Behind The Acquisition

Seller Psychology Decoded: Andrew Gazdecki, Owner Of Acquire.com, Who Has Helped 2,000+ Founders Exit & Facilitated Over $500M In Deals, Reveals Why Founders Actually Sell — And How Smart Buyers Can Use That To Win Better DealsMaster the art of business acquisitions in just 15 minutes a week with our newsletter → https://behindtheacquisition.beehiiv.com------------------------------------------------▶ Hire my Youtube Podcast team that handles everything → https://forms.gle/DjgHRpRuJGTUxQFNA• Ideation (Outliers + Topic Research)• Packaging (Thumbnails & Titles with A/B tests)• Scripting (Intro, Outro, CTA, Questions Format)• Video Editing (Animation, B-rolls, text graphics, guest references etc) • Audio Editing• Publishing• Distribution• Feedback & Improvements------------------------------------------------Connect with Andrew Gazdecki (Guest):• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/• Website - https://Acquire.com/Connect with Adithya MS (Host):• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7/• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adithya__ms/• Book a Call - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1------------------------------------------------TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro01:00 - Why Founders Actually Sell (Not What You Think)04:48 - How To Get Good Deals With Non-Motivated Sellers06:29 - Do Sellers Lie? & How to Verify?09:24 - Red Flag: Founders Rigid About Sharing Information 10:49 - Your Feedback Matters!11:23 - The Valuation Gap: Why Sellers Overprice13:47 - What Makes A Seller Accept A Lower Offer 15:26 - Why Sellers Cling to Unrealistic Valuations16:37 - What Gets a Discount in the Price17:30 - Common Deal Structures at Acquire.com19:14 - How To Build Trust With A Seller Before LOI 21:02 - Does Buyer Personal Brand Matters?22:32 - What Buyers Get Wrong About Sellers About Behind The Acquisition:Behind The Acquisition is a podcast about buying businesses. The Host Adithya MS talks to investors, industry experts and shares How-to's on how to buy, operate and exit businesses.#BusinessAcquisitions #Acquisitions #BuyingABusiness #PrivateEquity#DistressedAssets #OperationalEfficiency #AgencyAcquisition #buyingbusiness

Distressed Acquisition Playbook: Mushfiq Sarkar, Founder Of Inventage Holco, Who Acquired 200+ Online Businesses, Reveals His Secret System To Buying & Turning Around Operationally In-efficient BusinessesMaster the art of business acquisitions in just 15 minutes Aa week with our newsletter → https://behindtheacquisition.beehiiv.com/subscribe------------------------------------------------▶ Hire my Youtube Podcast team that handles everything → https://forms.gle/DjgHRpRuJGTUxQFNA• Ideation (Outliers + Topic Research)• Packaging (Thumbnails & Titles with A/B tests)• Scripting (Intro, Outro, CTA, Questions Format)• Video Editing (Animation, B-rolls, text graphics, guest references etc) • Audio Editing• Publishing• Distribution• Feedback & Improvements------------------------------------------------Connect with Mushfiq Sarker (Guest):• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mushfiqsarker/• Website - https://inventige.com/Connect with Adithya MS (Host):• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7/• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adithya__ms/• Book a Call - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1------------------------------------------------TIMESTAMPS:00:00 – Intro01:17 – Distressed vs Inefficient Businesses02:47 – Mushfiq’s Unique Leverage03:55 – How To Identify Operationally Inefficient Businesses09:11 – Payroll Red Flags (35 Employees → 15 Case Study)10:50 – Why First-Time Buyers Should Avoid Inefficient Businesses13:10 – Secret Sauce: How To Find A-Players At Lower Costs19:30 – Mushfiq’s Hiring Philosophy21:10 – How To Vet International Talent Without References23:50 – How To Verify Proof Of Work25:08 – Common Red Flags When Hiring Internationally27:18 – Software Cost Optimization Strategies30:42 – Your Feedback Matters31:38 – How To Implement Changes Without Causing Chaos34:25 – Performance Reviews & Firing Strategies38:50 – Best Industries To Implement This Strategy42:32 – Example: AI Automation To Cut Down Content Production Costs44:35 – Why AI-First Agencies FailAbout Behind The Acquisition:Behind The Acquisition is a podcast about buying businesses. The Host Adithya MS talks to investors, industry experts and shares How-to's on how to buy, operate and exit businesses.#BusinessAcquisitions #Acquisitions #BuyingABusiness #PrivateEquity#DistressedAssets #OperationalEfficiency #AgencyAcquisition #BuyingBusiness

