round business
  • How they mitigated the risk of buying a business with a single employee
  • Three things a business owner should focus on
  • Why they hire for character, not experience
  • His strategy for building a holdco

References and how to contact Andrew:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

07 Mar 2024Bought Tiny, Grew to $4m01:39:29

SBA lender Chad Fondriest got the itch to get in the game himself & bought a couple's hobby business doing just $150k.

Topics in Chad’s interview:

  • Keeping his W-2 while running the business
  • Quadrupling revenue in 2 years
  • Getting listed on Wayfair
  • Tradeoffs of selling on Amazon
  • High importance of inventory management 
  • Explosive growth during Covid
  • How he estimated market size
  • Difficulty of competing in ecommerce
  • Forecasting trends a year in advance
  • Grief and joy of managing creatives

References and how to contact Chad:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

25 May 2023Home Care Business: How to Buy & 2x an Agency01:08:10

Jérôme Bouillon bought a home care agency doing $500k/yr in 2018. Today it exceeds $1m and he's added a second location. 

Topics in Jerome’s interview:

  • His cold calling strategy
  • Buying a Visiting Angels franchise
  • Seeing his employees as his customers
  • The changes he made immediately to employee benefits
  • Why he stopped penny-pinching in the business
  • Why it’s important to know how to work in the business
  • Margins in home care
  • Home care vs. home healthcare
  • How to scale up in this industry
  • The benefits of a franchise

Links and how to contact Jérôme:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

 Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

18 Jan 20244 Acquisitions In, Holdco Builder's Goal is £150m01:16:34

Holdco entrepreneur Sam Turner shares his vision to build the leading platform for independent M&E businesses in the UK. 

Topics in Sam’s interview:

  • Importance of patience and flexible timelines
  • Getting through fetal position moments
  • Balancing diversification and integration
  • Gurus in the business buying space
  • Lessons from his first acquisition
  • Change management in blue collar businesses
  • Increasing holdco revenue target from £60m to £150m
  • Extending his 5-year plan to 10 years
  • His vision to improve the lives of 30,000 people
  • Shared services among his four businesses

References and how to contact Sam:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

23 Nov 2021How to Hire an Attorney for Your Acquisition00:35:53

Learn how to find a lawyer for your deal, how much you'll spend, what to look for, and how to avoid suing the seller. 

Themes from the interview with @SMB_Attorney:

  • Absolutely necessary: a good lawyer
  • What to look for
  • References? Reviews? Hmm, difficult
  • What you'll pay
  • Don’t be afraid to negotiate price
  • Do they need to be in the same location as your deal?
  • You don’t want to sue
  • Indemnification: Get familiar with it

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

22 Nov 2021Buying a Therapy Practice & Selling for Millions00:55:22

A husband & wife bought a therapy practice for $120k, almost dumped it, then grew it for 8 years when PE came knocking. 

Themes from Neil's interview:

  • Growing a mental health practice from $615k/year to $2M. 
  • How working in your acquired business (not on it) can save you
  • Owning a business with your spouse
  • Equipment leasing as a solution to keeping overhead costs low 
  • To sue or not to sue (the seller, post-acquisition)
  • Preferring businesses for sale rather than cold outreach to owners
  • When to sell a fast-growing business

Reach Neil at:

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

25 Oct 2022Would They Do It Again? 1 Year Later with 5 Early Guests01:45:58

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 industry

Links to guests' previous episodes:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

24 Apr 2023Fetal Position to Foundry Holdco ($30m & Counting)01:44:27

Despite dire warnings against it, Reg Zeller bought a foundry. He's since bought 6 more & sees a clear path to $100m/yr. 

Topics in Reg Zeller’s interview:

  • Why he bought a foundry (against everyone’s advice)
  • The famous fetal position story
  • The importance of a peer group
  • His journey from one acquisition to a holdco
  • Why searchers should spend 2 years operating the business they buy
  • Reg’s plan to get to $100 million
  • How to eliminate key man risk
  • How Reg found his rockstar COO
  • Opportunities in non-manufacturing spaces
  • The opportunities in onshoring

Links and how to contact Reg:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

 Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with Acquiring Minds: 

20 Nov 2023Cash Flows Over Exits: Buying for the Long Term01:33:15

Sensing untapped potential, Mark Olivito paid cash for a project-based construction business with less than $100k SDE. 

Topics in Mark’s interview:

  • Buying a business that checked all the wrong boxes
  • Why he “overpaid” to acquire PAVERART
  • What attracted him to the business
  • His passion for building a successful blue-collar business
  • Glamorization of entrepreneurship
  • The importance of showing up and “eating last”
  • The trades as a lucrative alternative to college
  • Mental health challenges in small business ownership
  • Building resiliency before trying to grow
  • His advice for those interested in buying a business

References and how to contact Mark:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

10 Apr 2025Stars Align After 4 Broken Deals01:19:22

Register for the webinar: 

Keegan Dum wound down his search fund after 2 years without a deal, but he went on to acquire & create a great outcome. 

Topics in Keegan’s interview:

  • Choosing traditional search
  • No deal after 2 years of searching
  • Selling the business after 18 months
  • Finding a business on his own through consulting
  • Role of software in car washes & auto shops
  • Renegotiating terms with previous investors
  • Low churn for you means low churn for your competitors
  • The “always on” nature of running an essential business
  • Spreadsheet vs reality of operating the business
  • Profitable exit after 18 months

References and how to contact Keegan:

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 3rd:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

12 Feb 2024Taking a Blue Collar Biz from $900k to $2.4m in Earnings01:34:12

Register here for the webinar, How to Raise Equity to Buy a Business


Adam Borcz bought & unlocked growth in a niche-y, 35-year-old blue collar business, almost tripling earnings in 4 years. 

Topics in Adam’s interview:

  • Adam’s experience working for a fundless sponsor
  • Pros & cons of having the federal government as a customer
  • Doubling his work force in a “tough labor market”
  • Why overhead doesn't need to scale with labor force
  • Doing nothing for the first six months as owner
  • Why he invests in traditional search funds
  • Personal risk and work involved in self-funded search
  • Being on the right side of the SBA loan
  • Tying profit sharing to gross profit
  • Adam's decision to hold the business indefinitely

References and how to contact Adam:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

18 Nov 2024How 2 Entrepreneurs are Rolling Up a New Market01:46:15

Register for the webinars:

 • Understanding the Waterfall - Thu Nov 21 - https://bit.ly/3AMj6Fk


Francisco Del Rio & Diego Silva are 5 acquisitions into a venture to consolidate veterinary practices in Chile & beyond.

Topics in Francisco & Diego’s interview:

  • Vetting each other before partnering
  • Teaming up to roll up vet clinics in Chile
  • Pitching themselves to clinic owners
  • Searching during strict Covid lockdowns
  • Educating owners about business valuation
  • Understanding the seller’s perspective
  • Making variable compensation work
  • Teaching receptionists to use sales scripts
  • Finding investors and growing the business
  • Vision to expand to neighboring countries

References and how to contact Francisco & Diego:

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

22 Nov 2022Buying a Business to Escape the Middle Class01:16:41

Jordan Novgrod sold his house, tapped his 401k, and went all-in to buy an $800k SDE business he found on BizBuySell. 

