Acquiring Minds

He started by buying a small flooring business in 2000. Today Paul Lajoie takes home $1m a year and works how he wants.

Register for the webinar:

• Why Deal Flow Isn’t Your Biggest Problem - TOMORROW! - https://bit.ly/4ah8L1E

Topics in Paul’s interview:

• Background in Big Six accounting
• Buying the first business he looked at
• Partnering with his brother
• Downsizing his lifestyle in the beginning
• Underestimating working capital needs
• Detailed partnership agreements
• You are not smarter than the seller
• Pivoting to remodeling after 2008 crash
• Acquisition vs startup success rates
• His BizBuyPro community

References and how to contact Paul:

• LinkedIn
• [email protected]
• Kiplinger Today Newsletter
• Confessions of a Millionaire
• Gobundance

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

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact [email protected]

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Andrew Kurzrok connected with his seller over his manufacturing background, leading to a successful deal and transition.

Topics in Andrew’s interview:

• Background in science and national labs
• Spending all his time traveling for work
• Wanting to stop traveling when his son was born
• Studying management at Yale
• Gaining management experience before searching
• Making a “no” list
• Success with cold calling business owners
• Putting down 25% equity
• Regional moat of sheet metal
• His “crawl, walk, run” approach to operations

References and how to contact Andrew:

• LinkedIn
• Hopewell Sheet Metal Manufacturing
• Heather Endresen’s working capital webinar: Working Capital for SMB Acquisitions

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Sensing untapped potential, Ville-Matias Vilén bought a sub-million manufacturer with good IP and global distribution.

Topics in Ville’s interview:

• Desire to “eat what he kills”
• 1990’s Finnish Recession
• Aversion to solving people problems
• Acquiring a cattle brush manufacturer
• Funding his deal in Finland
• Patents as a moat
• Relocating the manufacturing 5 hours away
• Sharing ownership with his family’s company
• Goal to grow 5x in 5 years
• Long-term holdco vision

References and how to contact Ville:

• LinkedIn
• FinnEasy

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact [email protected]

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Despite success in corporate, Jarom Wren wanted more freedom, so he traded 5 figures of salary for 7 figures of revenue.

Topics in Jarom’s interview:

• Realizing he was renting himself to a corporation
• Mid-career risk assessment
• Searching for a digital business
• Choosing the lowest cost Q of E
• “Deals want to die”
• Risks of a 4-year old e-com business
• Offering education as well as DIY products
• Deciding against using ROBS
• Buying 70% of the company
• His first year report card

References and how to contact Jarom:

• LinkedIn
• Vanlife Outfitters
• Harley Sitner on Acquiring Minds: Building a Beloved Brand from a Tiny, Dying Business

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact [email protected]

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Family planning and entrepreneurship converged as Linh & Leo Van Deibel bought their first (and not last) business.

Topics in Linh & Leo’s interview:

• Making the case for business acquisition
• Taking family planning into account
• Searching in the UK as a non-citizen
• Being taken seriously as an Asian woman
• Their goal of building a holdco
• Thousands of meetings with sellers
• Search is a numbers game
• Brutal IVF process
• Giving up on acquiring SaaS
• Buying an engineering consulting firm

References and how to contact Linh & Leo:

• Linh Van Deibel LinkedIn
• Leo Deibel LinkedIn
• Their acquisition, Infrastructure Design Solutions
• Linh Tran on Acquiring Minds: The Dream Outcome: From $300k to $5m EBITDA

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Jacob VosWinkel searched in tertiary markets to find a successful flooring store, his platform to build something big.

Register for the webinar:

• What You’re Really Paying: Net Working Capital & Net Debt Explained - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/49WI4Ao

Topics in Jacob’s interview:

• Recommending markets of 50k-100k people
• Scraping BizBuySell listings
• Reaching out to 200 potential investors
• Raising $1 million equity in 2 weeks
• Advantages/disadvantages of searching under 30
• Moving across the country for the transition
• Flying home on weekends
• Growing to reduce customer concentration
• His responsibility to employees
• Growing 50% in 2 years

References and how to contact Jacob:

• Jacob’s YouTube channel
• Floors Galore
• LinkedIn
• Jordan Dubin on Acquiring Minds: First Acquisition in March, $200m by Year End

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact [email protected]

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

George Stern leaned into changing consumer search habits when he bought a digital marketing agency doing mid-7 figures.

Register for the webinars: 

• Which Franchise Industries Make Sense in 2026? - TOMORROW!! - https://bit.ly/4jQCN0U
• What You’re Really Paying: Net Working Capital & Net Debt Explained - Jan 22nd - https://bit.ly/49mgU5Y

Topics in George’s interview:

• Turning around an Amazon seller’s agency
• Acquiring 2 small ecommerce businesses
• Loving the customers more than the product
• Selling his camping equipment business
• Acquiring an SEO agency
• Extreme difficulty getting a loan
• Big banks aren’t always better
• Choosing cold calling despite challenges
• Industry knowledge is overrated
• Being a “recovering, type-A control freak”

References and how to contact George:

• LinkedIn
• Grant and Julia Hensel on Acquiring Minds: Quitting Consulting to Buy a $1m SDE Agency

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Phil Koller studied the concentration and key man risks in a distribution business well-suited to him — and went for it.

Register for the webinar:

• From W2 to Owner Mindset: How to Think About Your Take-Home Pay - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4r5RsI3

Topics in Philip’s interview:

• Preferred working in a small company
• His friend talked him into real estate, then ETA
• Inspired by Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• Importance of having his wife on board
• Paused search due to upcoming second child
• Bought Roman Enterprises, an automotive paint distributor
• Inherited exactly 1 employee
• Did door-to-door sales to learn market
• Managed customer and supplier concentration risk
• Drew perseverance from grandfather’s Holocaust survival

References and how to contact Philip:

• LinkedIn
• Roman Enterprises
• Ben Jasper on Acquiring Minds: How to Buy a Manufacturer with $1m in Cash Flow
• Jerod Pierce on Acquiring Minds: From SBA Loan to High 8-Figure Exit 

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact [email protected]

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Matt Orley wanted to enter the short-term rentals space. Buying a business — and a brand he admired — was his way in.

Register for the webinars:

• DO’s and DON'Ts of the LOI -  TOMORROW!! - https://bit.ly/3YtLIvp
• From W2 to Owner Mindset: How to Think About Your Take-Home Pay - Jan 15th - https://bit.ly/4qJ1Xk5

Topics in Matt’s interview:

• Investment properties as a side hustle
• Evolving short-term rental ecosystem
• Difficult transition with the seller
• Influence of Airbnb on customer expectations
• Importance of clear communication
• Rolling up property management companies
• Concentrating on one region of the country
• Difference between urban and rural markets
• Launching a membership program
• Putting the brand first when making decisions

References and how to contact Matt:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Red Cottage

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Adam Vandermyde had to be persuaded to acquire the $15m business that he ultimately professionalized and exited to PE.

Register for the webinar: 

• How to Present Your Deal for Maximum SBA Success - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/3KW7aWL

Topics in Adam’s interview:

• Leaving consulting 2 months from making partner
• Taking on the CEO role at the target before closing
• Focusing on EBITDA over revenue
• A construction mistake that cost the company dearly
• Parsing data to understand “margin per labor dollar”
• Advantages of being in a high-growth geographical area
• Improving customer service to stand out
• Exiting after 5 years
• Adrenaline rush of sharing his payday with employees
• How it feels to be a millionaire

References and how to contact Adam:

• LinkedIn

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

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

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron