Acquiring Minds

Ania Aliev was so eager to buy her business, she worked the deal while in labor at the hospital. It's been worth it.

Register for the webinar: 

• Tax Issues: Entity and Deal Structuring - Thu Oct 30 - http://bit.ly/43tlhIP

Topics in Ania’s interview:

• Rushing to get a deal closed before giving birth
• Using her people skills to connect with sellers
• Searching only in the Eastern US
• Buying an AED sales and service company
• Myths about AEDs
• Figuring out the best pricing model
• Lack of competition in the industry
• Dealing with “Mom brain”
• Willingness to say “I don’t know”
• Stickiness of customers

References and how to contact Ania:

• Linkedin
• Life Support Systems

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

• The Acquisition Lab

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

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

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Despite skepticism from her US investors, Ivona Butcher bought (and tripled) a business in her native Czech Republic.

Topics in Ivona’s interview:

• Doing business in a post-Soviet culture
• Determination to acquire in the Czech Republic
• Buying a business as a married couple
• Getting into exhibition services right before Covid
• Losing all revenue at onset of Covid
• Pivoting to virtual events
• Finding work for their carpenters and metalsmiths
• Aggressively re-negotiating their loan with the bank
• Buying back the seller note at a huge discount
• Surviving Covid and doubling EBITDA

References and how to contact Ivona:

• Ivona Butcher
• Corbin Butcher
• Beire
• Adam Rao on Acquiring Minds: Reviving a Covid-Crushed Business: $0 to $6M in 3 Years

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

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

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Ruchik Gandhi was a diligence CPA when he decided to get in the game himself. Becoming an owner has been an education.

Topics in Ruchik’s interview:

• India > Australia > US immigration
• Discovery of the wonders of multiple arbitrage
• Receiving the deal from another searcher
• Paying a $20k finder’s fee
• Buying a fabrics and upholstery workroom
• Learning how to manage a blue-collar workforce
• Mishandling employee relationships
• Taking feedback from his managers
• Earning the employees’ trust
• His plan for growth in a fragmented industry

References and how to contact Ruchik:

• LinkedIn
• Window 25

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

• From this page or contact [email protected]

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

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

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

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Undeterred by self doubt, Danyelle Nys bought a $400k SDE business at a fantastic price. She's grown it 25% in year one.

Topics in Danyelle’s interview:

• Working in her family’s asphalt business
• Learning about ETA from a masterclass
• Hiring a coach for the search process
• Buying a business for the price of inventory + working capital
• The seller was running it remotely
• Raising prices and salaries after acquisition
• Dealing with an obstinate commercial landlord
• Moving 14,000 sq ft of inventory to a new warehouse
• Hiring her mom as the bookkeeper
• “F*** your mood. Follow the plan.”

References and how to contact Danyelle:

• LinkedIn
• Decorus Home Staging
• Kyle Boyden & Jake Furfaro on Acquiring Minds: Stacking Small Acquisitions to $5m in Revenue

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher

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

• The Acquisition Lab

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

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

When his deal died the first time, Kyle Poll was devastated. But then it came back around, larger and more interesting.

Topics in Kyle’s interview:

• Skills he learned on his 2-year Mormon mission
• Growing Gympass from $10m to $100m
• Aiming for happiness at work and home
• Earning the respect of brokers
• Watching his deals die and being outbid
• Q of E that drastically lowered the business value
• Emotional rollercoaster of full-time search
• Completing his acquisition as CEO with equity
• Finding investors who would bet on growth
• Merging 2 rival companies

References and how to contact Kyle:

• LinkedIn
• GetOutPass
• The Mormon Way of Doing Business by Jeff Benedict

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

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

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

• From this page or contact [email protected]

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Brian Seeling sought a blue-collar business with a good manager in place. He found exactly that — with $2.6m in revenue.

Register for the webinar: 

• Tactical EQ to Win Over Sellers and Brokers - TODAY! - https://bit.ly/46MlUhC

Topics in Brian’s interview:

• Being an entrepreneurial kid
• Moving from IT to blue-collar
• Getting value from SMBootcamp
• “Riches are in the niches”
• Satisfaction of developing people
• Not all SBA lending is the same
• “Billionaires do business with billionaires”
• Tactfully bringing about change
• Continuing the commission-based compensation model
• Replacing old tech in the business

References and how to contact Brian:

• LinkedIn
• PGM Service

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

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

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

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Nick Keegan owned a struggling software business doing just €1m/yr until an acquisition put it on the path to 9 figures.

Register for the webinars: 

• How PACT Simplifies Investor Deals Using SBA - TOMORROW! - https://bit.ly/42jGpB2
• Tactical EQ to Win Over Sellers and Brokers - Thu Oct 9th - https://bit.ly/48wqcMP

Topics in Nick’s interview:

• 10 years in the Irish Defense Forces
• His app idea that ultimately failed
• Pivoting his failed business into Mail Metrics
• Successfully competing against larger print companies
• 7 years of slow growth
• Acquiring 2 large companies simultaneously
• Hiring a tutor to teach him basic finance
• Buying one business in Ireland and one in the UK
• Borrowing at a very high interest rate
• Increasing revenue by $12m in one year

References and how to contact Nick:

• LinkedIn
• Mail Metrics

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

• The Acquisition Lab

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher

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

• From this page or contact [email protected]

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Onu Okebie and Brian Boland wanted to retain 100% ownership when they began, so they used an SBA loan. It has paid off.

Register for the webinars: 

• The ABCs of Franchise M&A: Deal Sourcing, Diligence, and Integration - TODAY! -  https://bit.ly/481yThO
• How PACT Simplifies Investor Deals Using SBA - Tue Oct 7th - https://bit.ly/48FjAvq

Topics in Brian and Onu’s interview:

• Forming a partnership in business school
• Searching for 2.5 years
• Closing on their first business while still in school
• Bootstrapping their first acquisition
• Sacrifice and long commute the first year
• Willingness to “be bad at something”
• Complexity of niche/time-sensitive freight
• Athletic grit carried them through acquisition challenges
• Learning to pitch to investors
• 5 acquisitions in less than 5 years

References and how to contact Brian and Onu:

• Brian LinkedIn
• Onu LinkedIn
• HTL Freight
• Webinar: Use an SBA Loan to Start a Roll-Up

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

• From this page or contact [email protected]

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

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Aizik Zimerman bought a home services business to build a consumer brand into his life's work. It seems to be working. 

Register for the webinar: 

• The ABCs of Franchise M&A: Deal Sourcing, Diligence, and Integration - Thu Oct 2nd -  https://bit.ly/46E2uv8

Topics in Aizik’s interview:

• There is endless opportunity in home services
• His goal of $1 billion in revenue
• Advantage of his youthful energy
• Going all-in on digital advertising
• Small business = big problems
• Founder Mode theory
• Organic growth over acquisitions
• Your must earn your right to diversify
• Winning on Google with reviews
• Hiring overseas for auditing and marketing

References and how to contact Aizik:

• LinkedIn
• John Wilson on Acquiring Minds: Buying Small, Growing Big: From $1m to $26m

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

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

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

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

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

James Bohannon of family office Belzberg & Co. explains the FO world and its untapped potential for searchers & sponsors.

Topics in James’s interview:

• What is a family office?
• Family office capital sustains private markets
• You may wear jeans, but there are tradeoffs
• Private, insular nature of family offices
• How to network with family offices
• When it makes sense to exit to a family office
• Long-term holds are a good fit
• Playing defense and offense within family offices
• Family offices do not need to raise capital
• Family offices may be friendlier to smaller deals

References and how to contact James:

• LinkedIn

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

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

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

• The Acquisition Lab

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

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron