Acquiring Minds

Damon Chlarson takes a job in tech sales, despite having improved the business he bought & surviving a tough year. 

Topics in Damon’s interview:

• Damon bought Pacific Insulation Supply, an online wholesaler
• Difficulties in scaling the insulation business. 
• Overview of sales in the first year 
• Getting a regular W-2 job again 
• New systems he put in place at the business 
• Training his sales team
• The challenges of working from home
• How he runs a business with bipolar disorder
• Fluctuation in demand for home renovations 
• Managing a sales team in the Philippines

Damon's original appears on Acquiring Minds:

• Nailing the Trifecta: B2B + Remote + Scalable - Acquiring Minds

Links and how to contact Damon:

• Pacific Insulation Supply
• Twitter

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

Brenden Van Buren is growing his fencing business, despite the industry's notorious cyclicality & project-based revenue. 

Topics in Brenden’s interview:

• Brenden’s family history in the construction business
• Co-founding Generational Transfer Entrepreneurs 
• The pros and cons of having a pipeline when starting search
• Why the perfect relationship is better than the perfect business
• The risks associated with construction companies
• Acquiring Pro Max Fence Systems
• How he doubled sales in 4.5 years
• The top mistakes searchers make regarding time management and communications
• The advantages of proprietary search
• Self-funded vs. traditional search

References and how to contact Brenden:

• Pacific Lake
• Bringing Down the House
• Generational Transfer Entrepreneurs
• Pro Max Fence Systems
• LinkedIn

Overhaul your website with ongoing support & unlimited edits, all for a flat monthly fee:

• Eversite

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

Justin Turner returns with details on 2 new acquisitions by his holdco Traction, plus updates on the existing 4 portcos. 

Topics in Justin’s interview:

• Justin helps run investment firm Traction Capital Partners
• How Traction is different from Private Equity
• The risks of buying into a franchise network
• How he bought one of his vendors
• Lessons learned from buying 6 businesses
• Driving sales in a disaster restoration business 
• Doubling revenue in 5 years for a Fire Department supply business 
• Facing the post-Covid economic downturn
• Rising competition for acquiring a business
• Trends in the blue and white collar labor market

Justin's original appears on Acquiring Minds:

• How to Build a Holdco (4 Acquisitions So Far)

Links and How to Contact Justin:

• LinkedIn 
• Twitter
• Traction CP

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

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

Michael Arrieta's holdco has made 3 acquisitions since 2020. Sales & culture, not tech, have proven to be the key levers. 

Topics in Michael’s interview:       

• How he built the holding company Garden City
• Why he is drawn to service businesses
• His experience with fast-growth startups in Silicon Valley
• How he almost doubled EBITDA in less than a year
• The mistakes he made with his first acquisition
• The 3 ways he finds companies to buy
• How he improves workplace culture in the service industry
• How Garden City adds value to their companies
• How to carefully add new technology after acquisition
• Why he is recruiting searchers to run businesses

References and how to contact Michael:

• Michael Arrieta's Twitter
• Michael Arrieta's LinkedIn
• Excellence Wins by Horst Schulze
• Brent Beshore's Twitter
• Garden City

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

• More Staffing

Overhaul your website with ongoing support & unlimited edits, all for a flat monthly fee:

• Eversite

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

After a rollercoaster year in his appliance repair business, John Schooler returns with scars, wisdom, and optimism. 

Topics in John’s interview:

• John bought an appliance repair business 14 months ago
• How he runs a repair business without having repair skills
• The disaster that took away 20% of revenue overnight
• Why running a business is harder than a marathon
• The pros and cons of working with home warranty companies
• What he would do differently from day one
• What he learned about retaining employees
• His role in day-to-day operations
• His system for training technicians

John's original appearance on Acquiring Minds:

• Buying a Business & Having a Blast

Links and how to contact John:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Appliance Professional
• Twitter thread mentioned
• Reg Zeller

Overhaul your website with ongoing support & unlimited edits, all for a flat monthly fee:

• Eversite

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

Andrew Hitchings bought a $250k SDE cooling biz. It has grown 3x and will now fund a 2nd acquisition, with more to come. 

Topics in Andrew’s Interview:

• Andrew and his wife bought a home ventilation business in April 2020
• How 7 months on a motorcycle prepared them for running a business together
• His history in the Army, business school, and McKinsey & Company
• How his business partner Max improved employee training
• Why he looks at the P&L every day
• Expanding their seasonal business to a year-round business
• How they mitigated the risk of buying a business with a single employee
• Three things a business owner should focus on
• Why they hire for character, not experience
• His strategy for building a holdco

References and how to contact Andrew:

• LinkedIn
• His partner: Marcela Fernandez
• His other partner: Max Williams
• Colorado Home Services
• HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business
• Greg Ambrosia
• Chenmark

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

• More Staffing

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

Andrew Sieve saw his life implode after COVID. Buying a highly profitable 40-year-old restaurant turned things around. 

Topics in Andrew’s interview: 

• Andrew’s family history of owning and operating restaurants
• Why he prefers smaller restaurants
• The tragedies of 2020 that led to him exiting his family’s business
• Moving from Minneapolis to Colorado to start over
• How a chance meeting led to him buying a restaurant
• How they achieved a smooth transition 
• What factors make restaurants difficult businesses
• The risks in acquiring an institutional legacy restaurant
• How he funded his acquisition through a community bank
• His vision for the next 5 years

Links and how to contact Andrew:

• LinkedIn
• Bigger Pockets Real Estate
• Bigger Pockets Money

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

Paul Quirk acquired a $800k EBITDA window & door business in the UK, continuing to live with his family in Switzerland. 

Topics in Paul's interview:

• Paul’s experience with JP Morgan in Geneva
• 3 biggest differences between acquisition in the UK vs the US
• The variety of ways Paul reached out to businesses during search
• His decision to start the Buy and Build podcast
• How he decided to buy a window/door installation business
• The changes he made to the company’s processes
• Why he redesigned the company’s finance team
• Pros and cons of a “first day speech”
• His weekly commute between Geneva and Norwich, UK
• The future of his own podcast

References and how to reach Paul:

• Paul Quirk's LinkedIn
• Amber Home Improvements
• Buy and Build podcast
•  - Brad Nathan episode
•  - Gerald Ratner episode
•  - Simon Webster episode
• Owned and Operated podcast
• Think Like an Owner podcast
• The SMB OPS Show podcast

Register for a live gathering of SMB, Micro-PE, and ETA owners, operators and investors:

• SMBash

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

Shortly after his first interview in June, Jason Andrews sold his business to a strategic buyer for a life-changing sum. 

Topics in Jason's interview:

• Jason's recent exit of the group purchasing organization (GPO) he acquired in 2016
• How he had grown the business 50-60% without increasing staff
• The downside of buying a super-niche business
• The advantages of acquiring a bigger business
• How his sales background influenced the way he restructured the company
• Why he says “don’t pay down your debt too fast”
• How he finds support in a local business leader group
• The fun part of running his business
• Why you may need to reconsider your growth model
• What’s on his post-exit bucket list

Jason's original appearance on Acquiring Minds:

• Buying a High 7 Figure Business with a Buy-Side Advisor

References and how to reach Jason:

• Jason's Twitter
• Jason's LinkedIn
• Built to Sell by John Warrillow

Overhaul your website with ongoing support & unlimited edits, all for a flat monthly fee:

• Eversite

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

Chirag Shah applied systems from his days as a product manager to find & acquire a dog-training business with $600k SDE. 

Topics from Chirag's interview:

• Chirag’s background as a small business underwriter
• His experience in the Acquisition Lab
• How a virtual assistanct and a Notion database helped narrow his search
• His decision to buy a Sit Means Sit franchise
• Why 2021 was a banner year for dog training
• How franchises compare in terms of flexibility
• How much he pays in monthly franchise fees
• The dog training method Sit Means Sit uses
• Why Austin, Texas, is a prime location for dog training
• How Profit First influences his practices

References and how to contact Chirag:

• Sit Means Sit
• Profit First
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Register for a live gathering of SMB, Micro-PE, and ETA owners, operators and investors:

• SMBash

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