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How To Partner with 20 Operators ($100m in Sales) | Neil Twa Interview
6 juni 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
Neil Twa is a veteran e-commerce operator and investor who’s built and exited multiple 8-figure physical product brands. He raised $100M to launch an Amazon aggregator — and then walked away before deploying a single dollar. Lees meer
Now, Neil is a partner at Patriot Growth Capital, where he focuses on acquiring businesses in the $5M–$50M range and backing veteran entrepreneurs.
In This Episode We Discuss:
00:00:00 - Intro & Neil's background
00:00:28 - Biggest lesson: Patience and perseverance
00:01:25 - Why Neil got into physical products
00:02:28 - Build vs Buy in physical product businesses
00:04:34 - Building businesses with the end in mind (exit focused)
00:07:18 - Neil's early business journey & first exits
00:08:34 - Meeting Kevin Harrington & shift to 'build to sell'
00:12:14 - Timeline: affiliate - FBA - aggregators
00:16:00 - Neil 1.0 vs Neil 2.0 - mindset transformation
00:21:00 - The '5 Fs' framework
00:22:03 - Pulling back from $100M aggregator plan
00:26:33 - Operational chaos in the Amazon rollup space
00:31:00 - Mass adoption of ecommerce & timing the market
00:34:34 - Creative deal structures & leaving owners with equity
00:40:21 - Ideal acquisition targets & buy box explained
00:43:31 - One deal with massive upside potential
00:46:30 - Building a new SaaS product: Cayman Data
00:50:00 - How Neil manages focus & projects
00:51:24 - Neil's current role: investor/operator
00:53:07 - One key lesson from being in the trenches
00:56:33 - Advice: don't sell $20 products on Amazon
00:57:34 - Current frustration: Amazon TOS enforcement
00:59:11 - Five-year vision for fund and SaaS (2030 goals)
01:00:25 - Favorite book: Good to Great by Jim Collins
01:01:48 - Best investment advice: Invest without expectation
01:02:00 - Closing remarks----------------------------------------------
Subscribe on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6lr5bE3SNZF2uEE7Nb0DHhSubscribe on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holdco-builders/id1695713724Follow M…
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Rollup of the Decade? Two Private Equity Firms, One Boring Business, and a 10-Figure Payday
2 juni 2025 · 25 min
Private equity firms made over 80x their money on Mister Car Wash. How? Lees meer
In this episode, Mikk is joined by Pavel Prokofjev from Rollup Europe to dissect one of the most extreme boom-and-bust rollup stories in recent memory. At its peak, Mister Car Wash was a private equity dream: 40% EBITDA margins, 3-year paybacks, and a shift from transactional to recurring revenue — a perfect storm of unit economics and subscription-like predictability.
PE firm Leonard Green used aggressive sale-leasebacks and dividend recaps to fully recover its equity by 2019 while retaining control — ultimately achieving a 20x+ MOIC and IRRs north of 35%.So why did the IPO flop? Why did the market re-rate from 20x to 10x EBITDA? And is the car wash rollup model broken — or just entering a new phase?
This is a deep dive into one of private equity’s most fascinating plays — packed with numbers, strategy, and hard-won lessons.
We explore:
00:00:00 - Did private equity kill the U.S. car wash opportunity?
00:01:00 - Why celebrities started investing in car wash rollups
00:02:40 - Why car washes were a PE dream: fragmentation, subscriptions, and margins
00:04:30 - Mister Car Wash: 80x return for PE, disaster for IPO buyers
00:06:00 - What killed investor returns: debt, high prices, and macro changes
00:08:15 - How express tunnels made $25/month memberships viable
00:10:00 - Churn, location strategy, and why car washes behave like SaaS
00:12:30 - How Mister Car Wash struck gold — twice
00:13:50 - 5 expensive lessons for future rollup operators
00:16:00 - Is a car wash holdco still viable in 2025?
00:19:30 - Will the U.S. playbook work in Europe? The tunnel tech gap
00:23:00 - Greenfield vs. buy-and-build: which wins in the long term?
00:25:00 - Final thoughts and advice from Pavel----------------------------------------------
Subscribe on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6lr5bE3SNZF2uEE7Nb0DHhSubscribe on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holdco-builders/id1695713… -
How I Bought 30+ Businesses and Built a $195M HoldCo in My 30s | Chris Sparling Interview
29 mei 2025 · 1 uur 5 min
In this episode of HoldCo Builders, I’m joined by Chris Sparling, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Tiny. Chris has helped acquire and scale more than 30 internet businesses and has deep insights into capital allocation, due diligence, deal structuring, and the psychology of long-term investing. Lees meer
We talk about how Tiny was built, the story behind acquiring AeroPress, thought experiments that shaped their early decisions, and what Chris learned from personal interactions with Charlie Munger and Bill Ackman. Whether you’re a business buyer, holdco operator, or investor, this episode is packed with timeless wisdom and practical frameworks.
In Today’s Episode We Discuss:
00:00:00 - Chris's backstory and early investing lessons from his dad
00:00:58 - The pivotal moment meeting Andrew and starting their journey together
00:02:55 - The “law firm” thought experiment and why it shaped their capital allocation mindset
00:04:28 - Realization: Buying proven businesses is better than starting from scratch
00:06:00 - How Chris became a shareholder in Tiny (not a typical path)
00:08:53 - Avoiding bad businesses: wholesale transfer price risk and capital intensity
00:10:34 - Canadian location arbitrage and headspace advantage
00:13:15 - The unfair advantage of Andrew’s online persona
00:17:23 - Why founders choose to sell to Tiny: Speed, authenticity, and respect
00:19:00 - 2-year dry spell in dealmaking and how discipline shaped their approach
00:20:48 - Favorite structuring method: “Bird in hand” vs. “two in the bush”
00:22:51 - How they acquired AeroPress from its legendary inventor
00:25:04 - Fastest deal Tiny ever did—and why it worked
00:27:22 - Buying “venture orphans” at deep discounts
00:29:00 - Organic growth vs. price-driven acquisitions
00:30:44 - How Tiny evaluates moats and pricing power
00:31:58 - Siloing debt and managing risk through asymmetric bets
00:33:36 - Would unlimited capital improve their investing strategy?
00:34:55 - Lessons from Charlie Munger and pla… -
How I Built a $12M HoldCo Through Chaos, Grit, and Two Acquisitions | Mark Rossano Interview
22 mei 2025 · 1 uur 5 min
My guest today is Mark Rossano, Co-Founder & CEO of C6 Capital Holdings, a firm focused on building real-world solutions in energy and agriculture infrastructure. Lees meer
In this episode, we explore Mark’s journey from Morgan Stanley and global oil trading to building a holding company that owns hydroelectric power plants and sustainable fertilizer companies.
In Today’s Episode We Discuss:
00:00:00 - Intro: meet Mark Rossano
00:01:06 - From Wall Street to Oil Trading & Global Energy
00:03:18 - Launching a Fund & Personal Tragedy
00:05:45 - Why Energy & Agriculture Infrastructure
00:08:00 - How Mark Met His Partner Fernando
00:10:15 - The Early Pain: Fundraising & Doubters
00:13:09 - Power Prices, Fertilizer & Macro Contrarian Views
00:15:02 - First Close: Winning Investors Over with Track Record
00:16:50 - Structure & Scale of the Portfolio
00:20:56 - Why Sulfur Is the Hidden Commodity Crisis
00:22:25 - Deal Sourcing: How They Find Hydroelectric Assets
00:24:50 - Why Mark Buys Minority Stakes & Not Full Control
00:26:09 - Their “Anti-Private Equity” Approach
00:29:04 - Why Engineers Partner with Mark’s Firm
00:32:07 - Lessons from Running Real Businesses vs. Modeling
00:36:17 - Macro Insights That Drive Capital Allocation
00:40:56 - How Mark Avoids Bad Investments
00:44:16 - Big Mistakes Founders Make (Sales, Leverage, Assumptions)
00:50:17 - Fund Structure & Deployment Strategy
00:54:00 - The Psychological Side of Building During Chaos
00:58:03 - Making Tough Calls & Turning Off Emotions
01:02:15 - Best Investment Advice & Favorite Books----------------------------------------------
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Mark on X: https://x.com/markfny
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How Elite Investors Stay Sharp For 30+ Years (Yet Many Overlook It)
19 mei 2025 · 24 min
What if the real edge in investing isn’t another framework or deal structure—but how you learn? Lees meer
In this solo episode of HoldCo Builders, I break down a mental model that quietly powers the world's top capital allocators, HoldCo founders, and hedge fund managers. Inspired by the teachings of Alix Pasquet (Prime Makaya Capital), we explore why the highest IRRs often come from behavioral change—not spreadsheets.
----------------------------------------------In This Episode, You Will Learn:
00:57 - Why “learning” is useless unless it changes your behavior
03:27 - The overlooked relationship between physical tension and decision-making
06:47 - How elite investors maintain sharpness across decades
08:10 - How to build your personal ‘learning laboratory’ for real feedback
09:31 - Why you only need 7 right people to change your life
09:46 - The power of teaching as leverage and how it compounds
10:46 - How Buffett, Howard Marks, and others sharpen their edge by thinking out loud
16:10 - The “Futsal Principle” of rapid feedback loops for capital allocators
19:14 - How elite investors stay sharp across decades (continued)----------------------------------------------
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Alix on Twitter: https://x.com/alixpasquet
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How We Left PE, Bought a $5M Business and Scaled To $21M in 2 Years (M&A and Organic) | Johannes Hock Interview
12 mei 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
Johannes Hock, a former private equity associate left his high-paying job to build wealth through acquisition. In 2022, Johannes and his partner acquired DFW Turf, a fast-growing artificial turf installation business. Lees meer
After leaving a prestigious private equity firm, he went on to review over 200 deals in just a few months, submitted 10 LOIs, signed 3, and ultimately closed on one.
In just two years, they scaled the business from $5M to over $21M in revenue—leveraging both organic growth and strategic acquisitions.
