Sam Rosati shares a framework to clarify your search criteria & reduce the months it takes to find a business to buy. 

Topics in Sam’s interview:

• The reason search takes so long 
• How to speed up your search process
• Underwriting criteria of SBA lenders
• Knowing how to kill a deal
• Considering the fit of the searcher as CEO
• Understanding SBA loan framework
• Importance of recurring or repeating revenue
• Opportunities and risks in buying small
• Managing criteria to get enough deals in the pipeline
• Common mistakes searchers make

Links and how to contact Sam:

• Twitter
• Links to all Sam’s projects
• Pursuant Capital
• Nick Haschka
• Sam Rosati’s investor list
• Raise $800k to Buy an $8m Business  | Kevin Bibelhausen Interview

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

James Bloom has 8x'd a small mechanical contractor he bought only 4 years ago, despite it being a competitive industry. 

Topics in James’s interview:

• How his background in M&A informed his due diligence process
• How he ensured a smooth transition
• Commercial HVAC vs. residential HVAC
• Why he funded growth out of his own pocket
• Reducing his weekly work hours from 100 to 60
• How his business differentiates itself in the construction industry
• Growing his staff from 8 to 80
• Growing revenue from $3M to $25M
• Working with unions
• Bringing in outside capital to grow

Links and how to contact James:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Excel Mechanical Contractors

Buy your ticket to the ETA conference devoted to self-funded search:

• The Self-Funded Search Conference (Sep 30 & Oct 1 in Dallas)

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

3 days into Monte Marcum's acquisition of an established franchise, key equipment breaks. Then the crises kept coming. 

Topics in Monte’s interview:

• Buying 2 existing & adjacent franchise businesses at once
• How Filta’s customer pricing is structured
• Why commercial kitchens love his business
• Combining two businesses
• Equipment starts breaking on day three
• Monte’s series of fetal position moments
• What exactly is hard about running a business
• How one rockstar employee guided him through a season of crisis
• The biggest risk of buying small
• The importance of a support system

Links and how to contact Monte:

• LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Codie Sanchez: These “Boring Businesses” Will Make You Rich
• Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions
• John Schooler update episode on Acquiring Minds

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

Niklas James started off as a self-funded searcher, but evolved into being an independent sponsor of 7 acquisitions. 

Topics in Niklas’s interview:

• Why he returned the funds raised for his traditional search fund
• How the painful challenges of his first acquisition set him up for success on later deals
• Why SaaS isn’t as sexy as it seems
• Evolution from self-funded searcher to independent sponsor
• Definition of an independent sponsor
• Why HVAC is so attractive
• Growing his home services business
• What type of person should consider independent sponsorship
• The difference between searchers and independent sponsors
• The difference between a holdco and independent sponsorship

Links and how to contact Niklas:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• McGuireWoods Independent Sponsor Conference

Buy your ticket to the ETA conference devoted to self-funded search:

• The Self-Funded Search Conference (Sep 30 & Oct 1 in Dallas)

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

Martin Bispels updates us on the DTC ecommerce business he bought in 2020 and had grown to almost $2m/yr one year later. 

Topics in Martin’s interview:

• Using the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)
• Building and managing a great remote team
• Why he doesn’t sell on Amazon
• The difference between buying and shopping
• Opportunities for bolt-on products
• Marks of a good ecommerce business
• The power of story to differentiate your product
• Moving his supplier from China to Vietnam
• Finding a good 3PL
• Keeping the founder in the business

Links and how to contact Martin:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Upper Park Disc Golf
• Carro app
• Frangiosa Farms
• Keith Linebach: 8 Figure Exit, 2 Years After Buying the Business

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

• Contact [email protected] or visit Aspen HR

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

Derek Turner has done both a traditional search fund and self-funded. We hear both stories & explore the differences. 

Topics in Derek’s interview:

• The advantages of a geographically-focused search
• His method for pitching business owners doing cold outreach
• Challenges within the laser van business
• Being a good soldier vs being a sucker
• The downside of growth
• The perils of buying from unpleasant owners
• How the company grew with no marketing
• Hiring a GM to run the business
• Why have a board with a self-funded acquisition
• Why self-funded search feels different than traditional search funds

Links and how to contact Derek:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Roll-a-Shield
• Derek’s Twitter thread “When does a ‘good soldier’ become a ‘sucker’?”
• Derek’s thread on traditional search (being a CEO) vs. self-funded search (being an owner)

With SIG, you can buy your own business and retain majority ownership:

• Search Investment Group

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

2 previous guests, Mike Botkin & Adrian Pinto, are joining forces to grow a landscaping empire throughout the Southeast. 

Topics in Adrian and Mike’s interview:

• Adrian and Mike meeting through Acquiring Minds
• Why it was difficult for Adrian to get a line of credit for his business
• Mike’s holding company acquired Adrian’s landscaping company
• The pros and cons of buying assets vs. stock
• How an SBA loan can hamper growth in some situations
• Why Mike says acquisition is a talent game
• How they structured their acquisition
• Adrian’s role as CEO post-acquisition
• How rolling equity can benefit the seller
• Mike’s holdco origin story

Links and how to contact Adrian and Mike:

• Mike’s LinkedIn & Twitter
• Adrian’s LinkedIn & Twitter
• Adrian's recent episode: How to 2x Sales in a Service Business You Buy
• OneOutdoor
• Georgia Scapes

With SIG, you can buy your own business and retain majority ownership:

• Search Investment Group

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

With no finance background, Kevin Bibelhausen learned to raise money from investors & buy a 20-year-old fabric business. 

Topics in Kevin’s interview:

• His health crisis that led to a career change
• Losing funding at the last minute
• Raising $800k in 5 weeks
• Automating his money-raise process with investors
• The value of being active on Twitter
• Acquiring a $8m business using very little of his own money
• The ideal number of investors
• What attracted Kevin to Heritage Fabrics
• Managing working capital with a long sales cycle
• His investment fund, Fruition Capital

Links and how to contact Kevin:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Fruition Capital
• Sam Rosati’s Investor List
• Nick Haschka’s episodes on Acquiring Minds:
• How One Small Acquisition Led to 9 More in 5 Years
• 6 Ways Buying a Business Has Changed Since 2016
• HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business

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

Alex Michael was seeking to acquire not just a business, but freedom. One year later, he reports back on how it's going. 

Topics in Alex’s interview:

• Top line growth in the last year
• How he diligenced Wallaroo Wallets
• How he uses Amazon PPC ads
• The limitations of an Amazon FBA business
• An expensive lesson about traffic diversification
• Launching new products
• Having his family involved in his business
• Living life on his own terms
• His unconventional thoughts on productivity
• The topics he writes on

Links and how to contact Alex:

• LinkedIn
• QuietLight
• Alex’s Substack
• Wallaroo Wallets

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

How Austin Smoak raised money from investors to buy a very profitable roofing business that he found on BizBuySell. 

Topics in Austin's interview:

• How Goldman Sachs prepared him for business ownership
• Passively owning franchises
• Why he recommends local brokers over proprietary search
• Finding “business-buyer fit”
• His plan to scale via roll-up
• His philosophy on change management
• Pros and cons of being funded by a family office
• The scope of his residential roofing business
• The roofing industry in Florida
• How he uses digital marketing

Links and how to contact Austin:

• LinkedIn
• Grove Oaks Capital
• Axial
• Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?: How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire by Reginald Lewis and Blair S. Walker

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