Minds Capital Podcast - podcast cover

Minds Capital Podcast

Will Smith & Niklas James•www.mindscapital.co
Business
Entrepreneurship
Investing
Your connection to the growing world of independent sponsors and deal-by-deal private equity.
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Episodes

Two Recaps To 10.5x MOIC

Dan Chetrit was a traditional searcher, "stuck" in his first (well-performing) deal. That changed during COVID, when they successfully recapped the company. Rolling their carry back into the business gave them majority control, removed the full-time attention clause, and let them start building a portfolio instead of staying tied to a single company. Since then, they’ve added ~1 new platform per year while building a sourcing engine that aims at making them a top-decile independent sponsor. Refe...

Jun 10, 2026•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 67

Tripled EBITDA, Doubled Multiple, Exited Early

After a distinguished career at BCG and as an executive in retail, Richard Baum was directed to the deal-by-deal model amid fundraising woes in the mid-2000s. Today he's viewed as one of the pioneers of the independent sponsor model, building Consumer Growth Partners around deep sector expertise. Over 20 years, he helped turn the independent sponsor ecosystem, previously mostly known for its lack of committed capital, into the dominant buyer of lower-middle market companies in North America. Ref...

Jun 03, 2026•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 66

The Family Office Independent Sponsor

Jim Bolduc operates the independent sponsor arm within his family's Family Office. As a former investment banker at Merrill Lynch, Jim walks us through the nuances of their approach, which includes a focus on the retail industry built on decades of entrepreneurial experience. References and how to contact today's guest: Jim Bolduc | LinkedIn Minds Capital invests equity into deals by independent sponsors and searchers. For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start ...

May 27, 2026•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 65

Steak & Sizzle with a Side of Fundless

Bruce Lipian just wanted to keep doing deals after his committed fund was fully deployed. At a New York conference, someone called him “fundless.” A few drinks later, the group landed on a better term: independent sponsor. The name stuck. So did the model. References and how to contact today's guest: Bruce Lipian | LinkedIn Minds Capital invests equity into deals by independent sponsors and searchers. For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start a conversation. Ou...

May 20, 2026•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 64
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