Get the SaaS Exit Playbook to avoid the mistakes that kill your acquisition → https://behindtheacquisition.beehiiv.com/subscribeSaaS Acquisition & Exit Playbook: Tim Schumacher, Founder of SaaS.group, Reveals Why Profitable SaaS Businesses Still Get Rejected—After 25+ Acquisitions and Nearly $100M in ARRIn this episode, Tim reveals how buyers decide which profitable SaaS businesses are actually sellable—covering motivation, product discipline, technical foundations, culture fit, valuation reality, and exit-stage mistakes most founders never see coming.------------------------------------------------▶ Hire my Youtube Podcast team that handles everything → https://forms.gle/DjgHRpRuJGTUxQFNA• Ideation (Outliers + Topic Research)• Packaging (Thumbnails & Titles with A/B tests)• Scripting (Intro, Outro, CTA, Questions Format)• Video Editing (Animation, B-rolls, text graphics, guest references etc) • Audio Editing• Publishing• Distribution• Feedback & Improvements------------------------------------------------Connect with Tim Schumacher (Guest):• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timschumacher/• Website - https://www.saas.groupConnect with Adithya MS (Host):• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7/• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adithya__ms/• Book a Call - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1------------------------------------------------TIMESTAMPS:00:00 – Intro01:20 – Deal Killer #1 - Founder Motivation03:32 – Why transparency is the key for a good deal05:56 – Deal Killer #2 - Technical debt08:48 – Code quality vs language choices11:49 – Deal Killer #3 - Becoming a Feature Factory16:08 – Deal Killer #4 - Lack of PLG (Product Led Growth)19:11 – Deal Killer #5 - Churn (Good churn vs Bad Churn)20:47 – Deal Killer #6 - Lack of PMF (Product Market Fit)22:26 – The Metrics Buyers Use to Confirm PMF24:38 – Deal Killer #7 - Culture Misalignment 27:16 – Building an Asshole-Free Culture30:00 – Your Feedback Matters! 30:33 – Deal Killer #8 - Unrealistic Valuation 31:47 – Public vs private market multiples34:50 – The Right Way to Valuing your SAAS Company36:20 – Why Not to go to broker in the first place38:58 – Deal Killer #9 - Lack of Exit Preparation 42:04 – Deal Killer #10 - Lack of Emotional Commitment46:58 – Know your Advisor / Broker incentives#businessacquisitions #acquisitions #buyingabusiness #privateequity #business #raisingcapital #networking #investorrelations #dealsourcing #masterminds #raisingcapital #events

Strategic Event Networking Playbook: Alexis Morgan, Founder of Peach State Capital Group, Reveals Her System to Raise $45M+ at 22 by Turning Investor Events Into a Predictable Capital-Raising MachineIn this episode, she reveals her exact strategy for identifying events with real money, conversations that make you unforgettable, the follow-up framework that converts handshakes into meetings, and how she scaled from attending as a guest to hosting her own events that generate deal flow and investor commitments.Master the art of business acquisitions in 15 min a week with our newsletter → https://behindtheacquisition.beehiiv.com/subscribe------------------------------------------------▶ Hire my Youtube Podcast team that handles everything → https://forms.gle/DjgHRpRuJGTUxQFNA• Ideation (Outliers + Topic Research)• Packaging (Thumbnails & Titles with A/B tests)• Scripting (Intro, Outro, CTA, Questions Format)• Video Editing (Animation, B-rolls, text graphics, guest references etc) • Audio Editing• Publishing• Distribution• Feedback & Improvements------------------------------------------------Connect with Alexis Morgan (Guest):• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/alexismorganinvests• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alexismorganinvests/Connect with Adithya MS (Host):• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7/• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adithya__ms/• Book a Call - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1------------------------------------------------TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro01:04 - What Events You Should Go to Avoid Tire-Kickers?01:53 - The 3-Intention Framework Decoded03:50 - How to Know If an Event was Worth Your Time? 05:18 - 2 Reasons to Re-attend Same Events 07:26 - Publicity First: Why Unknown Founders Don't Raise Capital (x)09:12 - The 3-Step Conversion Funnel 10:23 - Event Selection: Identifying Where the Real Money Is13:43 - Paid vs Free Events: The Quality Filter16:09 - How to find the Best Events19:55 - Pre-Event Preparation Checklist23:35 - First Impressions: Dressing for the Room You Want25:59 - How to Get Speaking Opportunities at Events?28:52 - What Event Hosts Look For in Speakers?32:59: Your Feedback Matters!33:33 - The feeling you want to leave with the people you met35:43 - The One-on-One Networking Playbook41:58 - The Follow-Up System (Steps & Scripts)45:16 - How to Add Value that Actually Converts47:40 - Structuring Your Pitch Deck to Raise Capital#businessacquisitions #acquisitions #buyingabusiness #privateequity #business #raisingcapital #networking #investorrelations #dealsourcing #masterminds #raisingcapital #events

Public Company Arbitrage Playbook: Dominic Wells, CEO of Onfolio, has acquired 20+ businesses using a contrarian approach - going public to unlock unlimited buying power without giving up equity. In this episode, he reveals his complete non-dilutive financing system using preferred shares and debt structures that transformed his company from $1.2M to $12M in yearly revenue.Master the art of business acquisitions in 15 min a week with our newsletter → https://behindtheacquisition.beehiiv.com/subscribe------------------------------------------------▶ Hire my Youtube Podcast team that handles everything → https://forms.gle/DjgHRpRuJGTUxQFNA• Ideation (Outliers + Topic Research)• Packaging (Thumbnails & Titles with A/B tests)• Scripting (Intro, Outro, CTA, Questions Format)• Video Editing (Animation, B-rolls, text graphics, guest references etc) • Audio Editing• Publishing• Distribution• Feedback & Improvements------------------------------------------------Connect with Dominic Wells (Guest):• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-wells-onfolio/• Website - https://onfolio.com/Connect with Adithya MS (Host):• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms • Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7/• Facbook - https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/• Book a Call - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1------------------------------------------------TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro00:56 - Dom's Secret Strategy09:08 - Advantages of Going Public12:10 - Real Deal Example 114:51 - Real Deal Example 216:33 - Using 100% Financing Without Giving Up Equity (Example)20:23 - Requirements to Access 100% Financing Strategy24:41 - What Lenders Look for in a Business29:06 - Your Feedback Matters!29:40 - What Are the Risks of This Public Strategy?30:38 - What Happens if You Default on Payments?36:59 - Should Every HoldCo Go Public?38:43 - Why Public Companies Are Worth More Money39:41 - How Going Public Affected Dom's Lifestyle41:04 - Does He Feel Pressure for Quarterly Results?43:23 - How Going Public Affected His Decision Making45:26 - What Dom Handles as a Public Company CEO48:12 - Has He Thought of Replacing Himself as CEO?50:06 - How Much Time Dom Spends Running the Company51:18 - Would He Do It Again? Lessons Learned53:00 - When Is the Right Time for a HoldCo to Go Public?54:15 - How Much Does It Cost to Run a Public Company?56:10 - Is It Worth It?About Behind The Acquisition:Behind The Acquisition is a podcast about buying businesses. The Host Adithya MS talks to investors, industry experts and shares How-to's on how to buy, operate and exit businesses.#businessacquisitions #acquisitions #buyingabusiness #privateequity #business #buyingbusiness #raisingcapital #investing #fund

Schedule 1 hour Paid Consultation Call with Bawar → https://forms.gle/hH7CocbsdfbnBw4D9 (10 Spots Only)Micro Private Equity Playbook: Bawar Ahmad, Co-founder of Ecomma, has flipped 40+ micro-ecommerce stores in 4 years using a contrarian approach - buying micro-ecommerce businesses others avoid.

