Jessica Markowitz used a traditional search fund to search for & ultimately buy a great business. But the road was long.

Themes from Jessica's interview:

• Acquiring a business through a traditional search fund
• Leveraging an army of interns to power the search
• Search fund partnership with a close friend 
• Maintaining a good relationship with a business owner even after they decline you
• Running a legal services company without a law degree

Reach Jessica at:

• LinkedIn

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• Anatomy of a Search: 40 Interns, 25 Months, 20 Offers

There are many lenders out there eager to finance your acquisition. SBA loan expert Lisa Forrest explains how to choose.

Themes from Lisa's interview:

• Working with lenders to secure an SBA loan
• Choosing the right lender for you
• How to prepare for your SBA loan conversation
• Getting an SBA loan for SaaS and eCommerce businesses
• How business owners can plan ahead for a cash crunch
• Why now is a great time for buyers

Reach Lisa at:

• lisa [dot] forrest [at] liveoak [dot] bank
• Live Oak Bank

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• How to Choose Your Lender When Buying a Business

Shannon Jones explains how acquisition entrepreneurs should navigate the realities of buying a blue collar business.

Themes from Shannon's interview:

• Killing relations with a blue collar seller by being too "quant"
• Importance of vulnerability when negotiating
• How to know if a blue collar business is in an industry that’s right for you
• Managing blue collar employees and common pitfalls
• Transitioning as a new owner of a blue collar business
• When is the right time to make changes as a new owner?

Reach Shannon at:

• s jones [at] halstatt
• LinkedIn
• Halstatt Legacy Partners

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• The Poetry of Buying a Blue Collar Business

Due diligence expert Elliott Holland shares the top things he wishes he’d known when he first started buying businesses.

Themes from Elliott's interview:

• Started the due diligence firm he wished he’d had himself
• For LOIs, don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good
• Early information on an acquisition is +/- 40% correct (and that might be OK)
• The information you get post-LOI is what matters
• Don’t be surprised if the seller doesn’t trust you right away

Reach Elliott at:

• LinkedIn
• Guardian Due Diligence

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• What You Don’t Understand About Buying a Small Business

Nick Haschka shares what's changed in the market since acquiring his first small business in 2016. (Hint: it’s harder.)

Themes from Nick's interview:

• The rise and fall of the “silver tsunami”
• Private equity’s pivot from hands-off to getting dirty
• MBAs jump into the acquisition arena
• The labors of labor shortages
• Why B2C is beating B2B 
• Saying yes to no-code

Reach Nick at:

• LinkedIn
• Cub Investments
• The Wright Gardner

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• 6 Ways Buying a Business Has Changed Since 2016

Less than a year after acquiring a $1m medical billing business, Curt Neider is already looking for his second deal.

Themes from Curt's interview:

• Buying a medical billing company doing ~$1 million/year
• The appeal of medical billing businesses
• Becoming a certified professional biller to understand the business
• How Curt immediately improved operations
• Separate line of credit for working capital (not rolled into SBA loan)
• Acquiring with a partner
• "Altruistic kicker" of buying a business that helps people
• Second acquisition less than a year after the first

Reach Curt at:

• LinkedIn
• Illuminate Billing Advocates

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• How to Buy a Medical Billing Business

Key lessons for acquisition entrepreneurs from Andrew Finn, who has grown a service business & acquired SaaS businesses.

Themes from Andrew's interview:

• Opportunity in sub $1m EBITDA businesses
• SaaS vs. services business
• Grooming an operator to extract yourself from the business
• What makes a good SaaS acquisition
• Your acquisition journey — just start
• Jumping from labor to capital
• Capital Camp

Reach Andrew at:

• andrew at g64 ventures dot com
• G64 Ventures

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• Investing Like an 1880s Businessman

Don't have the 10-20% cash to buy a business with SBA? Search investor Steve Ressler explains how to attract investors & structure the deal.

Themes from Steve's interview:

• The 4 flavors of search
• Choosing the right investors
• SBA loan math
• Raising the 10%
• Buying a business in an industry you don't know
• Setting investor expectations
• Common mistakes to avoid

Reach Steve at:

• sressler @ gmail
• @steveressler
• LinkedIn
• His newsletter, ETA Musings

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• Using Investors to Buy a Business with SBA

Sales had dropped to zero when Martin Bispels acquired Upper Park Disc Golf. A year later, they are nearing $2 million.

Themes from Martin's interview:

• Buying a business on Flippa
• What Martin asks himself every day to be a good CEO
• Criteria used to identify a business to buy
• Hiring the seller of the business
• True cost of buying a business
• Making a detailed plan before acquiring the business
• Building a team before acquiring the business

Reach Martin at:

• martin at upper park disc golf
• Upper Park Disc Golf

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• Growing a Flippa Business to $2 Million

Hard-won lessons about buying micro SaaS businesses from Andrew Pierno, who has acquired 3 and plans to buy many more.

Themes from Andrew's interview:

• Breakdown of the XO Capital portfolio
• How to source micro SaaS acquisitions
• Micro SaaS due diligence
• Paying for operators
• The appealing product roadmap of tiny software vs. large
• Bottlenecks of the tiny model
• Whether moving upmarket make sense
• Wins so far
• MicroAcquire & Flippa

Reach Andrew at:

• @AndrewPierno
• His blog at XO Capital

Official episode page & full show notes at AcquiringMinds.co:

• How to Build a Portfolio of Micro SaaS Businesses