In Today’s Episode We Discuss:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:31 - Where it all started
00:02:09 - Being an associate at a PE firm and quitting — best decision ever
00:05:18 - Why the 10-10-10 model in private equity wasn’t attractive enough
00:07:31 - Underestimating the actual risk of acquiring a company
00:09:25 - Johannes’s financial position before quitting his private equity job
00:10:32 - First acquisition details (looked at 200–300 deals in 2–3 months)
00:12:26 - Chasing the perfect deal vs. getting something done
00:15:18 - The conversation with the lender that closed the acquisition
00:18:15 - Why recurring revenue is overrated (and how to create equity value)
00:21:51 - Why cash controls are the #1 focus post-acquisition
00:25:29 - Only one person wasn’t a good fit post-acquisition
00:27:31 - One regret: not adding more cash to the balance sheet
00:29:00 - Cap table structure and the importance of raising smart money
00:33:42 - Organic growth and hiring 30 people
00:37:56 - Risks of buying a company growing 40–50% per year
00:40:54 - Reinvesting in growth while staying profitable
00:41:57 - The story of the first add-on acquisition in 2024
00:44:19 - The thought process behind add-ons (51% to 100%, with flexibility)
00:47:29 - How they finance future acquisitions
00:51:18 - Trucks break down, people don’t show up, customers get angry — Johannes has seen it all
00:54:37 - The plan: open 3 new locations and do 1–2 acquisitions per year
00:59:31 - Ind… -
What Holdco Investors Can Learn from Neil Mehta (Never Outsource DD!)
5 mei 2025 · 41 min
Neil Mehta built Greenoaks Capital into one of the most successful — and secretive — investment firms in the world. While most VCs chase hype, Neil built a reputation for radical focus, long-term thinking, and doing his own diligence. Lees meer
In this solo research episode, I break down what holdco builders, private equity investors, and traditional business owners can learn from Mehta’s strategy — from his obsession with simplicity to how he scaled Greenoaks to $15b AUM without raising hype-driven rounds.
Key topics in this episode:
- Why Greenoaks avoids traditional venture traps
- The importance of doing your own due diligence (never outsource it!)
- How conviction and focus beat diversification
- Neil Mehta’s underrated operating edge
- What SMB and HoldCo builders can apply from a top-tier investorIf you're building a group of companies, allocating capital, or operating a company, this episode will give you valuable frameworks.
I hope you enjoy it.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:56 - Greenoaks Capital and its investment philosophy
00:04:31 - Finding hidden gems: the power of a contrarian acquisition strategy
00:11:02 - The decisive power of backing the right leader (special people)
00:17:15 - Riding the wave of transformative shifts
00:20:36 - The power of deep understanding and bold conviction
00:26:43 - The imperative of ruthless prioritization
00:35:11 - The cost of outsourcing fundamental analysis
00:37:52 - The art of seeing beauty in business and viewing founders as artists painting their masterpiece----------------------------------------------
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Neil on LinkedIn (No one at Greenoaks Capital Partners uses Twitter): https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-mehta-47623079/
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I'm Building a $50M EBITDA Holdco Of Boring Businesses | Nick Huber Interview
28 april 2025 · 50 min
My guest today is Nick Huber — entrepreneur, investor, and creator behind a $30M+ holding company spanning real estate, service businesses, and media. Lees meer
In this episode, we dive deep into how Nick allocates capital across multiple businesses, builds operationally lean teams, and balances short-term cash flow with long-term wealth creation.
We explore how social media transformed his entrepreneurial journey, raising millions and unlocking career-changing relationships. Nick also shares the realities of building in public, handling criticism, and why focusing on "unsexy" businesses gives him an edge.
If you're an investor, business buyer, or private equity professional looking to learn how to think, operate, and allocate like a world-class entrepreneur, this conversation is for you.
Topics include:
Capital allocation frameworks
Scaling without losing control
Building trust and raising millions online
The real mindset behind entrepreneurship
Handling criticism and pressure at scale
Life lessons from building boring businesses
Listen now to get an unfiltered view into the mind of one of today’s most transparent and tactical business builders.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:23 - Why everyone wants to follow people who live an interesting life
00:04:25 - The huge upside and downside of being transparent on social media
00:05:36 - “Nick is going broke, he’s a fraud, and going bankrupt?!”
00:10:36 - The debt structure behind Nick’s most expensive acquisition ($52M valuation deal)
00:19:15 - How to stay focused when running a diversified portfolio
00:22:40 - 325 employees across Nick’s portfolio (only 20 are Americans)
00:25:38 - Whatever you do: add as much value to others as you can—and do it for free
00:28:02 - The story of meeting a wealth manager that changed Nick’s views on life and business
00:32:18 - Helping investors evaluate deals led Nick to 5 closed deals
00:35:06 - How one Twitter thread converted i… -
How I Bought 4 Competitors and 200x'd My Company ($1M -> $210M in 5 Years) | Nick Keegan Interview
21 april 2025 · 52 min
My guest today is Nick Keegan, co-founder and CEO of Mail Metrics, a company helping highly regulated industries—like banks, insurers, and pension providers—communicate more effectively with their customers. Lees meer
Nick started Mail Metrics in 2013 at just 24 years old, after serving 11 years in the Irish Defence Forces. It took 7 years to reach €1M in revenue, but what followed is nothing short of remarkable: in 2023, the company hit €40M—and is on track to do €210M in 2025.
In this episode, we go deep into the gritty early years, how he closed his first clients after 3 years of trying, and how Mail Metrics scaled through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.
Nick breaks down what he looks for in an acquisition target, how deals are structured and financed, and what it really takes to integrate teams post-deal.
We also cover:
The challenges of selling into regulated industries with long sales cycles
How Nick brought on a private equity partner while keeping control
The key lessons from growing a 600-person company
His approach to capital allocation, leadership, and leverage
And the mindset shifts that helped him grow from a bootstrapped founder to leading a 9-figure business
Whether you're an operator, investor, or aspiring acquirer, this episode is packed with insight.
I hope you enjoy this conversation with Nick Keegan.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:11 - The early days of Nick and MailMetrics
00:07:01 - The story of the first two massive clients (took an extremely long time to close)
00:08:06 - Growth through acquisitions
00:11:07 - The story of the first two acquisitions (financing and structure)
00:16:16 - Post-acquisition strategy
00:19:05 - Timeline of all the acquisitions
00:20:09 - Improving the bottom line through synergies across the portfolio
00:22:59 - The third acquisition almost doubled the business 00:26:00 - 2–3 factors that need to be true for Nick to acquire …
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Why Networks are Your MOAT and Competitive Edge (And How to Build Them?) | Alix Pasquet's Triad Strategy
14 april 2025 · 35 min
In this special episode, I share transformative insights on the power of networks, heavily inspired by the wisdom of Alix Pasquet, a Managing Partner at Prime Macaya Capital Management. Lees meer
I dive into his framework for understanding how your network acts as both a critical competitive moat and a vital margin of safety in investing and business.
Key topics covered, largely learned from Alix Pasquet:
- Why your network is your strongest competitive advantage
- The "Triad" strategy for building powerful connections, a concept deeply influential in Alix Pasquet's thinking
- How to become "important" to the right people
- The importance of generosity, persistence, and long-term thinking in networking
This episode is filled with actionable advice and mindset shifts, largely shaped by the principles I've learned from Alix Pasquet.
Whether you're an investor, entrepreneur, or simply looking to expand your circle, you'll gain valuable insights on building a network that compounds over time.
I hope you enjoy it.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - It doesn’t matter where you live
00:01:26 - Why networks are a competitive edge
00:05:08 - You don’t need too many people to become an excellent investor
00:06:09 - The network behind great investors (not just brilliant thinkers)
00:08:13 - The Private Whisper Network
00:09:56 - The culture of "talk to him, talk to her"
00:11:42 - The power of the Triad
00:15:49 - How to start building your network (even if you feel unimportant)
00:19:44 - Find shared missions
00:21:19 - You don’t need to be famous; you just need to be consistent
00:23:10 - Small acts of leverage
00:25:49 - Truly busy, high-agency people, the ones you admire, didn’t get there by giving up after two tries
00:27:09 - Do your homework by knowing their thinking, their portfolio, their recent exits, and struggles
00:30:35 - Mentorship is often where most accomplished people find the most joy
00:31:57 - Don't burn …
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How We Bought 15 Companies Worth $270M in Just 24 Months | Yuen Yung Interview
9 april 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
My guest today is Yuen Yung, Founding Partner at HalBar Partners, a firm focused on operator-led acquisitions. In just two years, HalBar and NCA ETA have closed 15 acquisitions totaling $270M in enterprise value, hitting their goal of 10 deals per year. Lees meer
We discuss:
Yuen’s journey from immigrant roots to building HalBar
The firm’s investment thesis, fund structure, and capital strategy
How they source operators and deals, and drive post-acquisition value
Lessons from wins and misses in ETA
HalBar’s playbook for growing EBITDA and scaling portfolio companies
Whether you're an investor, operator, or just curious about ETA and private equity, this episode is packed with insights.
I hope you enjoy this conversation with Yuen Yung.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:14 - Immigrating from China to the USA
00:05:07 - The Shark Tank TV show story
00:12:39 - Why you should never fall in love with your business
00:14:00 - ETA, search funds, and the thesis behind HalBar Partners
00:20:41 - How Yuen met Nate, his co-founder
00:25:22 - Deal structures and partnership dynamics with Nate; early investors
00:27:21 - How someone with capital can replicate HalBar’s model
00:29:42 - Why they chose this specific investment model
00:34:12 - 50% of deals are in Europe, 50% in North America
00:37:03 - Typical deal structure explained (percentages shared)
00:45:12 - Key differences between the U.S. and European markets
00:50:35 - How they find the best operators
00:53:25 - Selling a company in December 2024 with a 45% IRR
01:00:16 - Getting serious about understanding human psychology
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Yuen on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuenyung/
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How We Bought 35 Businesses and Built a $700M HoldCo | Jesper Søgaard Interview
2 april 2025 · 50 min
My guest today is Jesper Søgaard, co-founder and CEO of Better Collective — a global leader in digital sports media and sports betting information, with over 400 million monthly visits, 1,200+ employees, and 20 international offices. Lees meer
Founded in 2004, Better Collective has grown into a powerhouse through a disciplined mix of organic growth and over 35 acquisitions, including major deals like Playmaker Capital and AceOdds in 2024. The company now owns 11+ media brands, including Action Network, SoccerNews, and HLTV.