Topics in Jordan's interview:

  1. Finding a great business on BizBuySell
  2. Blogging the search process
  3. Key rule of thumb on SDE
  4. Importance of buyer-seller chemistry
  5. Machine shop businesses - pros & cons
  6. Transferring key relationships post-sale
  7. Day 1 speech
  8. How Jordan built rapport with his new employees

Links & how to reach Jordan:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

25 Jul 2024Reflections on 2 Years in the Knife Fight01:38:35

Register for the webinar:


Brett Kennedy has doubled & strengthened the sub-$1 million moving business he bought — but it hasn't been without pain.

Topics in Brett’s interview:

  • Being raised in an entrepreneurial family
  • Buying Furniture Taxi, a moving company
  • Driving the truck himself when employees don’t show
  • Surprises the seller failed to mention
  • Good and bad of buying small
  • Daily stressors of running a small business
  • Hiring a GM
  • Doubling the business despite a shrinking market
  • Your employees are your customers
  •  The next company he wants to buy

References and how to contact Brett:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Smithlist is a job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

21 Oct 2024Small SDE, Big Upside: Buying a Business with 5 Employees01:23:14

Register for the webinars:


Kristiana Laugen left tech to buy a 40-year-old pool business with $300k SDE. Fast growth from a small base is the plan.

Topics in Kristiana’s interview:

  • Her career working for start-ups
  • Her desire to “eat what she kills”
  • Finding a business sooner than expected
  • Acquiring a commercial pool maintenance/repair business
  • How commercial pool maintenance differs from residential
  • Quickly firing all but one technician
  • Making changes in the first 90 days
  • Seller retained 5% equity
  • Using an app for routing efficiency
  • The numbers game of hiring

References and how to contact Kristiana:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

26 Aug 2024Young Couple Starts a Family Business By Buying One01:20:04

Register here for the webinar, Legal Office Hours: Common Legal Diligence Issues


Topics in Meredith & Michael’s interview:

  • Buying an employment screening company
  • The seller staying on as an employee
  • Strict industry regulations serve as a moat
  • Upgrading technology after acquisition
  • How the seller eased clients through the transition
  • Why they’re not worried about AI
  • Meredith’s growth as a manager
  • Buying a business as a young couple
  • Why this may be a difficult industry to roll up
  • Personal impact of owning a business

References and how to contact Meredith & Michael:


----- SPONSORS -----

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Chicago on October 26th:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:


----- Connect with Acquiring Minds -----

22 Feb 2024Saying No to Home Services, Yes to B2B Media01:19:58

Nathan Gregory left the music industry to buy Autobody News, a business that could benefit from his experience in media. 

Topics in Nathan’s interview:

  • Building and exiting a beer koozie brand
  • Managing brand partnerships for pop stars
  • Educating himself on business acquisition
  • Pivoting away from home services
  • Buying a media company with a partner
  • Why print media isn’t dead 
  • His audience-first approach
  • Commitment vs passion for the industry
  • Serving a hybrid workforce
  • The business model for trade publications

References and how to contact Nathan:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Book your free tax strategy session for business buyers today:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

16 May 2024When a Restaurant Is a Great Business to Buy01:30:13

Jarett Berke told his intermediary "no restaurants" but changed his tune when he saw what a great business Lou's was.

Topics in Jarett’s interview:

  • Finding a business through an accountant
  • Why restaurants are a tough business
  • Comparing military service to running a restaurant
  • Buying a restaurant with exceptional margins
  • Learning every job in the restaurant
  • Pivoting to delivery during Covid
  • Doing a stock deal instead of an asset purchase
  • Reinvesting by adding tables and renovating
  • 60% growth in 6 years
  • What he likes about the restaurant business

References and how to contact Jarett:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

27 Nov 2023Escaping Golden Handcuffs by Buying a Business01:36:06

While not a CPA herself, a clear list of buying criteria led Gretchen Roberts to acquire a 16-person accounting firm. 

Topics in Gretchen’s interview:

  • Overcoming mental blocks about leaving a good job
  • Using her marketing skills for proprietary search
  • Acquiring an accounting firm without accounting experience
  • Building rapport and trust with the team
  • Changing the business’s name
  • Being comfortable managing a remote team
  • Balancing business ownership and family
  • Her plan to recruit accountants through part-time roles
  • What makes her accounting firm stand out
  • Buying based on revenue instead of SDE

References and how to contact Gretchen:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

 Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

14 Mar 2024Buying Small, Growing Big: From $1m to $26m02:06:00

John Wilson bought & grew a very small plumbing business 26x over the last 7 years, and today has plans to reach $100m.

Topics in John’s interview:

  • Growing up in his family’s home services business
  • Taking over the business at 23
  • Acquiring a turnaround to grow his business
  • His first time doing layoffs
  • Using CertainPath’s model to grow
  • Tripling his ad spend during Covid
  • Why he believes in buying small
  • His take on installing an operator
  • His plan to get to $100M
  • The taxonomy of blue collar businesses

References and how to contact John:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

30 Nov 20233 Perspectives: A Panel on Buying Small Businesses01:39:45

Recording of a live panel hosted by EO Silicon Valley with Acquiring Minds host Will Smith moderating. 

Topics discussed:

  • 3 stories of buying businesses
  • What the search, due diligence, transition was like for each of the 3 entrepreneurs
  • Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurship vs. entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA)
  • The napkin math of a business acquisition with an SBA loan
  • Moving from white collar to blue collar environments
  • Is there a "type" who buys a business?
  • Graduating from buying your 1st business to your 2nd, 3rd, and beyond
  • How buying a first business can quickly lead to more acquisition opportunities
  • Inorganic growth vs. organic growth
  • What being an investor in search deals looks like
  • Scariest moment from each entrepreneur's journey
  • Question: How do you think about due diligence?
  • Question: Does the softness in the macro M&A market affect activity in search?
  • Question: Thoughts on roll-ups.

References and how to contact George, Corey, or Nick:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

16 Dec 2024Adjusting to Life in a Nocturnal Business (with $525k SDE)01:35:19

Tom & Dawson Matter bought a vent cleaning business operating out of a parking lot. The transition has been interesting.

Topics in Tom and Dawson’s interview:

  • Teaming up to acquire Pro Duct Cleaning
  • The nocturnal, detailed, messy nature of the work
  • Tom keeping his W-2 while Dawson runs operations
  • Maintaining a 42% margin
  • Learning to deal with angry customers
  • Upgrading the equipment and facilities
  • Hiring Dawson’s wife to help with operations
  • Switching from Google Calendar to a real CRM
  • Trouble communicating with employees
  • Chasing down payment from clients

References and how to contact Tom and Dawson:

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

06 Feb 2023Key Moments from 3 Entrepreneurs Who Bought Businesses00:51:46

Multiple perspectives today as Chelsea Wood of the Acquisition Lab moderates a panel with 3 women who bought businesses. 

Topics from the panel:

  • Cassie Niekamp bought the first company she looked at: a 40-year old fencing company
  • How she dealt with a $200k valuation gap
  • What went well with the transition and what didn’t go well
  • Anne Ristic left a 30-year career in law to buy a business
  • How her collaborative leadership style has served her
  • Why it’s okay if you don’t have all the skills you need
  • Morli Desai purchased an e-commerce skincare business
  • Her difficulty getting sellers to talk to her
  • How joining Acquisition Lab made all the difference in her search
  • Advice from all the guests about successful acquisition

References and how to contact the panelists:

Register for a live gathering of SMB, Micro-PE, and ETA owners, operators and investors:

Overhaul your website with ongoing support & unlimited edits, all for a flat monthly fee:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

01 May 2023How to Buy a $5m Business & Hire an Operator to Run It01:32:59

It CAN be done: Matthew Saskin recently acquired a big towing business, hiring an operator to run it from day 1. 

Topics in Matthew Saskin’s interview:

  • Why he chose a towing company
  • Putting in an operator from day one
  • Improvements he made right away
  • Why he kept his day job (and how he manages it)
  • His COO’s compensation package
  • What is phantom equity (and how it’s different from true equity)
  • How real estate investment is different from SMB ownership
  • The landscape of the towing industry
  • Revenue streams for towing companies
  • How they recruit drivers

Links and how to contact Matthew:

  • Matt's business plan. We decided not to link to it directly. Email Matt to request a copy, and he'll share it with you directly 👇👇
  • msaskin@eastcoasttowing.com
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • East Coast Towing

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds: 

22 Nov 20237 Takeaways from 200 Episodes00:25:17

Acquiring Minds host Will Smith reflects on 200 episodes, tells the podcast backstory, and teases what's coming in 2024. 

Topics in today’s episode with Will:

  • Essential lessons from 200 interviews with acquisition entrepreneurs
  • How Acquiring Minds got started
  • Is Will going to search for a business to buy?
  • Plans for Acquiring Minds in 2024

References and how to contact Will:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

13 Feb 2025Networking His Way to $800k SDE01:19:57

Register for the webinars:

It took Alex Holley a few months of daily meetings to find a $4.5m home services business in his local Louisville, KY.

Topics in Alex’s interview:

  • Networking through 100 meetings in 4 months
  • Buying 2 businesses at once
  • Learning how to run a crew
  • Going on jobs to learn about the work
  • Leaving consulting for blue-collar industry
  • Owning weather-dependent businesses
  • Taking on a friend as a silent partner
  • A close call with payroll the first week
  • Building rapport with the employees
  • Having a blast in home services

References and how to contact Alex:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Credits:

  • Produced by Pam Cameron
  • Edited by Anton Rohozov
06 Nov 2023Passion, Meet EBITDA: The Joy of Buying an Art Gallery01:39:41

Sean Moore looked at a handful of businesses, but a fine art gallery with over $1m SDE won the art collector's heart. 

Topics in Sean’s interview:

  • Pulling $1M out of his 401k to buy an art gallery
  • How his gallery brings in $1M in SDE
  • The ecommerce aspect of the gallery
  • The additional revenue stream of a frame shop
  • Opportunities to improve the gallery website
  • His peer group that supported his search
  • Choosing a passion business over a “boring” one
  • Forming a connection with the seller
  • Using ROBS for acquisitions
  • Negotiating earnest money with the seller

References and how to contact Sean:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

13 Nov 2023Doing It His Way: First-Timer Buys 2 at Once01:34:43

Mike Okhravi left a cushy tech career to buy a towing business & a flooring business — and within 30 days of each other. 

Topics in Mike’s interview:

  • Why he passed on the Search Fund Accelerator
  • His philosophy on taking more risk by moving fast
  • Signs of a motivated seller
  • Buying a 4-person garage flooring business
  • Surprises after acquiring the business
  • Why profit dips post-acquisition
  • Discarding the “searcher rules”
  • What he loves about the towing business
  • Operating 2 businesses at once (including one 3 hours away)
  • Getting back up after business failures

References and how to contact Mike:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

26 Dec 2023Opening Up to Franchises to Buy a Great Business01:25:29

How Doug Johns overcame his reservations about being a franchisee to acquire a dream business with $1.8m EBITDA. (Rebroadcast from September 2022.) 

Topics in Doug's interview:

  • Buying a franchise vs. independent business
  • Opening your mind to a franchise
  • The many (overlooked) benefits to being a franchisee
  • Calling yourself "independent investor" instead of "searcher"
  • Running a search like a B2B sales process
  • The appeal of a deal with few addbacks
  • Why home service businesses are so appealing as acquisitions
  • Loving, rather than running from, managing people
  • Why the top home service businesses have more sophisticated funnels than the Fortune 500
  • ServiceTitan
  • Where the opportunity is when the business you buy is already well-run and mature
  • Owning a plumbing company without knowing anything about plumbing
  • The numbers of Doug's deal
  • The exact multiple is way less important than you think
  • Using ROBS to buy the business
  • Why high growth can make a business harder to finance
  • Understanding debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) thresholds
  • Doug's tip for choosing an SBA lender
  • The $500k value of Doug's appeal to the seller
  • Going to meet a seller face to face

Reach Doug at:

  • doug DOT johns AT couffley DOT com
  • LinkedIn

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

 Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

19 Dec 2024Perils in Partnership: Plumbing Acquisition Gone Wrong01:31:23

Josh Key partnered with a master plumber from his church to acquire a plumbing business doing $1.25m. It ended badly.

Topics in Josh’s interview:

  • Buying a plumbing business with a partner
  • Quitting his job to go all-in
  • Inadequate due diligence on his partner
  • His partner’s wife getting involved in the business
  • Emotional outbursts and threats from his partner
  • Employees and clients leaving due to the partner
  • Closing the business and filing for bankruptcy
  • What he learned about due diligence
  • How his mindset is guided by his faith
  • What he wants to do next

References and how to contact Josh:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

24 Jun 2024Announcing: Minds Capital01:07:56

Register here for the webinar, How to Buy a Business & Hire an Operator at Once


Will Smith has partnered with Niklas James & Max Lummis in a fund to invest in searcher & independent sponsor deals.

Topics in this episode:

  • Why raise a fund?
  • How a fund comes together
  • What it was like to raise money from LPs for a blind pool
  • Why a business might be great for a searcher but not an investor
  • How different investors have different needs
  • Why small acquisitions are hard for a fund to invest in
  • Value of community in a fund
  • Minds Capital’s process to assess deals
  • Evaluating deal strengths systematically
  • “Best deal of the month” filter

References and how to contact Niklas, Max and Will:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

05 Jan 2023(Part 2) 8-Figure Exit: How to Buy, Transform & Sell in 3.5 Years01:18:53

How Bradley Roofner & Logan Brown transformed a tough, project-based landscaping biz into a recurring revenue machine. (This is the second part of a 2-part interview.) 

Themes from the interview with Bradley & Logan:

  • Buying, growing, and selling a local service business for $20m+
  • Why landscaping still has lots of opportunity
  • How to transform a project-based business into a recurring-revenue business
  • How to build a sales function in a local service business
  • Why building a sales function is better for growth than acquiring tuck-ins
  • How to convert 25% of sales opportunities
  • Working capital as oxygen
  • White-glove service in a blue-collar industry
  • Why you should build a credit department
  • What it's like to sell to a publicly-traded corporation

Links & how to reach Bradley & Logan

Overhaul your website with ongoing support & unlimited edits, all for a flat monthly fee:

Register for a live gathering of SMB, Micro-PE, and ETA owners, operators and investors:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

14 Aug 2023A Non-Financial Reason to Buy a Business01:18:00

Nick Akers had a vision for supportive, employee-first leadership. Buying a business enables him to realize this vision.

Topics in Nick’s interview:

  • His background as an inventor
  • How the TV show Succession mirrors real life
  • Why he chose Swiss search accelerator Novastone
  • What motivates him more than money
  • His focus on building a positive company culture
  • The MSP industry and its appeal for searchers
  • His plan for bolt-ons in the MSP industry
  • The importance of cash flow and working capital
  • His first 2 months as CEO
  • Why he likes having investors

References and how to contact Nick:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:


Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:


Connect with Acquiring Minds:

30 Nov 2021Buying the Family Business & Growing 4x During COVID00:52:54

Resisting at first, Mark Litton eventually realized that buying the family biz was the perfect path to entrepreneurship. 

Themes from Mark's interview:

  • Buying a business from a family member
  • Redefining “real” entrepreneurship
  • Structuring a deal with 100% financing
  • Understanding the business’s numbers before you buy
  • Getting through struggles in your first year
  • Recession-proofing your business
  • Free resources for aspiring acquisition entrepreneurs

Reach Mark at:

23 May 2024Finding a Great Business in Cow Country01:27:43

Cody Agee thought food testing would be a good recession-resistant business to buy. 2 weeks later, one listed for sale.

Topics in Cody interview:

  • Bypassing business school
  • Cashing out his 401(k) without using ROBS
  • Buying a food safety and testing lab
  • The moat of licensing requirements
  • His advantage over much larger competitors
  • Adjusting purchase price based on quality of earnings report
  • Finding investors on Twitter
  • Personally guaranteeing the seller note
  • How he uses EBITDAR vs. EBITDA
  • Putting in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system

References and how to contact Cody:

Smithlist is a new job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

20 Jan 2025The $50m Lifestyle Holdco01:45:20

Register for the webinars: 


 •Is It a Fair Multiple? The Art of Making Your Offer - Wed Jan 22 - https://bit.ly/4asGoxw
•Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/3CbswuP


Abhi Ravishankar & 3 partners devised a novel holdco structure to prioritize flexibility, cash flow, and the long term.

Topics in Abhi’s interview:

  • Going from BCG partner to small business buyer
  • Starting a holdco with 3 friends
  • Their primary and secondary partner model
  • Setting up contingency plans in their operating agreement
  • Goal of spending more time with family
  • Not taking on investors
  • Quickly learning about potential industries
  • Closing on a pool business in 6 weeks
  • 4 add-ons in 18 months
  • Acquiring 2 ShelfGenie franchise locations

References and how to contact Abhi:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

12 Jan 20231 Year Later as Buyer of a $1m EBITDA Business00:33:20

Chris Williams was a guest in 2021, just after his acquisition. He returns to share how it's going now, 14 months later. 

Topics from Chris's interview:

  • System Six's growth in the first 14 months
  • What Chris wishes he had done differently during transition
  • Hiring challenges and how to hire from within
  • How he has learned sales
  • Why he likes to serve searcher-acquired businesses
  • The first step in being a great workplace
  • Traditional vs. self-funded search
  • Why revenue growth does not always equal EBITDA growth
  • Pricing challenges in the bookkeeping industry
  • Does more investors mean more help & guidance?

References & how to reach Chris:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Register for a live gathering of SMB, Micro-PE, and ETA owners, operators and investors:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

13 Apr 2023Life as an Operator: Leaving PE to Buy a $2m Tree Business01:18:47

Kaustubh Deo reflects on his first year as the owner of a tree business versus his former life in NYC private equity. 

Topics in Kaustubh’s interview:

  • Buying a tree service business
  • Buyer’s vs seller’s discretionary earnings
  • Reflecting on 13 months as a business owner
  • Possibility for roll-ups
  • Being an outsider in the tree industry
  • Change management
  • His thoughts on holdcos
  • Measuring success for his business
  • Life as a business owner vs. life in private equity
  • His advice for searchers

Links and how to contact Kaustubh:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds: 

20 Jun 2024Why Work IN the Business You Buy (Not Just On It)01:29:01

Register here for the webinar, How to Buy a Business & Hire an Operator at Once

--


Get Remediation Company CIM - Request the NDA to get the CIM of the Midwestern niche remediation company.

--


Before acquiring a commercial painting business doing around $2m, Colin Gates worked on a crew as one of its painters.

Topics in Colin's interview:

  • Aggressively saving while working in private equity
  • Recurring revenue is BS
  • Don’t sweat getting the perfect purchase price
  • Working as a painter for a month before buying
  • Managing prima donna employees
  • His strategy of constantly bidding jobs and hiring 
  • Putting in a project manager and a GM
  • Why he stopped requiring deposits
  • The seller staying on as an employee
  • Importance of cash flow in keeping a business going

References and how to contact Colin:

Smithlist is a new job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

14 Sep 2023Seller's View of a Searcher Buying His Business01:28:42

Peter Wild fielded offers to buy his business for years but sold only after being introduced to the searcher community. 

Topics in Peter & Carlos’ interview:

  • The psychology of a seller
  • Recognizing the business as “searcher friendly”
  • Finding the right individual to buy the business
  • History of the organic tree health industry
  • Why this sale was a “reverse search fund”
  • Upgrading to Salesforce from a 40-year-old custom database
  • Upgrading to digital contracts from paper
  • Why he wouldn’t sell to a strategic
  • Overcoming skepticism about selling to a “searcher”
  • The owner’s life as a proxy for whether to buy a business

Listen to Part 1 of this story:

References and how to contact Peter & Carlos:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

17 Jul 2023How One Tiny Acquisition Grew Into a Holdco01:25:18

Matt Huggins bought a small water & cable utility doing $200k/year. 15 years later, his holdco is on track for $20m/yr. 

Topics in this interview:

  • Matt's decision to step off the academic track
  • Matt's career as a professional online poker player
  • Transitioning from poker to small business
  • Acquiring a utilities company for a group of condos
  • The surprising complexity of running a utilities company
  • Starting a manhole lining business 
  • The stability and diversity of the water industry
  • Acquiring businesses from retiring owners without needing capital
  • The value of a fractional CFO
  • The reward of helping employees

References and how to contact Matt:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

30 Sep 2024Turning Around a Blue Collar Business in Decline01:40:25

George Tibil & Keith Fields bought a $1.1m janitorial business with falling revenues. 9 months later, sales are up 60%.

Topics in George and Keith’s interview:

  • Their dissatisfaction with the corporate ladder
  • Calling on Acquiring Minds guests for search advice
  • Acquiring a ServiceMaster Clean franchise location
  • What changed their minds about franchises
  • Firing their first employee before taking ownership
  • Cleaning all night when business was understaffed
  • Managing an immigrant-heavy workforce
  • Turning the culture around
  • 40% growth without outbound sales
  • Power of good partnerships

References and how to contact George and Keith:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

20 Jul 2023The Life-Changing Potential of Buying a Business01:16:32

Chris Munn, Bakari Akil, and Bruce Vann reflect on being Black men who bought businesses & why this path is so powerful. 

