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.

Last refreshed: June 17th, 2026 at 4:41 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

Buying at <5x by Mastering Deal Flow

Benjamin Graham-inspired value investor, Matt Bodnar, views deal flow and valuation discipline, specifically 4-5x, as the two mission-critical components in creating long-term alpha. He is also a believer in permanent holdings, where annual cash flows, rather than exit proceeds, are a source of evergreen capital for future acquisitions. References and how to contact today's guest: Matt Bodnar | LinkedIn For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start a conversation. ...

Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 7

From UEFA Champions League to Deal-By-Deal PE

From playing against FC Barcelona at Nou Camp to negotiating with chain-smoking veterinarians, Nikolay Dimitrov at Unity Investment Partnership is trailblazing the path of independent sponsor firms in Eastern Europe. References and how to contact today's guest: Nikolay Dimitrov | LinkedIn For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start a conversation. Minds Capital invests equity into deals by independent sponsors and searchers. Our website also contains more informa...

Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 6

How to Build an Investor Database of 4,000 HNWIs

Zinger-machine Jay Fuquay is an EVP at Trinity Investors. Trinity was formerly an independent sponsor and is now a private equity and alternative investments powerhouse. They've curated an active investor database of 4,000 high net worth individuals, which has propelled Trinity into a leading capital partner for independent sponsors. References and how to contact today's guest: Jay Fuquay | LinkedIn For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start a conversation. Mind...

Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 5

How to Build an Indy Sponsor Team Before Chasing Deals

Where many newly established independent sponsors "fake it 'till they make it", Shreveport-native Edward Crawford used his "Mission & Margin" principles to raise working capital for real infrastructure and a team at Coltala Holdings before chasing deals. He shares about their monthly newsletter that reaches 30,000 stakeholders and generates 14-15 deals, Coltala's relationship-based scoring system for deal flow, and Coltala Enterprise Systems for driving operational efficiency in PortCos. Ref...

Mar 12, 2025•58 min•Ep. 4

From Searcher to Independent Sponsor to $225m Fund

Alex de Pfyffer and Ross Porter of Heritage Holdings share their journey from searchers (bringing a $45m revenue company to $140m) to sponsors (achieving 99% gross IRR (68% net IRR) across 5 platforms) to fund managers (closing a $225m fund closed in 2024). They engage in a vivid debate about the pros and cons of the fund model versus deal-by-deal private equity. References and how to contact Alex and Ross: Alex de Pfyffer | LinkedIn Ross Porter | LinkedIn For independent sponsors with a deal un...

Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 3

Buying an 800-Unit Hair Salon during Covid

Azhar Quader of Queens Court Capital specializes on special situations and walks us through how he used his large-cap Wall Street experience to take Hair Cuttery out of bankruptcy to become a huge success story. References and how to contact Azhar: Azhar Quader | LinkedIn For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start a conversation. Minds Capital invests equity into deals by independent sponsors and searchers. Our website also contains more information about this p...

Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 2

20x a $10m investment in 2.5 years

Michael Sutton, founder of Guideboat Capital Partners, discusses how he took a restaurant chain from $5m to $25m in EBITDA and then 40x'd the enterprise value of Buff City, a soap retailer. References and how to contact Michael: Michael Sutton | LinkedIn For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start a conversation. Minds Capital invests equity into deals by independent sponsors and searchers. Our website also contains more information about this podcast and for pro...

Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 1

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