Sean Moore looked at a handful of businesses, but a fine art gallery with over $1m SDE won the art collector's heart. 

Topics in Sean’s interview:

• Pulling $1M out of his 401k to buy an art gallery
• How his gallery brings in $1M in SDE
• The ecommerce aspect of the gallery
• The additional revenue stream of a frame shop
• Opportunities to improve the gallery website
• His peer group that supported his search
• Choosing a passion business over a “boring” one
• Forming a connection with the seller
• Using ROBS for acquisitions
• Negotiating earnest money with the seller

References and how to contact Sean:

• LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Josh Levell
• Fascination St. Fine Art
• Jeff Baughman
• Guesswork Investing

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

• More Staffing

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

John Hubbard returns to share how "chasing EBITDA over revenue" has benefited the trailer fabricator he bought in 2021. 

Topics in John’s interview:

• Losing largest customer (25% of revenue)
• Earning $2m EBITDA on $6m revenue vs. $25m revenue
• Don't chase revenue, chase EBITDA
• Mentally transitioning from buyer of a business to the seller of it
• Why he's thinking about selling
• Selling vs. hiring an operator & holding
• How difficult finding a good operator is
• Appreciating how precious it is when you have a business doing well
• The appeal of investing in other search deals
• 3 points about leadership in SMB

References and how to contact John:

• Sam Rosati
• Express Custom Trailers
• John’s first appearance on Acquiring Minds: Why Buy a Small Manufacturing Business
• Recent interview with Shane Ehrsam, who bought a trailer dealership business: Hiring a General Manager & Buying Business #2

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

It CAN be done. Andrew Swiler acquired a SaaS business with $650k SDE using an SBA loan (and while living in Spain). 

Topics in Andrew’s interview:

• Why he preferred buying a SaaS business to an ecommerce one
• Key trait to being a successful acquisition entrepreneur
• Downside protection in a SaaS business
• The appeal of the Microsoft ecosystem
• Deferred revenue (and explaining it to a seller)
• Buying a SaaS business as a non-technical person
• How a SaaS business is valued
• History of Lanteria, the business Andrew bought
• Terms of the deal
• Strategy of building a portfolio of B2B SaaS businesses
• Pros & cons of holding company structure
• Pros & cons of fund structure

References and how to contact Andrew:

• Tweet about how declining MRR affects SaaS enterprise value
• Xavier Helgesen
• Acquire.com
• @swilera on Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Lanteria

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

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

• More Staffing

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Chandler Reed reflects on buying a project-based business in 2021, seeing sales soar, then crash, then surge again. 

Topics in Chandler’s interview:

• His unconventional entrance into the search space
• Buying a commercial lighting contractor
• Incentivizing the sole employee to stay on
• The challenges of managing people
• The ups and downs of project-based revenue
• How interest rates affected his deal flow
• Involvement with Sam Rosati’s boot camp
• Choosing a business based on desired lifestyle
• Pros and cons of subcontracting
• His preference for digital over physical businesses

References and how to contact Chandler:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• SMBootcamp
• Pursuant Capital Bootcamp
• SMBash

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

 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

Landon Mance bought a $1.7m tree business alongside a minority partner who's operated the business full-time from Day 1. 

Topics in Landon’s interview:

• Crossing paths with a financial criminal
• Buying a tree service business with his friend as operator
• Where “follow your passion” falls short
• Why the business had high margins at acquisition
• Negotiating with the sellers over Zoom
• Burning through the capex budget in 90 days
• The importance of putting everything in the contract
• His operator’s equity stake in the company
• Continuing to run his financial planning business
• His 5-8 year vision for the company

References and how to contact Landon:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Backbone Planning Partners
• Trent Lee
• Nevada Tree Service
• Trevor Milton
• Ryan Tansom
• Elizabeth Holmes
• Micro Business Academy

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

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

• More Staffing

Connect with Acquiring Minds: 

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

Neil Finneran had worked in hedge funds & as a CFO when the opportunity to buy a pest control business presented itself. 

Topics in Neil’s interview:

• His career pivot from finance to mosquito spraying
• Buying a business in mid-life
• The value of a supportive spouse
• Hiring, firing and incentivizing blue collar employees
• Importance of retaining customers in a recurring revenue business
• What he likes about being part of a franchise
• The view from 6 months of ownership
• The advantage of knowing how to do the work himself
• Competitors in the pest control space
• Deciding how much to spend on marketing

References and how to contact Neil:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Mosquito Joe

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

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

A year into his search Jesse Sunquist realized he needed to lower his SDE floor to find a business to buy in his market. 

Topics in Jesse’s interview:

• Being motivated by achieving job flexibility
• Why he initially resisted franchises
• Buying 2 Mosquito Joe territories 
• What he loves about his franchisor
• Dealing with customer complaints
• Managing tricky situations with employees
• Calculating potential earnings in a territory
• Change management in a seasonal business
• Operational improvements he made
• Buying at the $300k SDE level

References and how to contact Jesse:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• [email protected]
• Reflections after 1 year of searching full time
• Jesse’s first appearance on Acquiring Minds
• Buy a Franchise Portfolio: How to Choose the Brand

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

• More Staffing

Connect with Acquiring Minds: 

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

George Vallone returns to share how he has grown revenue 3x in 2.5 years and laid a foundation for multi-city expansion. 

Topics in George’s interview:

• His incentive program to ensure quality from contractors
• How quality gives him pricing power
• Sales process for apartment turnover services
• How geographic expansion could track his existing client relationships
• Headcount & revenue growth at Nuveldy’s
• Hiring a VP of operations
• The power of being in a growing market
• Building custom tech
• Expanding to new geographies organically rather than acquiring a business there
• How difficult it is to work in property management

References and how to contact George:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Nuveldy's Apartment Turnover Services
• George’s first appearance on Acquiring Minds: How to Buy a Business Using Tactics from B2B Tech Sales

Get a complementary pre-acquisition HR & PEO review for your target business:

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

• More Staffing

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Chad Hildebrant knew the best deals have hair on them. The trick is finding the right hair, turning red flags green. 

Topics in Chad’s interview:

• Buying a business that was not financeable
• Getting a 60% seller note
• Reconstructing 3 years of financial records
• Deal fatigue during negotiations
• Burning himself out in the first quarter post-transition
• 3 explanations for chaos in a business
• Comparing management to parenting
• The 3 types of candle makers
• How he generates new sales
• The importance of having friends who are operators

References and how to contact Chad:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• A candle co.

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

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Shawn Allard didn't want a food business, but an ice cream shop with good margins & a local following changed his mind. 

Topics in Shawn’s interview:

• Realizing he’s not a zero-to-one guy
• More reps = more reward
• Getting brokers to take him seriously at age 26
• Why he was comfortable “buying small”
• Buying a local ice cream business
• Horror stories of food and beverage
• Keeping his W-2 after buying the business
• His vision to open more locations
• The value of brand and reputation
• Learning the business before making changes

References and how to contact Shawn:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Novel Ice Cream

• Buy a Franchise Portfolio: How to Choose the Brand

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

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with A-players who can run your business remotely:

• More Staffing

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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