Topics in this interview:

  • What inspires and motivates them as business owners
  • The three necessary factors for capitalism to work
  • Unclaimed opportunities for minority businesses
  • The impact of entrepreneurship on family and future generations
  • Changing your mentality to lead a company effectively
  • Being “buttoned up” vs. being authentic
  • Dealing with sellers who want to talk U.S. politics
  • Overcoming challenges and persisting in the face of adversity
  • The limitations of “climbing the ladder” in a W2
  • Why now is the best time for Black people to buy businesses

References and how to contact:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

 Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

27 Nov 2024Micro-Acquiring to $300k SDE on 5 Hours Per Week01:26:33

Link Moser built a nearly-passive business portfolio by acquiring tiny web design & hosting shops on favorable terms.

Topics in Link’s interview:

  • Learning to build websites in the 90’s
  • Starting a web design/hosting business
  • Sending out letters to target businesses
  • Acquiring other digital marketing agencies nearby
  • Integrating the businesses he bought
  • Customer attrition rates during transition
  • Getting bored with passive income
  • Considering buying a traditional, non-digital business 
  • Willingness to sell his own business
  • Pros and cons of remote work

References and how to contact Link:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

10 Apr 2023From Determined Searcher to $75m Accidental Holdco01:46:30

Adam Duggins had 650 meetings to find his first business in 2013, not expecting he'd buy 3 more over the next 10 years. 

Topics in Adam Duggins’s interview:

  • Meeting with 650 people (in person!) during his search
  • How Adam found his partner & structured their ownership
  • How Adam became a holdco without meaning to
  • How motivating blue collar workers versus white collar careerists is different
  • Why Adam prefers working with blue collar versus white collar
  • Buying businesses in overlooked geographies
  • A bit about each of Adam's 4 businesses: steel fabrication, commercial HVAC, Jet-Hot, boiler services
  • What to love about businesses in the construction industry
  • Stability vs. growth
  • Early mistakes as an owner

Links and how to contact Adam:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

21 Jun 2022How to Acquire & Grow an FBA Business00:59:07

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 risk in ecommerce
  • Promoting an FBA business on Amazon
  • Amazon's PPC flywheel
  • ACoS and TACoS
  • Daily ad spend, net margins, revenue, SDE
  • Platform risk with FBA businesses
  • Adding a Shopify store to diversify distribution

Reach Alex at:

**** Register here for the live session with Chelsea Wood of the Acquisition Lab:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Links & mentions:

15 Feb 2024Fire, Covid, Exit: 5 Years in a $12m Events Business01:45:49

Register here for the webinar, How to Raise Equity to Buy a Business


Will Wright bought a big event rental business in December 2018. When Covid hit, he turned crisis into opportunity.

Topics in Will’s interview:

  • Benefits of a traditional search fund
  • Feeling like a “wartime president”
  • His brutal first year as owner
  • Value of a strong company culture
  • Scrambling to fulfill contracts after a large warehouse fire
  • Layoff and salary cuts during Covid
  • Building and strengthening the business during Covid
  • Creating an incentive strategy for employees
  • Texas as an attractive place for business
  • How sailing prepared him for leading people

References and how to contact Will Wright:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

28 Sep 2023How to Buy the Business Where You Work01:03:33

Corey Veverka acquired the business where he had worked for years, mitigating his risk & removing the need for a search. 

Topics in Corey’s interview:

  • Corey bought a business without doing a search
  • Accepting that buying a $5m business can be "normal"
  • How Corey felt about buying a business for millions of dollars
  • Educating the owner about SBA loans
  • Convincing his wife & partner to do the deal
  • Learning to think like an owner (increasing his financial goals)
  • How Corey's risk was mitigated by buying the business where he worked
  • How much they've grown the business
  • Takeaways for people who want to buy the business where they work
  • Why being a business owner is "life amplified"

References and how to contact Corey:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

05 Oct 2023Buying $1m+ Ice Cream Shops to Expand Nationally01:27:23

Shawn Allard didn't want a food business, but an ice cream shop with good margins & a local following changed his mind. 

Topics in Shawn’s interview:

  • Realizing he’s not a zero-to-one guy
  • More reps = more reward
  • Getting brokers to take him seriously at age 26
  • Why he was comfortable “buying small”
  • Buying a local ice cream business
  • Horror stories of food and beverage
  • Keeping his W-2 after buying the business
  • His vision to open more locations
  • The value of brand and reputation
  • Learning the business before making changes

References and how to contact Shawn:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

22 Feb 2022Nailing the Trifecta: B2B + Remote + Scalable00:48:51

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:

24 Jan 2022How to Build a Holdco (4 Acquisitions So Far)00:44:29

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

Reach Justin at:

  • j turner at traction cp dot com
01 Jul 2024Turning $500k into a $38m Holdco (No Investors)01:47:22

Register for the webinars:


Garrison Snell enjoyed a modest exit at age 24. By 30, he'd parlayed that into a holdco with $9m EBITDA and a mission.

Topics in Garrison’s interview:

  • Building and exiting a recording artist marketing agency
  • His objective to do the most good for the most people
  • Early ventures into real estate
  • Buying and quickly selling a restaurant
  • Acquiring in the manufacturing space
  • Understanding and applying Porter’s 5 Forces
  • Advantage of being a low-cost, essential supplier
  • Recent leadership challenges at a new acquisition
  • Building an indefinite holding company
  • Power of a community-minded small business

References and how to contact Garrison:

Smithlist is a new job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

11 Nov 2024The 2 Professors Who Helped Start the ETA Movement01:32:04

Register for the webinars:


The story behind "Rick & Royce", who've probably done more to grow entrepreneurship through acquisition than anyone.

Topics in Rick and Royce’s interview:

  • How they met in academia
  • Growth of their ETA class at Harvard
  • Unexpected success of their book
  • Satisfaction of changing students’ lives
  • Thoughts on their sons searching for businesses
  • Partner/family perspectives on search
  • Value of learning about failed acquisitions
  • How attitudes about small business have transformed
  • Using their podcast to educate about small business
  • Thoughts on pursuing wealth

References and how to contact Rick and Royce:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

  • Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

01 Nov 2021Stay Open to the Many Flavors of Search00:57:05

Thanks to changing his search from traditional to self-funded, Chris Williams bought a $1m EBITDA bookkeeping business.

Themes from Chris's interview:

  • Traditional versus alternative search fund models
  • The advantages of self-funded search (if you can afford it)
  • The appeal of bookkeeping businesses
  • How to stand out to potential sellers who have heard it all before
  • The first six months after acquisition

Reach Chris at:

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

10 Jun 20242 Welders and a Shop... to $3.8m in Sales01:44:01

Register here for the webinar, The DO's & DON'Ts of the LOI (legal office hours)


Matt Pohl & his wife bought a small welding business with extreme key person risk. They 4x'd the business in 2 years.

Topics in Matt’s interview:

  • Starting, growing and selling his own business
  • Acquiring a welding business with his wife
  • Learning how to hire welders
  • The difficulties of hiring through a staffing agency
  • Transient nature of welders
  • Growing while maintaining margins
  • Stress of running a business
  • Comparing zero-to-one to acquisition
  • Cashflow management in a project-based business
  • Using ReWild’s methods to grow the business

References and how to contact Guest:

Smithlist is a new job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

04 Jul 2024It Really Happened: 100% Financing for an $8m Business01:37:26

Register for the webinars:


We caution against thinking you can find it: 100% seller financing. But Renan Cortez did — and on a sizable business.