In this episode, Jesper shares:
The founding story of Better Collective
How to scale a media company globally
His M&A playbook and how to integrate acquisitions
How to think about capital allocation with €111M in EBITDA
Building a 20-year co-founder partnership
Operating in highly regulated markets across the globe
And why staying in one industry can unlock massive long-term success
If you're an operator, investor, or builder who’s thinking about scale, strategy, and sustained leadership—this conversation is a masterclass in all three.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:22 - The early days and how everything got started
00:02:35 - Realizing this could actually become a real business
00:05:13 - Was it difficult, or were you just having fun?
00:06:33 - Partnering with co-founder Christian: strengths and weaknesses
00:11:55 - The decision to start acquiring other companies
00:17:14 - Revenue streams and how the business makes money
00:20:05 - Growing through acquisition — why they wish they'd started earlier
00:22:40 - Deal structures: how some acquisitions were put together
00:24:57 - Lessons from 35 acquisitions — deals that didn’t go as planned
00:27:26 - The strategic thinking behind specific acquisitions
00:30:36 - Growing the company has felt like starting a new job every 2–3 years
00:33:23 - How Jesper thinks about acquiring a business
00:35:49 - Jesper’s approach to capital allo…
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The Ultimate HoldCo Model: Turning Advisory into Long-Term Equity in Wonderful Businesses | Matthew Mathison Interview
26 maart 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
Meet Matthew Mathison – Co-founder and Managing Partner at MBL Partners, a firm building and investing in enduring, cash-flowing businesses. With a unique mix of Wall Street experience and entrepreneurial grit, Matthew shares how MBL identifies overlooked opportunities, partners with exceptional operators, and builds long-term value without chasing hype. Lees meer
If you're into real-world investing, smart capital allocation, and the playbook behind durable business success—this one's for you.
Please enjoy this conversation with Matthew Mathison., co-founder of MBL Partners.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:17 - The defining moment from his hedge fund days that shaped his approach to business
00:06:18 - Launching his own hedge fund in his mid-30s
00:13:39 - Lessons and stories from seeing a company grow from $100M to over $1B in market cap
00:17:47 - Recovering from extremely difficult times: carrying the weight of the world
00:21:06 - Obvious red flags when evaluating high-growth companies
00:24:18 - The core thesis behind MBL Partners
00:29:57 - From advisory to financial investment and equity
00:33:31 - Matthew’s 'cup of tea' in terms of investment case
00:37:14 - What MBL does when stepping into a business
00:40:15 - How they build deal flow
00:45:02 - Matthew and his talented team members
00:47:43 - A look into their portfolio companies
00:52:15 - Matthew’s perspective on using outside capital
00:54:35 - Stories of huge successes and epic failures
00:59:42 - What’s next on Matthew’s to-do list
01:01:17 - Why he’s glad to be starting now—not 10 years ago
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Matthew on Twitter: https://x.com/matthewmathison
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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My First 5 Acquisitions and How I'm Building a $20m EBITDA SaaS HoldCo | Pascal Levy-Garboua Interview
20 maart 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
In this episode, I sit down with Pascal Levy-Garboua, a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and the founder of Noosa Labs. After making 140 venture capital investments, including seven unicorns, Pascal shifted his focus to acquiring and scaling small, profitable SaaS businesses under Noosa Labs. His next goal? Building a $50 million ARR portfolio with a 50% EBITDA margin. Lees meer
We dive into his journey—from bootstrapping and navigating trade-offs to executing four acquisitions in his first year. Pascal shares invaluable lessons on structuring deals, managing high-cost debt, and the realities of scaling through acquisitions. He also explains how his experience as a VC has shaped his unique approach to investing in and operating SaaS businesses.
If you're interested in entrepreneurship, acquisitions, or building a portfolio of profitable SaaS companies, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.
Please enjoy this conversation with Pascal Levy-Garboua., founder of Noosa Labs.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:18 - A career in technology
00:05:33 - Finding fulfillment: Enjoying work for the first time
00:10:13 - Bootstrapping a business and key trade-offs
00:13:34 - Completing four acquisitions in the first year
00:18:53 - Key lessons from the first four acquisitions
00:28:54 - What he would do differently if he could redo those acquisitions
00:32:17 - Underestimating the challenges of the journey
00:34:56 - Defining a North Star for capital allocation
00:42:25 - Managing high-cost debt
00:50:34 - Understanding what founders can’t or don’t want to do
00:52:07 - Personal growth as an acquirer and investor
00:54:02 - Typical deal structures and key considerations
01:01:20 - How making 140 VC investments, including seven in unicorn companies, shaped Pascal as a SaaS investor
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGu…
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How a Youtuber Built an 8-Fig Holdco of 6 Businesses | Arie Scherson Interview
14 maart 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
Meet Arie Scherson, co-founder of Bluedot Holdings, a fast-growing e-commerce and SaaS holding company with six portfolio businesses generating over $10 million in revenue. Lees meer
Arie started his journey as a YouTuber in his 20s, testing 15 different products before mastering Facebook Ads and scaling his first business.
Through relentless experimentation, investing, and team-building, he has built a diverse portfolio, including an agency, a SaaS business, and four e-commerce brands. Despite the challenges of managing multiple ventures, Arie continues to acquire, scale, and optimize businesses—proving that content, marketing, and persistence are powerful tools in the modern business landscape.
In this episode, we dive deep into his early failures, investment strategy, deal structures, and the key lessons he’s learned on his journey.
Please enjoy this conversation with Arie Scherson.
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Timestampls:00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:52 - Early days and first failures
00:03:50 - Learning everything from Youtube
00:05:24 - Working as a server while in university
00:07:44 - First company
00:11:12 - Current portfolio of 6 companies
00:19:09 - It’s often scary to do multiple things
00:22:30 - The power of selling only the right products00:28:40 - Experiment as much as you can
00:31:25 - How a trendy product became a $500m company
00:34:57 - Content is leverage
00:38:15 - Ecommerce is hard, really hard
00:41:42 - Deal structures
00:48:39 - How Arie and his team working to run their businesses
00:52:21 - Biggest challenges of the last 2 years
00:56:48 - Arie’s secret sauce which allows him to succeed
00:59:58 - Why did Arie buy a $50,000+ course?
01:04:04 - Favorite book
01:06:40 - Best investment advice Arie has ever received
01:10:27 - Domino effect on tariffs
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Arie on Twitter: https://x.com/ariesnotebook
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30+ Acquisitions And Counting – The Hidden Genius of Jeremy Giffon
4 maart 2025 · 28 min
Jeremy Giffon is one of the most interesting minds in business that almost no one knows about. As a former analyst at Tiny Capital, he played a key role in acquiring and operating dozens of companies—while staying almost completely out of the spotlight. His insights on capital allocation, holding companies, and finding asymmetric opportunities have made him a legend among those who pay attention.In this episode of HoldCo Builders, I break down Jeremy Giffon’s strategies, philosophy, and unconventional approach to business. How did they structure deals that made Tiny Capital so successful? What can we learn from his playbook on acquisitions, incentives, and building a business that lasts?This is a deep dive into one of the sharpest minds in private investing—someone who operates in the shadows but understands the game better than almost anyone.If you’re interested in business, investing, or the hidden principles of wealth-building, you don’t want to miss this episode. Lees meer
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Staying behind the scenes
00:02:27 - Executing deals that most people don't even see
00:03:29 - Why does this opportunity exist?
00:05:11 - Driving on the blindspots of finance
00:06:15 - Speaking money into existence
00:09:35 - The best leveraged business
00:10:01 - Health problems, retirement, divorce - the deals happening all the time
00:13:07 - Founders who speak a different language than investors
00:15:16 - You can find opportunities in every industry
00:16:50 - Patience and selectivity
00:18:47 - $25 million and a Ferrari 488
00:21:01 - That single phone call
00:22:47 - Leverage is not only financial
00:24:23 - Paying $57,000 to have lunch with your hero
00:25:32 - The best decisions are obvious
00:27:03 - Not trying to outsmart the market
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Jeremy on Twitter: https://x.com/jeremygiffon
This …
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How This Young Man Bought a $10M Business with Just $40K – Secrets from a $400M Lender | Bruce Marks Interview
26 februari 2025 · 1 uur 5 min
Bruce Marks is a seasoned lender who has closed over $400M in deals, helping over 1,200 entrepreneurs acquire businesses using SBA loans. As Senior VP at First Bank of the Lake, Bruce specializes in financing small business acquisitions, search funds, and lower middle-market M&A transactions. Lees meer
Bruce doesn’t just finance deals—he knows what makes a buyer successful and what gets deals killed.
In this episode, we dive into:
How a young entrepreneur bought a $10M business with just $40K
Why your experience matters more than the business you’re buying
The biggest mistakes first-time buyers make with lenders
SBA loans, seller financing, and deal structuring strategies
Why Bruce only finances "need" businesses—not “want” businesses
We also talk about why the worst thing for a buyer is not knowing the answer when employees ask, the importance of buying a business you actually understand, and why the best deals never hit the market.
If you’re looking to buy a business, this episode is a must-listen—Bruce shares real, actionable insights that can save you from costly mistakes and help you land the right deal.
Please enjoy this conversation with Bruce Marks.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:24 - Bruce's background
00:04:45 - How to become the top 0.01% at what you do?
00:09:53 - Self-funded search vs. traditional search
00:13:39 - Takeaways from talking to 3 searchers per day
00:18:08 - I have $100,000-$500,000 and want to buy a business, now what?
00:31:02 - How often do really bad things happen?
00:34:09 - High quality people buy high quality companies
00:44:40 - We expect to double our loan portfolio in the coming years
00:47:10 - Post-close situations; knowing the dynamics of business
00:57:07 - You want to have a choice in life to do what you want to do
01:00:03 - Having multiple SBA loans at once
01:03:04 - That's a nice story, Bruce, if only it were true
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How 4 Swedish Serial Acquirers Scaled To a 49x P/E Ratio | Niklas Sävås Interview
18 februari 2025 · 55 min
In this episode, we dive into the world of serial acquisitions with Niklas Savas, an analyst at Redeye, who has a unique perspective on the Swedish serial acquirers' approach. Lees meer
Addtech AB: Over 150 companies, $1.5B in revenue, $150M in operating profit.
Lagercrantz Group AB: Around 40 companies, $500M in revenue, $50M in profit
Lifco AB: Over 100 companies, $1B in revenue, $100M in profit
Teqnion AB: Around 10 companies, $100M in revenue, $10M in profit
Röko: A private company with a diverse portfolio of 27 companies, more than $500M in revenue
Niklas discusses how growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can open doors to expansive growth, and how Swedish serial acquirers have mastered the art of driving up prices and maintaining high P/E ratios. We also explore the realities of post-acquisition management, the competitive landscape of deal-making, and the advantages of being sector-agnostic.
With his extensive analysis of businesses and focus on expansion, Niklas paints a picture of how acquisitions can fuel long-term growth.
Niklas is also the host of the Investing by the Books podcast, where he shares insights on acquisitions, business strategies, and investment principles with a focus on real-world examples.
Enjoy this insightful conversation with Niklas Savas.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:16 - Life before resarching serial acquirers
00:03:51 - What makes the Swedish serial acquirers so unique?
00:06:44 - Organic growth vs growth through M&A
00:08:50 - The goal is to raise prices as much as possible
00:12:00 - How can Swedish serial buyers maintain such a high P/E ratio?
00:15:38 - Typical structure of transactions
00:17:29 - The reality of business management, problems that arise after an acquisition
00:19:24 - The biggest daily struggles for Swedish serial acquirers
00:20:16 - Post-acquisition synergy
00:22:58 - Competition on deals
00:27:03 - Which company has Niklas analyzed th…
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How I Bought 4 Companies and Built a One-Man HoldCo Doing $20M in Revenue | Dustin Carreon Interview
12 februari 2025 · 1 uur 29 min
Today’s story is a huge reminder to not cancel out the troubled kid or the teen who doesn't have it all together. Lees meer
Just a down-to-earth success story (with all the drama, obstacles, grind and persistence for 90-min straight).
Dustin Carreon’s journey is a testament to the power of reinvention and strategic thinking. He started with a business that had unpredictable revenue, but instead of accepting its limits, he used it as a stepping stone. Through smart acquisitions and a willingness to take calculated risks, he transformed volatile cash flow into a portfolio of strong, high-quality businesses—all without outside investors.
Today, COI Holdings generates $20M in annual revenue, and Dustin remains in full control.
His story proves that you don’t need a perfect starting point, just the drive to build and the willingness to bet on yourself. Whether you're an operator looking for your next move or an aspiring business owner, there's plenty to take away from Dustin’s experience.
Enjoy this insightful conversation with Dustin Carreon of COI Holdings.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:18 - A turbulent early days doing a lot of hard work without making a lot of money
00:06:16 - Struggling a lot as a teenager
00:12:28 - Not fitting in, thinking you’re not smart enough
00:16:12 - First company: Freelance Electronics (growing from 3 people to 15 people)
00:21:15 - Meeting the millionaire "homeless Santa Claus"
00:27:45 - Dustin learns capital allocation
00:36:16 - "The business produces a lot of cash, I should be doing something with it."
00:42:48 - The first acquisition: price, structure, contracts, drama and all the other details
00:55:30 - Second acquisition: buying a business in another state
00:59:41 - Avoiding outside noise and buying small to get on the radar of bigger companies
01:07:44 - Post-acquisition strategy (30-60-90 days)
01:18:19 - Why invest in an asset heavy manufacturing company?
01:22:56…
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How I Built a 14-Unit Zaxby's Franchise Doing $50M in Revenue | Ben Little Interview
6 februari 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
Ben Little runs the #1 Zaxby’s franchise in the U.S. His company owns 14 locations, employs over 800 people, and generates more than $50M in annual revenue. Lees meer
Ben didn’t just buy into a franchise—he built a powerhouse.
In this episode, we dive into what makes a top-performing franchisee, Ben’s approach to scaling, and how he structures deals and financing. We also cover the challenges of managing a large team, the importance of strong leadership, and why he believes that “people don’t quit jobs, they quit managers.”
Please enjoy this conversation with Ben Little.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:29 - What am I good at, what am I bad at and why franchising?
00:06:59 - Early days: work as a cook and cashier
00:14:23 - Going from being independently successful all the way to starting again from the bottom
00:24:32 - Finding the best operators with the highest standards
00:27:41 - The daily pressure of proving to others that he is the best at what he does
00:29:42 - Where does his drive come from?
00:32:11 - Competitors visit their stores and leave feeling very disappointed
00:35:37 - 4 stores hit $100,000 in weekly sales for the first time
00:40:42 - Expanding the business while owning 100% of the real estate
00:47:31 - People and companies fail because of undercapitalization
00:50:06 - The biggest challenges Ben is facing today while running 14 locations
00:56:39 - Going all-in to the operating partner model has been the best decision
01:04:40 - "Don't go to zero"
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Ben on Twitter: https://x.com/TRUmav
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How We Bought 6 Businesses and Built a $80M Long Term HoldCo | Ryan Sullivan Interview
29 januari 2025 · 1 uur 22 min
Ryan Sullivan is a risk-conscious entrepreneur who stepped into business ownership in his late 40s, proving that it’s never too late to take the leap. Lees meer
As the co-founder of North Park Group, Ryan has been acquiring small legacy manufacturing businesses across the U.S., starting with a 100-year-old electrical component manufacturer in Wichita, Kansas, producing $700K in adjusted EBITDA. What began as a single acquisition with one partner has now grown into a team of five, with six acquisitions to date. Today, North Park Group’s portfolio generates $80–85 million in revenue and $8 million in EBITDA.
Ryan’s approach doesn’t fit neatly into the usual categories—it’s not a holdco, not private equity, and not a roll-up. Instead, he and his partners have built a model from first principles, aligning incentives while maintaining a conservative stance on debt and risk. In this episode, we dive into the strategy behind North Park Group’s acquisitions, how Ryan transitioned into this space, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.
Please enjoy this conversation with Ryan Sullivan—entrepreneur, operator, and Managing Director of North Park Group.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:25 - "You were 48 when you started - what took you so long?"
00:04:33 - When this "crazy" co-founder Greg convinces you to start acquiring companies
00:09:03 - Core team strengths and weaknesses
00:13:43 - How they were able to continue other pursuits while managing a portfolio of 5 companies
00:16:29 - The amount Ryan invested in the business
00:19:41 - Taking private money vs taking public money and saying no to many investors
00:24:42 - Despite his great success, Ryan struggles with impostor syndrome
00:27:50 - How to recover from a failed deal that you worked for so long
00:30:37 - Hard work after first acquisition (it's a lot harder than people say it is)
00:34:38 - The reaction and support of the family when going through all …
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How We Bought 10 Businesses and Turned $20K Into a $200M HoldCo | Roman Khan Interview
21 januari 2025 · 46 min
Roman Khan is the co-founder of Peak21, a direct-to-consumer holding company that has scaled to an impressive $200 million in revenue—all while maintaining profitability. Lees meer
Together with his wife Jennifer, Roman has acquired 10 companies, building a diverse and thriving portfolio of DTC brands.
In this episode, we dive into Roman’s entrepreneurial journey, including the challenges and strategies of scaling a profitable holding company, his approach to identifying and integrating acquisitions, and the unique dynamics of running a business with his spouse.
We also explore the future of direct-to-consumer businesses, lessons learned from building and buying brands, and what it takes to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.
Please enjoy this conversation with Roman Khan, co-founder of Peak21.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:30 - Starts his business career with $20,000
00:05:19 - Getting fired by his wife "go find other companies to buy"
00:06:55 - First success in business (paying 7-fig in dividends)
00:08:40 - "I'm an idiot, I made a huge mistake"
00:10:35 - The story of the first acquisition
00:13:40 - Investing in a very small companies and growing 10x or more
00:19:10 - Finding the first investor to start Peak21
00:21:31 - 5 acquisitions, the largest have been 8-figure investments
00:29:57 - Three key competencies
00:32:55 - Intensive work 6 hours a day
00:34:55 - "When we started 10 years ago, we had it easy"
00:38:28 - Looking at 80-100 deals per month
00:40:32 - Lessons from the oil industry
00:43:21 - Roman's best investment advice
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Roman on Twitter: https://x.com/RomanEcom
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Built and Sold a $16M Company to Invest In Search Funds | Christopher Hillier Interview
16 januari 2025 · 1 uur 1 min
Christopher Hillier is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the employee benefits industry. Lees meer
He began his journey as the Co-Founder and President of Benefit Health Advisor, a full-service employee benefits brokerage based in Englewood, Colorado.
In our conversation, we delve into Chris’s entrepreneurial journey, from starting a brokerage firm from scratch and scaling it to $16M in top-line revenue, to acquiring an insurance underwriting company on the verge of collapse and turning it around for a strategic exit.
We also explore his insights on the ETA (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) space, where he is now a recognized expert, and his perspective on time management—an area he’s written a book about.
Chris shares lessons learned from navigating acquisitions, growing businesses, and managing teams, as well as his thoughts on the future of employee benefits and wellness in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
Please enjoy this conversation with Christopher Hillier, serial entrepreneur, investor and educator in the ETA space.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:45 - Christopher's story before founding, building and buying the company
00:04:35 - How does the company make money?
