Acquiring Minds

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

In 2021, Johannes Hock bought an artificial turf installer business doing $5m. It's on track to exceed $15m in 2023. 

Topics in Johannes’s interview:

• Comparing opportunities in private equity vs search
• Sources of deal flow beyond BizBuySell
• Mapping multiples to months for better perspective
• Acquiring an artificial turf company
• The luxury of finding a business with a GM
• How to value and finance a fast-growing business
• Tracking data from day one of ownership
• How weather affects his cash flow
• Unexpected costs of sales commissions
• Benefits of having a partner in search

References and how to contact Johannes:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• DFW Turf Solutions
• Buy Small Sell High

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

Corey Veverka acquired the business where he had worked for years, mitigating his risk & removing the need for a search. 

Topics in Corey’s interview:

• Corey bought a business without doing a search
• Accepting that buying a $5m business can be "normal"
• How Corey felt about buying a business for millions of dollars
• Educating the owner about SBA loans
• Convincing his wife & partner to do the deal
• Learning to think like an owner (increasing his financial goals)
• How Corey's risk was mitigated by buying the business where he worked
• How much they've grown the business
• Takeaways for people who want to buy the business where they work
• Why being a business owner is "life amplified"

References and how to contact Corey:

• TVS
• Entrepreneurs' Organization
• LinkedIn

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

Sandy Paige struggled to raise a search fund as a mid-career executive, then grew EBITDA by 7x and exited for 9 figures. 

Topics in Sandy’s interview:

• Delaying search due to timing
• Hurdles he overcame to raise funds
• Why he chose traditional search
• How he got a good deal on purchase price
• Renting space to animal research labs
• Importance of hiring the right senior team
• Similarities between his company and WeWork
• Terrifying risks with the real estate dynamics
• Advice for searchers over 40
• Selling to competitor Charles River Laboratories

References and how to contact Sandy:

• LinkedIn
• Explora Biolabs

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

Shane Ehrsam & Brandon Adams return to discuss hiring a GM, buying business #2, the rewards of SMB life & managing envy. 

Topics in Shane’s interview:

• Most professionally rewarding year of his life
• Gratification of making a positive impact on your employees
• Introducing new benefits for employees: 401k, health insurance, bonuses
• Growing revenue even after COVID demand recedes
• Not a “searcher-friendly” business
• Reality of bumpy revenue in retail
• Owning a business bought as a stock sale rather than asset sale
• Dealing with envy in search
• Identifying what is important to you in your journey to buy a business

References and how to contact Shane:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• North Texas Trailers
• Shane’s first appearance on Acquiring Minds: 6 Months to Buy a Business with $1m+ in EBITDA

Topics in Brandon’s interview:

• Magic of hiring a GM (when it works)
• How to decide when it’s time to hire a GM
• Improving the lives of employees
• How they’ve improved their hiring for blue-collar roles
• When to buy a second business
• Professionalizing a business “being run like a South Philly pizza shop”
• Get in the arena and doors will open

References and how to contact Brandon:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Philadelphia Dry Ice & Jim's Ice
• Brandon’s first appearance on Acquiring Minds: 6 Months in the Truck: Buying an Ice Delivery Biz

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