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 ...
Apr 13, 2023•1 hr 19 min
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 ...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 47 min
Bruce Vann returns to update us on his manufacturing business, and a thesis around the roll-up of window blinds stores. Topics in Bruce Vann’s interview: Buying a stage curtain/shades business Profitability of the business Their curtain and shades products Acquiring a blinds company Integrating his businesses Bruce’s vision for expansion The possibilities for search in window treatments The feast or famine nature of the business The long sales cycle Investing in a ribbon weight machine Bruce’s a...
Apr 06, 2023•44 min
John Ikalowych shares his traumatic journey of going all-in to buy a hail-repair business, then having to shut it down. Topics in John Ikalowych’s interview: John’s background in commercial banking Buying a car hail repair business Losing half his staff just months after acquisition The disaster that tanked their finances Pivoting from B2C to B2B Shutting down the business How the business failure changed him Closing a business with a personal guarantee John’s advice to searchers The importance ...
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr 28 min
Morli Desai left corporate to scratch her entrepreneurial itch, using an SBA loan to buy an ecommerce biz with $1m SDE. Topics in Morli Desai’s interview: Leaving her corporate job at 40 Joining the Acquisition Lab Purchasing an ecommerce business How to approach brokers Transitioning an ecommerce business Purchasing an Australian entity Marketing with PPC Assessing risk in ecommerce Proprietary vs brokered search Inventory management in ecommerce Links and how to contact Morli: LinkedIn 4,000 w...
Mar 30, 2023•1 hr 24 min
Pawel Kosicki learned about buying small businesses in July. By January, he'd bought one himself with 7 figures of SDE. Topics in Pawel Kosicki’s interview: Pawel’s background in engineering Valuation of a home theater/automation company Closing on his very first LOI Financing a deal in Canada His philosophy on risk in business The seller staying on as an employee Mitigating risk in a project-based business His plans to grow the business Projected growth in the home automation industry Advice fo...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 26 min
Damon Chlarson takes a job in tech sales, despite having improved the business he bought & surviving a tough year. Topics in Damon’s interview: Damon bought Pacific Insulation Supply, an online wholesaler Difficulties in scaling the insulation business. Overview of sales in the first year Getting a regular W-2 job again New systems he put in place at the business Training his sales team The challenges of working from home How he runs a business with bipolar disorder Fluctuation in demand for...
Mar 23, 2023•37 min
Brenden Van Buren is growing his fencing business, despite the industry's notorious cyclicality & project-based revenue. Topics in Brenden’s interview: Brenden’s family history in the construction business Co-founding Generational Transfer Entrepreneurs The pros and cons of having a pipeline when starting search Why the perfect relationship is better than the perfect business The risks associated with construction companies Acquiring Pro Max Fence Systems How he doubled sales in 4.5 years Th...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 23 min
Justin Turner returns with details on 2 new acquisitions by his holdco Traction, plus updates on the existing 4 portcos. Topics in Justin’s interview: Justin helps run investment firm Traction Capital Partners How Traction is different from Private Equity The risks of buying into a franchise network How he bought one of his vendors Lessons learned from buying 6 businesses Driving sales in a disaster restoration business Doubling revenue in 5 years for a Fire Department supply business Facing the...
Mar 16, 2023•53 min
Michael Arrieta's holdco has made 3 acquisitions since 2020. Sales & culture, not tech, have proven to be the key levers. Topics in Michael’s interview: How he built the holding company Garden City Why he is drawn to service businesses His experience with fast-growth startups in Silicon Valley How he almost doubled EBITDA in less than a year The mistakes he made with his first acquisition The 3 ways he finds companies to buy How he improves workplace culture in the service industry How Garde...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 19 min
After a rollercoaster year in his appliance repair business, John Schooler returns with scars, wisdom, and optimism. Topics in John’s interview: John bought an appliance repair business 14 months ago How he runs a repair business without having repair skills The disaster that took away 20% of revenue overnight Why running a business is harder than a marathon The pros and cons of working with home warranty companies What he would do differently from day one What he learned about retaining employe...
Mar 09, 2023•45 min
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 yea...
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 27 min
Andrew Sieve saw his life implode after COVID. Buying a highly profitable 40-year-old restaurant turned things around. Topics in Andrew’s interview: Andrew’s family history of owning and operating restaurants Why he prefers smaller restaurants The tragedies of 2020 that led to him exiting his family’s business Moving from Minneapolis to Colorado to start over How a chance meeting led to him buying a restaurant How they achieved a smooth transition What factors make restaurants difficult business...
Mar 02, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Paul Quirk acquired a $800k EBITDA window & door business in the UK, continuing to live with his family in Switzerland. Topics in Paul's interview: Paul’s experience with JP Morgan in Geneva 3 biggest differences between acquisition in the UK vs the US The variety of ways Paul reached out to businesses during search His decision to start the Buy and Build podcast How he decided to buy a window/door installation business The changes he made to the company’s processes Why he redesigned the com...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 37 min
Shortly after his first interview in June, Jason Andrews sold his business to a strategic buyer for a life-changing sum. Topics in Jason's interview: Jason's recent exit of the group purchasing organization (GPO) he acquired in 2016 How he had grown the business 50-60% without increasing staff The downside of buying a super-niche business The advantages of acquiring a bigger business How his sales background influenced the way he restructured the company Why he says “don’t pay down your debt too...
Feb 23, 2023•35 min
Chirag Shah applied systems from his days as a product manager to find & acquire a dog-training business with $600k SDE. Topics from Chirag's interview: Chirag’s background as a small business underwriter His experience in the Acquisition Lab How a virtual assistanct and a Notion database helped narrow his search His decision to buy a Sit Means Sit franchise Why 2021 was a banner year for dog training How franchises compare in terms of flexibility How much he pays in monthly franchise fees T...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 9 min
Brian Beers, owner of 30 Midas locations, teaches how to acquire an empire with seller financing for retiring owners. Topics from Brian's interview: How Brian’s family got him into owning Midas franchises What makes the auto repair industry unique What kind of person would enjoy running a franchise Questions to ask before buying a franchise How seller financing is different with franchisees Service franchises vs retail franchises How to approach buying a franchise How a franchise broker can help...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 16 min
Tyler O'Connor bought a 20-year-old golf school he found on BizBuySell doing mid-7 figures with 35% margins. Topics in Tyler's interview: Why Tyler decided to buy a business How he got his wife on board with buying a business The two books he recommends to every searcher Why he decided against buying a “boring” business The one worry that kept him up at night Why he had to decline an investor at the last minute Why he bought his first LOI: Bird Golf Academy His advice about who to invest with Wh...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Patrick Dichter returns to update us on a productive first year as CEO of a bookkeeping business he bought in late 2021. Topics in Patrick's interview: How Patrick acquired a bookkeeping business without an accounting background Three factors that led to 60% revenue increase in year one Why there’s a shortage of accountants and how that affects his business What makes tax prep difficult to offshore Which kind of firms to “stay the f*** away” from Why rollups don’t work in accounting How he turns...
Feb 09, 2023•37 min
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 Mo...
Feb 06, 2023•52 min
Jacob Lee signed up for 10 locations in the Scenthound franchise after deciding it was a better opportunity than search. Topics in Jacob's interview: Why starting franchise locations makes more sense than buying a business Return on equity in franchising vs. search Getting over pride when choosing to franchise How Jacob selected Scenthound from 4,000 franchise options Other franchises Jacob considered How to analyze a franchise opportunity (especially a young one) All about Scenthound - concept,...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 31 min
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 ...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Sarah Romer bought a large but tired hair salon in Austin for $80k. Her first year as owner was the hardest of her life. (This is a rebroadcast from November 2021.) 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 exit...
Jan 26, 2023•55 min
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 brand...
Jan 24, 2023•1 hr 9 min
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 underp...
Jan 19, 2023•37 min
David Page bought a Bay Area wine business in 2010, against the advice of colleagues. 12 years later, it's 5x larger. Topics in David's interview: Don't avoid "buying a job"... because you ARE buying a job Buying a business before "search" was well known Buying a circus business (almost) Humble, scrappy beginnings after acquiring Buying in cash, no loan Inevitable surprises you find post-acquisition Brutal first 6 months The niche of private wine grape growing Growing 5x since acquisition How to...
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr 12 min
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 EBITD...
Jan 12, 2023•33 min
Key findings from SIG's new study on self-funded search: financial outcomes, deal costs & terms, search lengths & more. Topics from the interview with SIG: What is the self-funded search study & why it matters Effect of self-funded search on entrepreneurs' net worths Search performance: how many acquisitions saw EBITDA shrink, maintain, or grow How much is too much to pay for legal fees & due diligence The pros and cons of a seller note Why you don’t need an MBA to acquire a busi...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 15 min
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...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 19 min
How Bradley Roofner & Logan Brown transformed a tough, project-based landscaping biz into a recurring revenue machine. 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...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 6 min
