Acquiring Minds

Nick Akers had a vision for supportive, employee-first leadership. Buying a business enables him to realize this vision.

Topics in Nick’s interview:

• His background as an inventor
• How the TV show Succession mirrors real life
• Why he chose Swiss search accelerator Novastone
• What motivates him more than money
• His focus on building a positive company culture
• The MSP industry and its appeal for searchers
• His plan for bolt-ons in the MSP industry
• The importance of cash flow and working capital
• His first 2 months as CEO
• Why he likes having investors

References and how to contact Nick:

• LinkedIn
• STL Communications
• Novastone Capital Advisors
• Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia
• Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

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

Nick Wheeler reflects on investing countless hours to buy a beautiful business, only to have the seller kill the deal.

Topics in Nick’s interview:

• Finding a commercial landscaping business
• Winning the sellers’ trust
• How he interpreted early red flags 
• Lessons learned about due diligence
• Conflict with sellers over working capital
• Why the deal fell apart
• The financial cost of the broken deal 
• The emotional cost of the broken deal
• How brokers can help (or hurt) your deal
• What Nick is most grateful for

References and how to contact Nick:

• LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Hood & Strong
  
  

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 Goates bought a small shuttle business that he's grown 4x in 8 years, partly by running buses for municipalities. 

Topics in George’s interview:

• Buying a transport/bussing company
• Pivoting into operating city buses
• Importance of relationships in securing contracts
• Impact of Covid
• Government corruption in urban transit
• Promotion opportunities for his employees 
• Nasty cost of doing business in bussing: frivolous lawsuits
• Potential for inorganic growth through acquisitions
• Different niches within transport
• Relevance of a finance background in his business

References and how to contact George:

• LinkedIn
• RTW Management

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

Sajama Mitta wanted to make strategic decisions at the head of an organization. Buying her own business was the answer. 

Topics in Sajama’s interview:

• Using her investing background to evaluate businesses
• Buying an environmental health and safety consulting company
• How the founders made themselves replaceable 
• How they keep their clients in compliance with regulations
• The fragmented nature of the industry and opportunities for growth
• How California compares to other states on regulations
• The problems she enjoys solving
• The importance of team empowerment and employee satisfaction
• Shifting the quality of revenue and focusing on recurring projects
• The technical knowledge she has gained since buying CDMS

References and how to contact Sajama:

• [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Chemical Data Management Systems
• Women in Small Business Statistics in the U.S.

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

Manny Saxena quickly bought 3 street-sweeping businesses to become the largest player in NorCal. A big PE fund noticed. 

Topics in Manny’s interview:

• The importance of maintaining a strong pipeline during search
• Why he chose a street-sweeping business during COVID
• The transition into running a blue-collar business and motivating the team
• Why he recommends in-person conversations with sellers
• Advice for other immigrants in business
• The importance of attitude and soft skills in hiring
• Managing long-term contracts in an inflationary environment
• The decision to sell the business to a private equity firm
• The pros and cons of having a union presence
• His ongoing roll-up strategy in the solar industry

References and how to contact Manny:

• LinkedIn
• HBR Case Study: Swept Up in Uncertainty at PowerSweeping
• Mars Equity Partners

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

Karl Hughes recently bought a podcast production agency & explains why "productized service" businesses are attractive. 

Topics in Karl’s interview:

• Starting a super-niche content marketing business
• The benefits of productizing a service
• Saying no to the wrong revenue
• What he learned about using cold outreach to find sellers
• Acquiring a podcast production company with his partner
• What he likes about digital businesses
• His vision to build a holdco
• The small changes he made immediately
• Why buying small was the right move for him
• Cashflow management in digital businesses

References and how to contact Karl:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Karl’s article Buying a Business: Acquiring the Podcast Consultant
• The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins
• Draft.dev
• The Podcast Consultant

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

Mitchell Sorkin started by buying 3 ATMs in 2021. Today he has over 140 machines and is targeting $5m EBITDA in 3 years. 

Topics in Mitchell’s interview:

• The difference between arbitrage and building a business
• Mitchell's journey to acquiring 140 ATM machines
• How to evaluate an ATM route
• Revenue and margins in the ATM business
• Challenges with SBA financing
• His most controversial Twitter thread
• Future plans to raise a fund
• 3 ways to profit in the ATM business
• Dealing with theft
• How people underestimate ATMs

References and how to contact Mitchell:

• Stack Influence
• ATM Brokerage
• Mitchell’s Twitter thread about the Korean seller
• [email protected]
• Marshall & Sterling

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

Chris Munn, Bakari Akil, and Bruce Vann reflect on being Black men who bought businesses & why this path is so powerful. 

Topics in this interview:

• What inspires and motivates them as business owners
• The three necessary factors for capitalism to work
• Unclaimed opportunities for minority businesses
• The impact of entrepreneurship on family and future generations
• Changing your mentality to lead a company effectively
• Being “buttoned up” vs. being authentic
• Dealing with sellers who want to talk U.S. politics
• Overcoming challenges and persisting in the face of adversity
• The limitations of “climbing the ladder” in a W2
• Why now is the best time for Black people to buy businesses

References and how to contact:

• Bakari Akil LinkedIn - Twitter - Graves Hall Capital
• Elliot Holland LinkedIn - Twitter - Guardian Due Diligence
• Bruce Vann LinkedIn - LuXout Products Inc - Blinds & More
• Chris Munn LinkedIn - The Fairfield Company
• Dame Dash Full Interview at The Breakfast Club Power 105.1
• Early Career LBOs Using the Search Fund Model
• HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business
• Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun? by Reginald F. Lewis and Blair S. Walker

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

Matt Huggins bought a small water & cable utility doing $200k/year. 15 years later, his holdco is on track for $20m/yr. 

Topics in this interview:

• Matt's decision to step off the academic track
• Matt's career as a professional online poker player
• Transitioning from poker to small business
• Acquiring a utilities company for a group of condos
• The surprising complexity of running a utilities company
• Starting a manhole lining business 
• The stability and diversity of the water industry
• Acquiring businesses from retiring owners without needing capital
• The value of a fractional CFO
• The reward of helping employees

References and how to contact Matt:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Peak Group Companies
• Advanced Lining
• Peak Water Services
• Advanced Pump & Equipment
• Gordo 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

Holdco entrepreneur Chase Murdock buys very small businesses with potential for rapid growth & decades of staying power. 

Topics in Chase’s interview:

• Starting a custom suit company with $750
• Decata Group's “car wash integration process” for acquisitions
• Workshop SLC’s 5x growth in the first year of acquisition
• Getting out of the “small business death zone” ASAP
• The knife fight of acquiring and growing small businesses 
• The #1 ingredient in company building
• Maslow’s hierarchy of business needs
• What surprised him about the trades industry
• Conviction in the ability to 5x a business in 5 years
• The intellectual challenge of building a holdco

Links and how to contact Chase:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Decada Group
• Tailor Cooperative
• Workshop SLC
• Built by Design Construction
• Northern Electric Company
• Tatton Baird

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