00:10:53 - Landing the first major clients
00:16:55 - First acquisition, buying distressed assets
00:20:49 - The reason for selling the company to a strategic buyer
00:24:11 - It's all harder than you'd ever imagine
00:30:08 - A perfect timing to sell a business: cash, stock, earn-out
00:34:10 - The importance of a right fit between buyer and seller
00:38:40 - Investing in search funds (love for ETA - entrepreneurship-through-acquisition)
00:43:09 - Buying an already established business is a kind of miracle
00:48:19 - The search process to find the right opportunity takes a long time and its lonely
00:56:21 - Chasing money
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitt…
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How I Bought 2 Businesses With Little Of My Own Money And No Investors | Santino DeFranco Interview
9 januari 2025 · 1 uur 22 min
Santino DeFranco is a former UFC fighter turned entrepreneur who has successfully transitioned from the octagon to the world of business ownership. Santino has acquired two companies: a Shell Gas Station with a Krispy Krunchy Chicken franchise and a restaurant hood cleaning business. In this episode, we dive into his journey from professional fighting to becoming a business owner, exploring how his competitive mindset and resilience have shaped his approach to entrepreneurship. Lees meer
Santino is also a highly sought-after MMA coach who has trained and guided world champions in the UFC, bringing the same level of discipline and strategy to coaching as he does to running his businesses. We discuss what it takes to operate across such diverse industries, his insights into finding value in small businesses, and the lessons he's learned along the way.
Please enjoy this conversation with Santino DeFranco—fighter, coach, and entrepreneur.
Enjoy the episode? Make sure you SUBSCRIBE for more.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:56 - Santino and his wild life as a UFC fighter before his first acquisition
00:02:15 - Creation of the first iPhone and Android app called Ultimate MMA
00:03:29 - Injuries and life as an MMA trainer for UFC fighters
00:04:21 - I started looking for companies to buy
00:05:21 - What sites does Santino use to find businesses
00:07:08 - Find the first business to buy - a gas station
00:07:42 - Where does Santino's entrepreneurial gene come from?
00:10:02 - Tough decision: go back to work or start and build different companies
00:10:58 - Most of the fighters ended up going broke, so Santino pushes them to invest and acquire the company
00:13:35 - Why he is bullish on buying companies
00:15:34 - Financial situation before buying the first company
00:17:41 - Details of the first acquisition
00:19:45 - You don't have to be a member of Mensa to do this job
00:21:00 - Advisors on the first tran…
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How We Bought 14 Businesses and Built a $30M HoldCo in 6 Years | Joe Van Deman and Colin King Interview
2 januari 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
Meet Joe Van Deman and Colin King Lees meer
Founders of Circle City Capital Group. Starting with a small amount of savings and an SBA loan, over the past six years, they’ve made 14 acquisitions that have been consolidated into 4 companies, employing a total of 200 people.
A combined $30m of revenue.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:55 - How Joe and Colin met and what they did before their first acquisition
00:07.32 - Quitting their jobs to start a 50/50 partnership with a "stranger"
00:12:29 - First acquisition
00:20:33 - Second acquisition
00:24:45 - The industries and companies they are looking at
00:32:55 - Current portfolio and deals made so far
00:41:42 - How they manage a portfolio of 10+ companies
00:49:31 - How they survived the hard times
00:57:13 - Post acquisition and learning the specifics of the industry/field within 90 days
00:59:44 - Salary, paying dividends or reinvesting the profits
01:01:05 - Thoughts on the next acquisitions
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Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Colin on Twitter: https://x.com/valuedontlie
Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joevandeman/
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Raised Money (from 44 Investors) and Bought a 40-Year-Old 8-Fig Manufacturing Business | Jason Andrew Interview
27 december 2024 · 1 uur 7 min
Jason Andrew is the co-founder of a holding company Arbor Permanent Owners - team of operators and investors committed to growing businesses for the long-term. Lees meer
They just closed their fundraise and cornerstone deal: 40-year-old manufacturing business in the materials handling sector. $25m in revenue, 25%+ EBITDA
Jason, Simon and Rowan have done an exceptional job in their first year at Arbor Permanent Owners
Their structure, strategy, fundraising, and first acquisition are all unique—and we cover each.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:32 - Life before acquiring "boring" traditional businesses
00:07:15 - An honest opinion (criticism) towards search funds
00:10:52 - The best structured cold email lead to business partnership
00:14:27 - The first 30-60-90 day action plan for finding the best deals
00:23:13 - Closing the first $25 million deal in 6 months
00:32:14 - The structure of the first acquisition
00:35:50 - Feedback from investors (changing the structure of the holding company 4 times)
00:44:36 - Investor exit strategy
00:55:35 - Growing holding company from 7-fig EBITDA to $45M without raising additional equity
00:57:25 - Thoughts on never acquiring companies with less than $3mm EBITDA
01:02:59 - What does Jason consume to learn the necessary skills to double the business?
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Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holdco-builders/id1695713724
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Jason on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-andrew/?originalSubdomain=au
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How We Bought 25+ Businesses and Built a $600M HoldCo at 34 and 33 | Iryna and Sameer Interview
19 december 2024 · 1 uur 11 min
Meet Iryna Dubylovska and Sameer Rizvi. Lees meer
Founders of RD Capital Partners (RDCP). Over the past eight years, they’ve made 31 investments that have been consolidated into 12 companies, employing a total of 2,000 people.
A combined $400m of revenue and $40m of EBITDA.
1. We pick sectors and businesses where profits and cash-flow are the main driver of value.
2. Decentralize your operations, 'Hire very smart people and leave them alone, let them get on with it.'
3. We ran companies nice and lean. We just reinvest those profits so rather leaving those profits to pay down debt quickly or for the improvement of our lifestyle.
This is how they’ve been able to compound at almost a TRIPLE digit internal rate of return (91.4% IRR) for eight years.
4. When it comes to wealth creation point of view:
Private market is better than public markets.
Because there is significantly less arbitrage…
5. At the end of the day, it's all about how you can buy $10 million for $3 million.
6. 50% industrials, 25% healthcare, 25% consumer – that’s quite a balanced portfolio in sectors and businesses which are relatively critical to the British economy.
***
A true buy and hold strategy experts.
Acquiring manufacturing, construction, engineering and healthcare companies for 3x EBITDA to sell them (if they want to) for 8-10x EBITDA.
I hope you enjoy listening.
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:31 - Life before the first acquisition and the risk of not starting your own investment company
00:07:21 - Leaving the job and going all-in finding the 1st deal
00:09:43 - Details and the structure of the first acquisition
00:14:22 - Improving lifestyle with every transactions
00:16:04 - Overview of the portfolio and thought process behind previous investment decisions
00:23:30 - Building dealflow and finding the best deals
00:29:42 - Only buying businesses they really understand. No complex transactions.
00:34:39 - Why did they give u…
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How I Bought 35+ Businesses and Built a $240M HoldCo At 38 | Andrew Wilkinson Interview
5 december 2024 · 56 min
12 ideas and observations from the 56-minute conversation with Andrew Wilkinson, the the founder of Tiny, on building a 30+ business holding company: Lees meer
Starting companies is fun, but anyone who has done it knows it is a lot of work. Buying established businesses with existing cash flow isn’t as sexy so I suspect it is wildly underrated as a way of building wealth.
He will occasionally pay 10x for an amazing business, but that is rare.
Some CEOs will go 6 months or more without speaking with Andrew.
Portfolio companies are not at all connected. They each operate independently.
Cash is kept in the company based on historical working capital needs and any extra goes to the head office for new acquisitions.
Andrew is willing to pay up and hire CEOs that have managed similar businesses at larger scales already before instead of trying to find underpriced less-experienced talent.
They have a 60-70% success rate on hiring CEOs.
Favorite interview question "What's the worst job you've ever had?" He finds that people that haven't had crappy jobs are less motivated.
Incentives act as a magnet to get what you want done.
Money is more meaningful to new CEOs than to founders that have been making great money for the last 5 years.
The first CEO he hired was paid $250k base + a couple hundred thousand variable.
Andrew’s strengths are: Laser focused on problems for a short period of time. Moves fast; Very good at 0 to 1. Burns bright for 15 days; Inch deep and a mile wide; Not good at execution or day to day details.
All of these highlights come from an interview with Andrew, founder of Tiny and the research I did on him.
Listening to this episode is the easiest way to download Andrew’s ideas into your brain. I hope you enjoy.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:19 - Ruthless and money focused Andrew on his early 20s
00:05:42 - 1st business, billing in USD while living in Canada
00:08:37 - First realization that it is better to buy a company compared to starting it…
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How I Started, Bought and Sold 6 Service Businesses (In $500k to $3M EBITDA Range) | Robert Lombardi Interview
25 november 2024 · 1 uur 13 min
Selling the very first flooring business for $30k turned into a career of starting, buying and selling B2B, B2C service businesses. Lees meer
A total of 6 different companies in different industries:
2 residential flooring companies
2 commercial flooring companies
1 restoration company
1 commercial cleaning company
My conversation with Robert Lombardi, the founder of Lombardi Group.
He’s sharing a journey of making plenty of mistakes and falling on his face MORE than anyone would like to admit (and this being a major part of the journey and something he’s STILL grateful for).
Enjoy.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:19 - Early days and making first $50,000
00:06:03 - Building a flooring business, targeting commercial clients vs B2C
00:20:09 - In the flooring business, B2C is good, but B2B is much better
00:22:33 - There is no recurring revenue in the floor covering business
00:31:56 - Structure in buying and investing in companies
00:37:29 - Sale of two companies at the same time
00:43:49 - Didn't know about the roll up strategy 3-4 years ago
00:53:59 - Earn trust by giving away free business leads
01:03:37 - A restoration company, a roofing company and 2 plumbing companies will be bought next
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Robert on Twitter: https://x.com/roblmakeithappe
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Built a 7-Figure Swim School HoldCo With 30-35% Margins | Josh Scott Interview
18 november 2024 · 1 uur
Forget HVAC and trade businesses… Lees meer
Private equity comes after your kids swim schools…
Meet Josh Scott (with wife Annie):
5 locations
7 figures in revenue (30-35% margins)
Spends a lot of time with family and children.
Again, the riches (both time and $$$) are in niches.
We discussed:
- Raising prices and selling it to private equity (which they choose not to do now).
- Buying more and more swimming pools (property)
- Why aren't $1mm+ EBITDA deals coming to market?
- The cost of building swimming pools
- Why is selling pool fences going to be a very big business?
- A 33% IRR and spending time with the kids
Here is my conversation with Josh Scott, co-founder of SwimSRQ and Swim Academy.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:18 - Being more interested in business than just coaching
00:02:26 - Chasing a $300,000 salary vs becoming an entrepreneur
00:04:56 - Started in summer 2018; "A year later, we knew we had something..."
00:09:01 - Learning business
00:11:36 - Growth in number and decision to buy the first property
00:14:28 - Revenue streams
00:22:47 - Buying more and more swimming pools (real estate)
00:26:23 - The future is about following a boutique model (add gymnastics and ninja model)
00:30:05 - Swimming schools and private equity
00:43:17 - Competition of talent and coaches
00:44:20 - Opportunity in NYC (lots of people, no water)
00:47:03 - Technology and automation in the swimming business
00:52:31 - Expanding into the pool fence industry
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Josh on Twitter: https://x.com/swimschoolJosh
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I'm Building a $15M EBITDA B2B Micro-SaaS Holdco | Kjael Skaalerud Interview
12 november 2024 · 1 uur 1 min
“Selling B2B SaaS is great, but owning assets is better - that's why I went and built Skaling Ventures on my own.” Lees meer
A portfolio of profitable niche vertical B2B SaaS businesses:
$1-3M with some ARR growth (~10%)
logo retention greater than 95%
limited go-to-market (GTM) knowledge/investment,
fragmented competition,
and technical founders.
We discussed how he found the best deal among the 300 deals he looked at.
How he structures deals and what his game plan is 90 days after the acquisition.
How 75% of private equity buyouts are add-ons – and how he does the same.
And much more.
I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed chatting with Kjael Skaalerud of Skaling Ventures.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:19 - Life as a B2B Saas salesman (strategy: go-to-market)
00:04:31 - Selling software to fund managers
00:09:30 - SaaS, Venture capital - The importance of game selection
00:16:25 - Where was Kjael financially before acquiring the 1st company
00:18:20 - Details on first acquisition
00:23:15 - Structure of the first transaction and Skaling Ventures Holdco
00:25:30 - Lessons learned after the first 18 months as a holdco builder
00:32:45 - First 90 days after acquisition
00:40:53 - Buying and building a business - has it been more painful/harder than he thought
00:42:15 - 75% of PE buyouts are add-ons – “we do the same”
00:47:40 - 5-year holding and reinvestment for growth
00:49:52 - Acquisition number two (under LOI)
00:53:41 - Ways to get better at what you do and build
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Kjael on Twitter: https://x.com/skaalywag
Kjael's Substack: https://skalingventures.substack.com/
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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This Grocery Store HoldCo Opened 32 New Stores in 90 Days | Research Episode on Tomasz Biernacki of Dino Polska
8 november 2024 · 28 min
This gentleman and his grocery store holdco opened 32 new stores in 90 days. Lees meer
Tomasz Biernacki - a true capital allocator has cracked the code on how to compound his wealth (at a staggering rate!)
His grocery holding company has invested 96% of its earnings for the past 10 years.
He opened 167 new stores in Q1-Q3 in 2024.
Every store he opens returns 20-30% on invested capital…
All while net debt to EBITDA sitting at a conservative 1.1x
Wild!
There must be something special about Tomasz.
I got curious so I spent almost 6 hours reading about him (best 6 hours I've spent in a long time).
I hope you enjoy this 27-minute episode of the HoldCo Builders research edition I did on Tomasz Biernacki of Dino Polska.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:51 - Grocery store holding company
00:06:54 - Extreme discipline on net debt
00:09.01 - Real estate ownership
00:13:41 - Focus on small towns with a population of 30,000
00:18:11 - Own production of your highest margin products
00:19:22 - No money spent on ads and marketing
00:21:46 - Offer a simple product to simple small town people
00:25:34 - Reinvesting earnings rather than paying dividends
👉 Follow host Mikk Markus on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Left Goldman Sachs and Turned $25k Into an $11M Live Lobster Business | Alex Schultz Interview
6 november 2024 · 59 min
Not too many folks are willing to quit their job at Goldman Sachs to start a holding company. Lees meer
It gets even better…
He even decided to move from the US to Hong Kong.
That’s the story of Alex Schultz who grew a live lobster business to $11m a year; growing 20-30% per year.
- Convincing the Hong Kong government to grant him a Visa to build a business
- Printing out Google Maps to find the first suppliers (IT WORKED!!)
- Bootstrapped business, selling $11m worth of live lobster per year in Hong Kong
My conversation with Alex Schultz of Turnbury Group.
Enjoy.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:24 - Early days after Goldman Sachs
00:02:22 - Finding the right company
00:07:37 - Moving to Hong Kong and not knowing anyone
00:14:31 - The story of founders who lived in China for $1 a day
00:17:40 - Printing out Google Maps to find suppliers
00:22:00 - Initial investment $25,000
00:31:55 - The first 12 months and all challenges
00:37:34 - Cash flow is what keeps you in or out of business
00:44:50 - Building relationships with 2nd and 3rd generation business owners in Hong Kong
00:49:50 - Stay in Hong Kong or go back to the US?
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Alex on Twitter: https://x.com/mrturnbury
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How To Buy 5 Businesses and Build a $60m Holdco (No Investors) | Dan Tamkin Interview
29 oktober 2024 · 1 uur 8 min
Meet Dan Tamkin, co-founder of Resurgent Capital Partners: Lees meer
- Portfolio of 4 companies in different industries
- $60M in revenue
- $8M EBITDA
- No LPs
- Happy, excited about life, spends tons of time teaching kids to play hockey
This is a must listen for someone who’s extremely good at growing and building a single company but feels that they aren’t happiest and need more moving parts on their life:
“When I started to understand who I am – I get really bored if I do one thing for over 3 years. After realizing that about myself, my dream has always been owning four businesses because I thought it would keep me curious and interested – and it has! I’m the happiest right now.”
I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed talking to Dan Tamkin from Resurgent Capital Partners.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:40 - Rejected by PE and “You have to start somewhere”
00:04:45 - Lessons for growing businesses from losing money to break even in 30 days
00:08:45 - I get really bored if I focus on one company only
00:13:12 - The structure of the first deal which took almost 24 months
00:20:41 - Post acquisition
00:24:34 - How to incentivize CEOs
00:33:58 - Organic growth vs. through M&A
00:42:50 - How they find the best deals and people to run portfolio businesses
00:52:59 - No PE firm wanted him, so he wasted a few years of his life trying to get a permission to succeed
01:00:30 - Taking LPs money in the future (maybe...)
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Dan on Twitter: https://x.com/Dan_Tamkin
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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Letter to a Friend Who May Start a New Investment Firm | Graham Duncan research
23 oktober 2024 · 29 min
Graham Duncan from East Rock Capital is so generous that wrote a letter to his friend who was considering starting an investment company. Lees meer
Why listen to Graham:
- Started his fund at 31 years old
- Today $2B in aum
- Manages the capital of five families
"Letter to a friend who may start a new investment platform"
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:50 - When everything is uncertain, are you okay with it?
00:06:41 - Building a fund can even lead to divorce as risks compound
00:08:12 - Life is too short to be paralyzed by the threat of a mixed reference
00:12:48 - Make sure the older members of the team are capable of truly believing in you
00:19:14 - A concept of “going into the cave” — spending time alone for several weeks with a blank sheet of paper
00:23:48 - Make sure to call me: my partners and I would love to provide the “gas”
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Graham on Twitter: https://x.com/GrahamDuncanNYC
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Built and Sold a $31m Financial Media HoldCo | James Camp Interview
15 oktober 2024 · 1 uur 10 min
James started and built a financial media holdco to the point where it was acquired for $31 million. Lees meer
He did it in 5 short years…
We discuss:
- Founding HoldCo with the most financially creative person he knew – a former commodities trader
- Organic growth vs growth through mergers and acquisitions
- Looking for stable year-over-year growth opportunities. “I’m not the dude who wants to do turnarounds”
- The importance of distribution and surfing the right wave
- The best deals have always been off-market
- How to win deals over the guys who take potential sellers to Lakers games
- Sales and marketing lessons from friends who run $100 mm business
- Why he's betting heavily on social: Short and long-form content
- Why and how ego holds too many entrepreneurs back
My conversation with James Camp, co-founder of DMO Holdings.
Enjoy.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:44 - Life before DMO Holdings
00:06:10 - Launch and growth of DMO Holdings
00:15:35 - Finding the best talent through your network and community
00:28:35 - The importance of distribution and surfing the right wave
00:33:28 - Buy and build success tory: Growing a company 6x in 11 months
00:41:03 - Looking for $2-5mm EBITDA businesses
00:55:55 - Ego holds so many entrepreneurs back
01:03:30 - Attracting the right LPs
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
James on Twitter: https://x.com/JamesonCamp
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Bought 8 Companies and Built a $200M HoldCo (100% Bootstrapped) | Jesse Tinsley Interview
7 oktober 2024 · 1 uur 8 min
Organic growth is great, but if you want to grow through M&A while beating almost every private equity firm in deal competition. Learn from Jesse. Lees meer
He became so good at it that he built the company to $200mm
- 8 acquisitions and counting
- 100% bootstrapped
- Being 35 years old; hungrier than ever
A couple of notes:
1. I am a forced entrepreneur, I dropped out of school and then I couldn't find a job so I was forced to start my first company Job Mobz
2. Entrepreneurs give up too quickly; had I sold too early I would never have built a $200M company
3. Recruiting companies must transform into SaaS companies or they will be replaced
4. We've helped build teams for Coinbase, 23andME, Stellar, and Scale AI when they were very small companies
5. The way you get big WHALE-like clients: figure out what their problem is. Then do an insane amount of research and sort it out for them. No one does this and you can stand out very easily
6. Being in one industry for 10+ years gives you insane “market knowledge” that allows you to acquire companies many times cheaper than newer competitors and private equity firms that “know” less about the industry.
7. Having a huge pipeline just because of a great reputation in space – the niche focus has been incredibly beneficial
8. You can make your business 2x as valuable by reviewing your contracts and making sure you're pricing correctly
9. You can't just work 40 hours a week and win.
I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed talking to Jesse Tinsley from Recruiter.com
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:29 - Being a firefighter and the early days of starting a business
00:04:31 - Being a part-time entrepreneur for the first 4 years
00:05:58 - Moving away from the traditional recruiting business model to recurring annual contracts
00:09:34 - How he managed to get Coinbase, 23andMe, Scale AI as clients
00:13:37 - Being frugal allowed to acquire 8 companies
00:17:00 - Having the “market knowledge” allows you to a…
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How I Bought Two Traditional Businesses with $4m EBITDA at 24 | Ethan Macdonald Interview
1 oktober 2024 · 51 min
Imagine that for a moment… Lees meer
You are 24 years old and want to acquire a business…
You pick up the phone and make your first cold call to the founder who owns two companies in the $1-2mm EBITDA range
The founder says, "yes, I would be interested in selling my company," four months later you are the new owner of a small holding company with two traditional businesses (First Fleet Maintenance and Northern Diesel, both located in Northern Alberta, Canada) and a combined EBITDA of $4 million.
This conversation is amazing. Ethan Macdonald from Macdonald Financial has a wild journey.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:43 - Background before these acquisitions
00:06:29 - The moment Ethan decided it was the right time to acquire the company
00:08:35 - Talking to brokers lead to not wanting to use their services
00:11:50 - Deal structure and conversations with the banks
00:19:41 - Very asset heavy businesses
00:23:30 - The whole transaction was financed by the bank
00:32:34 - Unexpected costs in making the deal as he couldn't afford both a lawyer and an accountant
00:34:07 - Post-acquisition
00:38:26 - "I would like to be an operator for the next transaction"
00:41:00 - Growth through M&A versus organic
00:44:02 - Challenges so far after less than half a year of business ownership
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Contact Ethan: ethan at macdonaldfinancial dot net
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Built a Portfolio of 6 SaaS Businesses With 170+ Employees | Philippe Willi Interview
20 september 2024 · 59 min
"There is an ultimate way to build a group of software companies without having to follow the typical VC growth playbook." Lees meer
Philippe Willi is building a SaaS holding company TrekkSoft in Switzerland.
He buys SaaS companies all day but never sells them.
Philippe's story is different:
He started a VC-backed SaaS, but wasn't able to grow it fast enough…
Then he pitched investors not to grow that one SaaS, but to acquire other SaaS companies instead.
The investors said it was a VERY stupid idea, but decided to do it anyway…
Today they have a team of 170+ employees and 6 portfolio companies.
The great story of TrekkSoft.
Important note: Philippe is a big fan of Mark Leonard, the founder of Constellation Software. They have met twice. Mark even visited Philippe and his family at their home in Switzerland.
Lots of great stories and lessons in this episode.
Enjoy!
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:28 - Early days and life before Trekksoft
00:05:19 - First and second acquisition
00:09:54 - Investors: “Building a portfolio of software companies is a VERY stupid idea…”
00:15:34 - Diversified portfolio vs the circle of competence
00:21:22 - How do investors get their capital - IPO? A secondary transaction? Private equity?
00:23:05 - One business unit can save the whole group in difficult times
00:24:39 - Synergies around the portfolio and Philippe's beliefs about it
00:26:13 - First few steps post-acquisition while being an operational type founder
00:30:37 - The story and lessons learned from meeting (twice!) with Mark Leonard, founder of the $50B software behemoth
00:39:30 - Growing organically or through M&A
00:44:18 - Rule of 40
00:49:46 - Key-man-risk across the entire portfolio
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Philippe on Twitter: https://x.com/philippewilli
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Bought 12 Small Business in 18 Months (Revenue $13M) | Jeremy Harbour Interview
12 september 2024 · 1 uur 3 min
Jeremy has bought and sold over 100 businesses, but never uses a broker. Lees meer
Treat a company like a product. You buy one and then you sell it
Again, never use brokers!
Buy right and you’re gonna win
Do more of what works
Joint ventures and the beauty of it
Great story with Jeremy building a holding company in Dubai while the team is based in Singapore.
Important note: he does all that while traveling twice a month with the family.
Enjoy!
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:29 - First acquisition
00:09:51 - Competition on $2-5m deals vs $10m deals
00:12:31 - Early days and growth from 25 employees to 135 employees
00:17:31 - Having a big income vs. selling the business and putting the profits into a new business
00:26:19 - Never use brokers: how to find the best companies and build a pipeline of 100 companies
00:35:37 - Characteristics of companies they acquire today
00:40:10 - Buy-and-sell vs building a huge holding company
00:42:55 - Post acquisition: "I delegate everything, I never show up, and they don't even know me"
00:45:22 - Portfolio company as of today
00:50:28 - Still terrible at fundraising
00:53:09 - Why not raise $200 million and go big
00:55:03 - Doing more of what works
00:56:32 - Joint ventures and the beauty of it
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Jeremy on Twitter: https://x.com/JeremyJHarbour
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How We Bought 26 Companies and Make $116M in Profit PER YEAR; Interview with CEO and CFO of Röko
7 september 2024 · 1 uur 14 min
Swedish serial acquirers have cracked the code on how to compound their wealth (at a staggering rate!) Lees meer
Their holding companies trade at 12-29 times EBITDA.
Here is the story from their founder and CEO Fredrik Karlsson who got so unhappy with his boss so he decided to leave…
Start the exact same business.
Following the exact same strategy.
Today, ONLY 6 years later, he and his team has done 26 acquisitions which does $600M in revenue and $100M+ in EBITA
Here's a 74-minute in-depth summary of two full interviews with Fredrik Karlsson, a true buy-and-build pioneer, and Johan Bladh, Röko's CFO.
(I often learn by reading and listening, so I decided to read these interviews out loud.)
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:29 - 26 portfolio companies, all asset light businesses
00:10:14 - The benefits of being sector agnostic
00:20:20 - Offering a 10-year put call option to the founder
00:26:01 - The hurdle of 15% operating profit
00:30:03 - With 8 people in the HQ, we can grow our profit even to $400M EBITA
00:35:15 - Looking at 300-400 deals per year (which leads to 6-12 acquisitions per year)
00:37:42 - HoldCo model vs Private equity: Decentralization and reporting of portfolio companies
00:44:03 - Understanding the markets, knowing what to acquire
00:56:07 - Competition in transactions
01:00:03 - What type of companies are they acquiring
01:11:12 - Maximum number of deals per year: 7 platforms; 2 add-ons
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Full interviews are free to read on In Practise website (huge thanks to their team for doing this):
Fredrik Karlsson, the CEO of Röko: https://inpractise.com/articles/roko-building-a-leading-serial-acquirer
Johan Bladh, the CFO and deputy CEO of Röko: https://inpractise.com/articles/roko-manda-strategy-transaction-structure-and-returns
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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Hard Pivot? Reflections After Buying 3 B2B SaaS Businesses | Colin Keeley Interview
29 augustus 2024 · 30 min
Dream for 1,000s of software investors: Build a portfolio of profitable B2B SaaS companies Lees meer
The northstar being Constellation Software (which trades at a P/E ratio of 104 and has a market cap of $90B)
Reality: It’s hard, extremely hard!
Despite this, there are few people who actually go and try to do that…
Take Colin Keeley, co-founder of Verne, where they buy and build mission-critical B2B SaaS businesses.
“You can have a holdco plan, but do one great deal and then earn the right to do more deals.”
I hope you enjoy this short conversation.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:11 - First acquisition and early days of Verne
00:02:47 - Choosing the right partner to build your SaaS portfolio
00:03:45 - Returns of first acquisitions
00:07:40 - Current portfolio of companies
00:11:46 - Characteristics of perfect acquisition for Verne
00:15:23 - The harsh reality of delegation
00:21:51 - Capital Camp and lessons from Brent Beshore and Patrick O'shaughnessy
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Colin on Twitter: https://x.com/ColinKeeley
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Bought 10 Companies in 18 Months Using $0 of My Own Money ($7.5M EBITDA and 50% Carry) | Nigell Lee Interview
22 augustus 2024 · 1 uur 11 min
Imagine this... Lees meer
First acquisition March 2023
Today a portfolio of 10 companies
$7.5M in EBITDA
Average acquisition multiple so far 2.5x (!!!)
Last deal: $550k EBITDA business acquired for $850k
Craziest part, doing all that with ZERO personal investment and still making 50% of the carry
Show me a better salesman!
When asked how you did it?
“There are no rules. Literally.”
This conversation with Nigell Lee of RBO Group has everything. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:53 - An unconventional path lead to entrepreneurship & building a company in NYC
00:07:27 - Mixed emotions and growth while growing business in the US
00:09:51 - First days of RBO Group: 9 months of market research and search of the first deal
00:12:34 - Financial structure and financing of the first deal
00:19:32 - Acquiring a company in an industry you don’t know much about
00:20:35 - The biggest secret revealed: How to find the absolute best deals
00:25:44 - Getting in the game vs spending years looking for a perfect deal
00:28:57 - Size and structure of the holding company
00:36:39 - 2-5-10 year strategy post acquisition
00:42:40 - 10 deals with 2.5x average acquisition multiple
00:46:19 - 90-day integration post acquisition
00:57:55 - Focusing on one business/platform vs wide range of companies
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Nigell on Twitter: https://x.com/nigelllee1
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Built a 5-Company HoldCo with a Next Goal to Generate $100M in Revenue | Nikolas Hulewsky Interview
13 augustus 2024 · 50 min
Imagine this… Lees meer
You help grow the home care and hospice company from $20 million to $150 million and then they fire you.
Then you think whether you should start your own thing or not, “I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur but I wasn’t ready for it…”
Voila…
You still decide to do it…
Today, at 38, Nikolas runs a diversified portfolio of 5 companies. ("A small portfolio of a few companies,”, as he put it.) What a humble man.
Fantastic and very open conversation with Nikolas Hulewsky from the holding company called CoFounders.
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:36 - Lessons learned from growing a home care business to $150 million
00:09:51 - Getting fired and starting your own business
00:11:58 - Starting a brand new company and making $10 million in revenue in 3 months00:19:55 - 4 criteria before buying a company
00:24:50 - Preparing for interest rate changes and what if they don't change
00:27:41 - All deals they’ve done are off-market, never using brokers
00:36:21 - “You do it because you want to have fun,” but what about financial goals?
00:40:30 - Building a business with your best friend
00:45:13 - Time management 101: 4 kids, a wife, and a goal of $100m in revenue
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Nikolas on Twitter: https://x.com/CoFoundersNik
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Invested in 40+ Companies and Built a $1.9B AUM Investment Firm | John Caple Interview
6 augustus 2024 · 58 min
Even when every 3rd and 4th person in finance dreams of starting their own private equity fund… Lees meer
Only 0.01% give it a chance and far fewer succeed…Here is my conversation with John Caple of Hidden Harbor Capital Partners who just went and did all that...
$260m fund I
$465m fund II
$800m fund III (just announced fundraising)
They invest in lower middle market industrial and business services companies, paying 4-8x EBITDA per deal, making them a true value shop.
“I don’t want to pay 5 times for 5 times business. I want to pay 5 times for a business that one day can trade for 8, 10, 12 times. Well, that’s what everyone wants to do… But how we do it is by buying founder and family owned businesses. We never buy from another private equity firm.”
We had a blast. Enjoy!
Show Notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:37 - We just raised $800m, but the real work is just beginning
00:01:42 - Early days as an investment banker and consultant
00:05:12 - Doing it with his best friends and raising the first 260m fund
00:12:39 - Straightforward fundraising advice
00:17:45 - Why we're starting to see many private equity funds disappear
00:23:40 - Sourcing, selecting, servicing
00:25:45 - Investment preferences
00:32:00 - Lessons learned after one portfolio company ended in zero
00:38:21 - Processes they can't live without
00:44:02 - Advice for founders considering selling their business
00:52:39 - Is this life what you expected it to be?
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
John on Twitter: https://x.com/BigJohn043
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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From $6.5M to $84M: The Journey of Building A 9-Fig Holding Company | Chris Rolls Research
30 juli 2024 · 25 min
My research of Chris Rolls, the founder of PieLAB Capital, who went through the journey of building and selling his business, then starting a private equity fund, and then starting a permanent holding company. Lees meer
Their most successful portfolio company, Detector Inspector, have grown from $6.5 million in revenue to $84 million.
Chris is a big fan of acquisition led compounders and serial acquirers.
When comparing serial acquirers and private equity:
“We got the end of the fund and we had to sell some really great companies. And being an operator, if you have a great company which is growing, and generating cash – you don’t want to sell such companies.”
Fascinating lessons, I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed doing the research.
Show Notes:
00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Growing Detector Inspector from $6.5 million to $84 million
02:40 - The early years of learning private equity
04:01 - 3 reasons why private market investing generates better returns?
11:55 - Not wanting to sell great companies
17:02 - Characteristics of PieLAB Capital’s portfolio
20:39 - Becoming a long-term buyer and holder of businesses
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Bought 10 Companies and Built a $200M Portfolio in My 30s | Eugen B. Russ Interview
22 juli 2024 · 39 min
My conversation with Eugen Benedikt Russ. Lees meer
A gentleman in his 30s who runs a $200 million a year holding company.
Since starting in 2018, they have achieved an IRR of 39% over the past 6 years.
A portfolio of 10+ companies (all majority owned)
They specialize in acquiring, managing, and operating profitable niche businesses in Online Marketplaces, Consumer Apps and SaaS
The smallest portco earns about $2-3m in EBIT, while the largest earns $19.2m in EBIT.
“These days you can run and operate profitably and successfully in these niches with a team of under 20 people nowadays. Sometimes even under 15 people. You can build a company that does $5 to $10m in revenue at a 40, 50, even 60% EBITDA margin. ”
If you care about running extremely profitable niche companies, a must listen!
Show Notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:05:48 - Haven’t raised a single dollar of outside capital
00:07:25 - Investment strategy (revenue, profit, location)
00:15:02 - A niche with 30% YoY growth
00:17:28 - A recent successful investment and how they think about the opportunities
00:21:38 - Finding the best talent
00:26:51 - Diversified portfolio
00:38:03 - The famous five
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Join HoldCo Builders weekly newsletter on finding deals, raising capital, and growing small profitable niche businesses: https://privatequityguy.beehiiv.com/
Eugen on Twitter: https://x.com/eugen_russ
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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Growth Equity And $500M To $700M Worth Of Deals Per Year | Kashyap Chanchani Interview
15 juli 2024 · 49 min
My conversation with Kashyap Chanchani, managing partner of The Rainmaker Group, an Indian firm that works with traditional family businesses and VC-backed companies. Lees meer
"I started the Rainmaker Group because I didn't want to sleepwalk through life."
Kashyap runs a growth equity advisory firm which does $500 to 700 million worth of transactions annually.
We discuss:
– 30 of India's 50 largest companies are still family-owned
– 30% of family owned businesses are open / attracted to raising private equity funding
– Why and how should one invest in private companies in India
– A message for people who want to invest in private companies in India
– Putting all your money in Indian equities
Show Notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:23 - “I didn’t want to sleepwalk through life”
00:03:07 - Private family owned businesses in India
00:08:45 - Succession planning in India
00:17:20 - The opportunity of building a holdco of small traditional businesses
00:27:29 - Key-man-risk in family owned traditional businesses
00:36:41 - “Don’t be a tourist investor”
00:39:10 - 10-15% growth on average per year
00:42:09 - Organic growth vs M&A
Follow PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Join HoldCo Builders weekly newsletter on finding deals, raising capital, and growing small profitable niche businesses: https://privatequityguy.beehiiv.com/
Kashyap on Twitter: https://x.com/KChanchani
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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Holding Company For Internet Businesses, 150 People And Personal Branding | Daniel Priestley Interview
5 juli 2024 · 1 uur 2 min
My conversation with Daniel Priestley about how to become a "key person of influence" in the world of private equity, investing or small business acquisition. Lees meer
Being known in your own little world makes three things possible:
- Finding better deals
- Attract more capital on better terms
- Have more talent wanting to partner with your companies
Daniel manages a portfolio of internet companies and has a team of 150 people.
We discuss:
– The biggest leverage is not capital, its enterprise - the ability to run a business
– Becoming a key person of influence niche industry (hint: Buffett’s annual letters)
– Growing portfolio companies using cold calling and email
– Raising millions for your company by using cold outreach to content strategy
Show Notes:
00:00:00 - Intro00:01:07 - Growing the first company to $10 million in revenue in 3 years
00:02:23 - Building a personal brand in the M&A, PE or small business acquisition world
00:10:10 - Sending 150 messages per day to test the product, build the relationships
00:13:39 - Cold outreach to content
00:15:11 - Use waiting lists when raising capital; making transactions
00:23:01 - Providing immense value to your peers
00:31:03 - Going from online to offline to ACTUALLY raise capital and do the deals
00:47:52 - The biggest lever is not capital, its enterprise - to run the business
Follow PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Join HoldCo Builders weekly newsletter on finding deals, raising capital, and growing small profitable niche businesses: https://privatequityguy.beehiiv.com/
Daniel on Twitter: https://x.com/DanielPriestley
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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How I Built a Businesses Portfolio Which Does $1B in Revenue | Eran Efrat Interview
13 juni 2024 · 1 uur
“Don’t stop trying…” Lees meer
Eran used to work as an airport security to pay the bills.
Today, VerDiesel Group does $1 billion in revenue…
Turns out that KFC and McDonald's used cooking oil can be VERY big business.
Add biodiesel, biogas, feedstock… it gets HUGE.
Everything we touched in the first 2-3 years failed. Everything. We tried to touch everything but we had no experience.
Every time I did not have the money, I said I would find the money. I then went and found the money.
We discuss:
– 4 years of market research with no success
– First serious breakthrough in 2012
– Forming a partnership with a BIG petrochemical company with no money or experience
– Importance of relationships
00:00 - Intro
00:42 - Company size, revenue, markets they serve with their products/services
02:29 - Studying law at the University of Bologna, army, a bartender, moved from Israel to Italy in 2004
05:05 - How they found opportunities in early days - wind turbines, equipment for bicycles
08:17 - Partnership. Relying on each other's strengthsand the job him and his partner did to cover bills in early days
14:07 - 100+ meetings with people with 30-40 years of industry experience is why I'm here today
22:09 - I know how to sell and solve problems with customers and suppliers
40:10 - Big money business means big and expensive mistakes
47:05 - The future of the VerDiesel Group
53:49 - Be willing to give equity if it keeps your business alive
56:06 - Much of my success is thanks to my wife
My full conversation with Eran Efran , the co-founder of VerDiesel Group — Stream now.
Follow PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Join HoldCo Builders weekly newsletter on finding deals, raising capital, and growing small profitable niche businesses: https://privatequityguy.beehiiv.com/
Eran on Twitter: https://x.com/Eran_Efrat
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.