Topics in Renan’s interview:

  • His background as an Army medic
  • Learning about acquisition via Codie Sanchez
  • Using a virtual assistant to search for a business
  • Negotiating a 100% seller note
  • Feeling motivated by philanthropy
  • Spending too much money too fast after transition
  • Getting a bridge loan to make payroll
  • Rebranding the restoration company
  • Raising capital for growth
  • His large roll-up vision

References and how to contact Renan:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Smithlist is a new job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

15 Nov 2021The Argument for Self-Funded Search01:06:10

Jordan Carter & Robert Graham argue for self-funded search over traditional search funds or the "buy small" approach.

Themes from the interview with Jordan & Robert:

  • Self-Funded Over Traditional
  • Buy Bigger
  • Turning $200k into $4M+
  • How Much Money You'll Need
  • Be Prepared to Move
  • No Deal Experience? No Problem
  • What Makes a Good Searcher

Reach Jordan & Robert on LinkedIn:

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

02 May 2022Buying Digital Businesses in 202200:51:02

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:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Links & mentions:

24 Aug 2023From Startup Founder to Buying a Small Business01:22:42

Tim Ericson brings lessons from 13 years as a startup founder to the $4m printer rental company he recently bought.

Topics in Tim’s interview:

  • His experience in a VC-backed startup
  • Searching for a remote-friendly business
  • Using his sales skills to find a business
  • Buying Short-Term Copier 
  • The types of customers they serve
  • Comfort running a remotely-managed, multi-city business
  • His vision to double the business 
  • Installing an operations manager
  • Boring is the new sexy
  • Investing in other searchers’ deals

References and how to contact Tim:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

 Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds: 


19 Jan 2023Buying a $3m Course Business (Whose Founder is the Face)00:36:39

Online course businesses have dazzling margins but a key weakness. Dom Wells explains how to acquire one & make it work. 

Topics from the interview with Dom:

  • Opportunity for acquisition entrepreneurs to buy a course business
  • What to look for when acquiring a course
  • The role a course founder's personal story plays
  • How to ease the founder's face out of the brand
  • Why faces of successful students of the course are actually more valuable
  • How courses can charge so much ($500 and more)
  • Buying underperforming Udemy courses
  • Importance of marketing funnels to a course business
  • Ongoing development costs of a course (vs. SaaS)

Links & how to contact Dom:

Register for a live gathering of SMB, Micro-PE, and ETA owners, operators and investors:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

21 Apr 2025Hiding in Plain Sight on BizBuySell: $800k SDE for 2x01:38:03

Register for the webinar:

Joe Ziolkowski found the deal of a lifetime — a $10m manufacturing business — by expanding his filters on BizBuySell.


Topics in Joe’s interview:

  • Investing with a friend in real estate
  • Backing out of a Mr. Rooter deal
  • Acquiring a restoration business
  • Dealing with insurance in restoration
  • Making a bad operations hire
  • Selling the business at a profit after 6 months
  • Acquiring a wood veneer manufacturing company
  • Getting a great deal on both businesses
  • Seller’s daughter staying on as VP
  • Why it’s impossible to start a wood veneer business

References and how to contact Joe:

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

09 Dec 2024First Acquisition in March, $200m by Year End01:44:26

Register for the webinar:

Jordan Dubin and his partners are rolling up a home services industry. They blew by their 5-year goal in the first year.

Topics in Jordan’s interview:

  • Partnering with his 2 friends
  • Hand writing 200 letters to potential sellers
  • Building a platform of garage door businesses
  • Maintaining local brands
  • Why private equity hasn’t picked over the industry yet
  • How they chose the garage door market
  • Building trust through honesty
  • Hitting $20 million EBITDA in the first year
  • Beachhead and tuck-in strategies
  • The role of timing in acquisition success

References and how to contact Jordan:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

  • Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

22 Aug 2024Investor Perspective on Self-Funded Search01:25:37

Register here for the webinar, Legal Office Hours: Common Legal Diligence Issues


Niklas James, Adam Borcz, and Tony Cappeart reflect on terms, risk & reward of the still-young self-funded search model.

Topics in Search Investor Roundtable:

  • White collar buyers of blue collar businesses
  • Desirable traits for searchers
  • Balancing investor returns and personal gains
  • 3 common modeling mistakes
  • Role of put options in deals
  • How searchers sabotage their own deals
  • Realistic expectations for business growth
  • Hope is not a strategy
  • Operational experience trumps finance knowledge
  • Self-funded search terms

References and how to contact panelists:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

20 Jun 2022Good News for Ecommerce Buyers00:57:49

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:

**** Register here for the live session with Chelsea Wood of the Acquisition Lab:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Links & mentions:

06 Mar 2025Why Treat an Acquisition Like a Startup01:27:33

Register for the webinars:

Day 1 changes? Yes please. Sean Daly brought a spirit of experimentation, iteration, and speed to a small HVAC business.

Topics in Sean’s interview:

  • Founding and exiting his own company
  • Going hard with cold outreach
  • Hiring an offshore assistant to source deals
  • Entrepreneurs are risk reducers
  • Building an offshore back of house team
  • Paying mostly in cash for the business
  • His decisive leadership style
  • ETA is sales
  • Treating his low-SDE business like a start-up
  • Failed experiment with outbound marketing

References and how to contact Sean:

Attend SMBash in Dallas, April 2-4, to meet fellow business buyers, operators, and investors:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

12 Aug 2021Buying a $1.2m Fencing Business & Earning Trust Quickly00:47:54

Cassi Niekamp didn't know anything about fencing when she acquired Bowden Fence. But she turned this to her advantage.

Themes from Cassi’s interview: 

  • Bringing a student’s mind to your acquisition 
  • Using vulnerability to earn trust 
  • Doubling production in 60 days 
  • Building rapport with the seller 
  • Buying the first business you see 

Reach Cassi at: 

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

03 Mar 2022Buying a 20-Year-Old Online Business00:33:11

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 resume writing group dot com
24 Jan 2023Buying Franchises: A Primer for Searchers01:09:02

Twitter-famous Wolf of Franchises on why & how you should buy existing franchise businesses, including lots of examples. 

Themes from the conversation with Wolf:

  • Pros/cons of acquiring an existing franchise business
  • Why buy 1 franchise business (even if SDE is just $100k)
  • Opportunity & perils of rolling up franchises
  • If you can grow from 1 to 2 locations, magic
  • How to assess health of a franchise brand
  • Breaking into mature franchises as an acquisition entrepreneur
  • 4 mature franchise brands Wolf likes (plus 1 he hates)
  • Why to avoid food franchises
  • How to gauge risk of new franchise brands
  • Avoid these 2 common mistakes made by franchisees

Links & how to reach the Wolf:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

31 Oct 2024Buying a Business to Build a Life01:26:50

Register for the webinar: 


Seattle-based Dan Drake & his wife wanted to raise their kids in Bend, Oregon. Buying a business allowed them to do it.

Topics in Dan’s interview:

  • His search in Bend, Oregon
  • Understanding negotiation tactics
  • Bundling the real estate with the business
  • His seller-financed deal
  • Renegotiating after sales dipped 20%
  • Pros and cons of having experienced staff
  • Explaining balloon payments
  • Giving back to Central Oregon
  • Meeting with top customers to understand their needs
  • Improving inventory management and website

References and how to contact Dan:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

11 Oct 2021The Poetry of Buying a Blue Collar Business00:58:03

Shannon Jones explains how acquisition entrepreneurs should navigate the realities of buying a blue collar business.

Themes from Shannon's interview:

  • Killing relations with a blue collar seller by being too "quant"
  • Importance of vulnerability when negotiating
  • How to know if a blue collar business is in an industry that’s right for you
  • Managing blue collar employees and common pitfalls
  • Transitioning as a new owner of a blue collar business
  • When is the right time to make changes as a new owner?

Reach Shannon at:

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

28 Oct 2021From Search Misery to Successful CEO00:48:04

Steve Divitkos shares tips from his acquisition, from the solitude of search to the delicate balance of being a new CEO.

Themes from Steve's interview:

  • The full lifecycle of a traditional search
  • The biggest myth about entrepreneurship
  • Surviving the search process
  • Why he bought Microdea
  • Managing relationships with the sellers (the price of peace)
  • What to do in your first two weeks as CEO 
  • Why you should diagnose before you prescribe

Reach Steve at:

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

24 Mar 2025How to Buy a Multinational01:24:57

Register for the webinar: 

Seeking a fit with his industrials experience, Adam Salmen bought an 8-figure business with locations around the world.

Topics in Adam’s interview:

  • Looking beyond “arts and crafts” businesses
  • Partnering with Novastone to search and acquire
  • Acquiring a multinational industrial company
  • China's dominance in steel production
  • Tariffs and the steel industry
  • Crowdfunding attempt that failed
  • Don’t buy a PowerPoint presentation
  • False summits in business ownership
  • Being inspired by Naval Ravikant
  • Putting your name on a business

References and how to contact Adam:

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Edited by Anton Rohozov.
Produced by Pam Cameron.

28 Feb 20226 Months in the Truck: Buying an Ice Delivery Biz00:57:17

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
28 Mar 2024$700k EBITDA with No SBA, No Money Down01:37:14

How Andrew Stordeur bought a 25-year-old furniture manufacturer in Alberta without having to use any of his own capital.

Topics in Andrew’s interview:

  • Taking a startup to an IPO
  • Competition in the wood furniture space
  • Financing without the SBA
  • Advice for Canadian searchers
  • Getting a 35% seller note
  • His 100% financed deal
  • His plan to increase direct-to-consumer sales
  • Being the sole breadwinner for a family of 6
  • Deciding not to buy with a partner
  • How his company ships faster than Amazon

References and how to contact Andrew:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

14 Oct 2024Business Collapse After Going All-In01:39:10

Register for the webinars:


Justin Willess liquidated his 401k to buy a $8.5m construction business. He lost the business and may lose his house.

Topics in Justin’s interview:

  • Frustration with his consulting career
  • Buying a construction company
  • Construction landscape in Northern Virginia
  • Discovering cooked books after transition
  • Seller refused to release promised funds
  • Emptying his 401k to make payroll
  • Calm is contagious
  • Closing the business
  • What he learned from the failed acquisition
  • Why he wants to acquire again

References and how to contact Justin:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Chicago on October 26th:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

09 May 2024Holdco Origin Story: The Bumpy Road to $3m EBITDA01:42:14

4 acquisitions, 3 years after the first deal, and 2 dishonest sellers before Chandra Rao went full-time in his holdco.

Topics in Chandra’s interview:

  • Learning from due diligence mistakes
  • Losing $300k in the first year
  • Challenges with payment terms and working capital
  • True value of a seller note
  • One of his partners embezzled from the companyFppp
  • Choosing a conventional loan over SBA
  • The electrical contracting and fiber optic cabling businesses
  • 6x growth in 4 years
  • Juggling a roll-up and a W-2
  • A seller who committed fraud

References and how to contact Guest:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

18 Apr 2022Self-Funded Search vs. Traditional Search Funds00:58:46

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 preferable for particular industry targets?
  • Who is your model not for?

Connect with the debaters on LinkedIn:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Links & mentions:

16 Nov 2023Skip the SBA: Buying a $4m Biz with a Conventional Loan01:15:35

Ben Bryer worked with a financial backer to find & buy a 65-year-old niche manufacturing business without an SBA loan. 

Topics in Ben’s interview:

  • Spending $150K and 18 months on dead deal
  • The emotional toll of a failed deal
  • Freelancing to partially fund his search
  • Buying a pin gage manufacturer
  • What attracted Ben to the business
  • Choosing a conventional loan over SBA loan
  • Building relationships with lending partners
  • Tech debt as a liability
  • The benefits of having long-term employees
  • Importance of time allocation

References and how to contact Ben:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

26 Jun 2023The Secret to $25m Success01:41:47

James Bloom has 8x'd a small mechanical contractor he bought only 4 years ago, despite it being a competitive industry. 

Topics in James’s interview:

  • How his background in M&A informed his due diligence process
  • How he ensured a smooth transition
  • Commercial HVAC vs. residential HVAC
  • Why he funded growth out of his own pocket
  • Reducing his weekly work hours from 100 to 60
  • How his business differentiates itself in the construction industry
  • Growing his staff from 8 to 80
  • Growing revenue from $3M to $25M
  • Working with unions
  • Bringing in outside capital to grow

Links and how to contact James:

Buy your ticket to the ETA conference devoted to self-funded search:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

31 Jan 2023Manufacturing Opportunity: Look Where Others Aren't01:16:50

Jules Brenner searched for 2.5 years before buying a manufacturer with great tailwinds and a path to $100m in revenue. 

Topics in Jules' interview:

  • Jules's background in mechanical engineering & California startups
  • Starting out with Searchfunder.com
  • The difficulty of searching during COVID
  • The 4 tiers of manufacturing companies
  • What type of manufacturing business to buy
  • His deal with an architectural lighting manufacturer that fell through
  • Sam Rosati's role as an advisor
  • What Jules was doing wrong in his search
  • The real purpose of a broker
  • How sellers always gets what they want
  • Acquiring and growing American Sheet Metal

Resources and how to reach Jules:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Overhaul your website with ongoing support & unlimited edits, all for a flat monthly fee:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

11 Dec 20232.5 Years from Buying to Exiting01:44:34

Brian Lee Shields bought a barely-profitable property management business intending to improve, grow, & hold it forever. 

Topics in Brian’s interview:

  • Importance of energy vs talent 
  • Brian's partner and their complementary roles
  • Buying property management companies
  • Improving their net promoter score (NPS)
  • Building a culture of completion rate measurement
  • Relocating positions and outsourcing
  • Importance of trust in property management
  • Successfully transitioning to a remote-first business
  • Deciding to sell the business
  • His burnout and recovery

References and how to contact Brian:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

06 Jun 2024Buying a Bankrupt 117-Year-Old Manufacturer01:57:17

Register here for the webinar, The DO's & DON'Ts of the LOI (legal office hours)


Despite having no experience in manufacturing, Jens Grudno jumped when he heard about a failing straight-razor business.

Topics in Jens’s interview:

  • Buying a bankrupt razor manufacturer
  • Embracing risk in German business culture
  • Cleaning out and moving a 116-year old business
  • Another company poaching their clients
  • Pitfalls to avoid when buying a business
  • Developing a new, innovative product
  • Operating a company six hours from home
  • Comparing start-ups to acquisition
  • Value of going where there's less competition
  • The craft of manufacturing

References and how to contact Jens:

Smithlist is a new job board for leadership roles at small businesses. If you're not ready to buy a business but want to lead one:

Register for the Self-Funded Search Conference, September 13th - 15th in Dallas:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

20 Dec 2021A Cautionary Tale of Buying Too Small01:07:25

JD Klein bought a print shop for $100k, thinking such a small acquisition carried little risk. The opposite was true. 

Themes from JD's interview:

  • Running a strong-growth, low-margin business
  • Selling your house to make ends meet
  • Why very small businesses come with higher risk
  • Acquirers should hire a financial planner
  • Pivoting your strategy when uncontrollable roadblocks emerge
  • Pros & cons of the printing industry for acquirers
  • Personal victories vs. financial victories

Reach JD at:

15 Jul 20227 Findings from the New Data on Self-Funded Searches00:29:07

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 buyers were vying for the LOI?
  • What do you think the critical success factors were in sourcing and closing your deal?
  • Did you go up or down market compared to your original expectations?

Reach Lisa at:

  • lisa DOT forrest AT liveoak DOT bank
  • LinkedIn

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Links & mentions:

  • The report will be published at Live Oak Bank's search fund resources page... but not for 2 weeks.
  • If you can't wait, email Lisa at the address above👆 and she'll get you the raw data now.
02 Sep 2021Buying a $1m Coffee Biz After Years of Starting from Scratch00:46:15

After years of struggling to launch products from scratch, Casey Allen pivoted to buy a $1.7m coffee supplies business.

Themes from Casey's interview:

  • Struggling for years to launch products from scratch
  • The benefits of acquiring a company instead
  • Buying an e-commerce business as COVID sales take off
  • Buying a 24-year-old content site with 12 million annual visitors
  • Content vs. e-commerce
  • Advice for acquirers who have $10k, $50k, or $250k in cash to buy a business

Reach Casey at:

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

23 Aug 2021Buying an Online Side Hustle (for Less than $5k)00:37:58

Vivian Chen bought an abandoned online business for almost nothing, then grew it to $5k/mo — while keeping her day job.

Themes from Vivian’s episode:

  • Years of false starts before deciding to acquire
  • Advice to side hustlers
  • Parallels between buying an online business & real estate investing
  • When to go full time
  • Knowing yourself is key to your journey as an acquisition entrepreneur
  • It takes longer than you expect...
  • …so get started

Reach Vivian at: 

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

18 Dec 2023Factory Life: Buying a Manufacturer with $1m SDE01:31:52

Ben Jasper made a change at age 40, acquiring a plastic bag manufacturer with 10 people & a daily start time of 4:30am. 

Topics in Ben’s interview:

  • Managing a portfolio of $500 million on Wall Street
  • Leaving finance to prioritize family
  • Buying a plastic bag manufacturer
  • Starting his work day at 3:30 AM
  • His intense 2-month initiation
  • Creating a manual and financial model to manage the business
  • Challenges of maintaining old machinery
  • Understanding his employees' personal values
  • Long-term vision to hire an operator
  • Negative revenue growth in the manufacturing industry

References and how to contact Ben:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

04 Dec 2023The Power of Conviction in Buying a Business01:24:22

Matt Barnes bought a $400k SDE linen laundry business, channeling his conviction at big decision points along the way. 

Topics in Matt’s interview:

  • Doing a narrow geographic search
  • Pros and cons of door-to-door proprietary outreach to sellers
  • Importance of having his wife on board
  • Getting emotionally invested in deals
  • His values-based reason for acquiring a business
  • The business sustaining fire damage before purchase
  • Buying a commercial laundry business
  • Niches within the laundry industry
  • Realities of being an owner-operator
  • How hard work builds character

References and how to contact Matt:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

03 Sep 2024Leaving Corporate to Buy a $4m Manufacturer01:47:03

An engineer at heart, Mike Dey set his sights on buying a manufacturing business for the next stage of his career.

Topics in Michael’s interview:

  • Pivoting from aerospace engineering to business ownership
  • Selling his real estate investment to buy a business
  • Beware turning your passion into your income
  • Buying a business in his 40’s
  • How risky is business ownership?
  • The risk build-up model of valuing a business
  • Saying no to a friend’s investment
  • Buying a business bundled with real estate
  • Managing a blue collar workforce
  • Having to suddenly switch lenders

References and how to contact Michael:

Work with an SBA broker who focuses exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Chicago on October 26th:

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

30 Oct 2023How to Buy a SaaS Business with an SBA Loan01:38:31

It CAN be done. Andrew Swiler acquired a SaaS business with $650k SDE using an SBA loan (and while living in Spain). 

Topics in Andrew’s interview:

  • Why he preferred buying a SaaS business to an ecommerce one
  • Key trait to being a successful acquisition entrepreneur
  • Downside protection in a SaaS business
  • The appeal of the Microsoft ecosystem
  • Deferred revenue (and explaining it to a seller)
  • Buying a SaaS business as a non-technical person
  • How a SaaS business is valued
  • History of Lanteria, the business Andrew bought
  • Terms of the deal
  • Strategy of building a portfolio of B2B SaaS businesses
  • Pros & cons of holding company structure
  • Pros & cons of fund structure

References and how to contact Andrew:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

20 Jun 2023Self-Funded Search vs. Independent Sponsorship01:42:59

Niklas James started off as a self-funded searcher, but evolved into being an independent sponsor of 7 acquisitions. 

Topics in Niklas’s interview:

  • Why he returned the funds raised for his traditional search fund
  • How the painful challenges of his first acquisition set him up for success on later deals
  • Why SaaS isn’t as sexy as it seems
  • Evolution from self-funded searcher to independent sponsor
  • Definition of an independent sponsor
  • Why HVAC is so attractive
  • Growing his home services business
  • What type of person should consider independent sponsorship
  • The difference between searchers and independent sponsors
  • The difference between a holdco and independent sponsorship

Links and how to contact Niklas:

Buy your ticket to the ETA conference devoted to self-funded search:

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

02 Nov 2023Growing EBITDA from $750k to $2m: Time to Sell?01:04:34

John Hubbard returns to share how "chasing EBITDA over revenue" has benefited the trailer fabricator he bought in 2021. 

Topics in John’s interview:

  • Losing largest customer (25% of revenue)
  • Earning $2m EBITDA on $6m revenue vs. $25m revenue
  • Don't chase revenue, chase EBITDA
  • Mentally transitioning from buyer of a business to the seller of it
  • Why he's thinking about selling
  • Selling vs. hiring an operator & holding
  • How difficult finding a good operator is
  • Appreciating how precious it is when you have a business doing well
  • The appeal of investing in other search deals
  • 3 points about leadership in SMB

References and how to contact John:

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

Enhance your understanding of Acquiring Minds with My Podcast Data

At My Podcast Data, we strive to provide in-depth, data-driven insights into the world of podcasts. Whether you're an avid listener, a podcast creator, or a researcher, the detailed statistics and analyses we offer can help you better understand the performance and trends of Acquiring Minds. From episode frequency and shared links to RSS feed health, our goal is to empower you with the knowledge you need to stay informed and make the most of your podcasting experience. Explore more shows and discover the data that drives the podcast industry.
© My Podcast Data
About usPrivacy Policy