In this episode, he shares his complete 90-day system to source, improve, and flip e-commerce stores for 40%+ returns.------------------------------------------------▶ Hire my Youtube Podcast team that handles everything → https://forms.gle/DjgHRpRuJGTUxQFNA• Ideation (Outliers + Topic Research)• Packaging (Thumbnails & Titles with A/B tests)• Scripting (Intro, Outro, CTA, Questions Format)• Video Editing (Animation, B-rolls, text graphics, guest references etc) • Audio Editing• Publishing• Distribution• Feedback & Improvements------------------------------------------------Connect with Bawar Ahamad (Guest):• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bawarahmad/• Website - https://ecomma.co/Connect with Adithya MS (Host):• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms • Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7/• Facbook - https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/• Book a Intro Call - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1------------------------------------------------TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro 01:19 - How to Find Your First Ecom Store to Buy? 03:37 - What are the Best Industries to Buy Stores in? 06:15 - Top Platforms for Finding Deals 07:51 - Why European Stores Offer Better Opportunities 11:06 - How Much to Pay for a Store? 14:36 - How to Value an Ecom Store? 17:58 - How much Working Capital do you need? 22:09 - Why every E-commerce Store is Distressed? 23:59 - How to Buy with NO Operational or Marketing Skills? 26:19 - How to Find the Right Business Partner? 29:06 - How to Get the Deals at the Price you want? 32:03 - Your Feedback is Important! 32:39 - Sellers Come Back (Example) 34:59 - Business Acquisition Timeline 35:34 - Due-Diligence Process & Timeline 37:01 - Effective On-market Outreach Message 39:19 - Due-Diligence Checklist 46:25 - Due-Diligence Horror Story (Almost got scammed) 50:44 - Common Red Flags to be aware of 54:49 - Hiring an Expert to do the Due-Diligence 56:21 - Which Platform to Use for Closing the Deal? 58:17 - Key Elements to have in a Purchase Agreement 01:01:24 - Buying an International Business 01:02:14 - Hiring a Lawyer 01:04:27 - Post-Acquisition Operational Game-Plan 01:10:39 - How to Ensure Smooth Transitions from Sellers? 01:14:12 - Vetting the Seller 01:15:45 - 4 Quick Wins to Increase the Value of the Store 01:21:18 - When to Sell Your Store? 01:23:27 - How to make your store attractive to buyers? 01:25:30 - How to Build Effective Exit PnL & CIM 01:31:17 - What’s the Best Time to Sell for the Highest Valuation? 01:32:39 - How Much Should You Sell For? 01:33:58 - How to Sell Your Store for the Highest Multiple? 01:37:09 - Why Don't Brokers Work for Selling? 01:38:09 - How to Rank your Listing Higher on M&A Platforms? 01:41:09 - How Long Does it Take to Sell Your Store? (Timeline) 01:43:19 - How to Filter out Unqualified Buyers? 01:48:29 - What Should You Look for When Buying from Micro-PE Firms? 01:50:19 - What’s Bawar’s Success Rate & Failed Deals? 01:55:08 - What's the Sales Process When Buyers Show Interest? 01:56:42 - What are the Traits of Successful E-com Flippers? About Behind The Acquisition:Behind The Acquisition is a podcast about buying businesses. The Host Adithya MS talks to investors, industry experts and shares How-to's on how to buy, operate and exit businesses.#businessacquisitions #acquisitions #buyingabusiness #privateequity #business #buyingbusiness #raisingcapital #investing #fund

Capital Raising Playbook: Natu Myers, founder of raises .com who raised $260M+, shares his step-by-step system to raise capital before a deal and build a powerful investor network months in advance.

Master the art of business acquisitions in 15 min a week with our newsletter → https://behindtheacquisition.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Connect with Natu Myers (Guest):

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/natumyers/

• Website - https://raises.com/

Connect with Adithya MS (Host):

• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms 

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7/

• Facbook -  https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/

• Book a Call  - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Is “Money Will Come to a Great Deal” a Lie?

01:43 - How Long Does It Take to Raise Capital?

02:33 - Why You Should Raise Money Before You Have a Deal

04:02 - How to Raise Capital: Step-by-Step Process Explained 

07:33 - Syndication vs Fund 

10:17 - 3 Terms Every First-Time Capital Raiser Should Know

11:45 - How to build a Qualified Investors List from Scratch?

17:23 - How to Identify Ready-to-Invest Investors?

23:33 - What’s an Accredited Investor?

28:03 - One Big Investor vs Multiple Small Investors 

29:29 - Investor Red Flags to Avoid

34:46 - Multi-Channel Investor Outreach  

39:50 - How to Position Yourself So Investors Take You Seriously

47:19 - Investor Outreach When You Don't Have a Deal (with Templates)

54:51 - Your Feedback Matters!

55: 25 - Investor Outreach When You Have a Deal (with Templates)

59:55 - What Not to Say (Legal & Sales Traps)

01:02:27 - What to Do When Investors Ghost You

01:04:25 - What to Do When Investors Say “Maybe Later”

01:06:38 - Should You Use Paid Ads to Raise Capital?

01:11:08 - How to Get Warm Introductions to Investors

01:15:40 - 5 Calendly Questions to Pre-Qualify Investors

01:19:25 - Investor Call Structure

01:21:04 - Investor Call Script

01:29:04 - Handling Investor Objections Like a Pro

01:35:00 - How to Nurture Investors with Newsletters

01:43:38 - How to Actually Close an Investor

01:46:24 - Common Investment Return Structures

01:47:23 - How to Fire an Investor (Without Burning Bridges)

About Behind The Acquisition:

Behind The Acquisition is a podcast about buying businesses. The Host Adithya MS talks to investors, industry experts and shares How-to's on how to buy, operate and exit businesses.

#businessacquisitions #acquisitions #buyingabusiness #privateequity #business #buyingbusiness #raisingcapital #investing #fund

Master the art of business acquisitions in 15 min a week with our newsletter → https://behindtheacquisition.beehiiv.com/

Willem Westra, founder of WW Capital Group, has sent over 1,000,000 emails to source deals for more than 100 financial firms and SMBs. His outreach system has directly facilitated more than $355M in closed deals.

In this episode, Willem breaks down his battle-tested 3-step process to source deals leveraging AI and Cold emails.

Connect with Willem Westra (Guest):

• Twitter - https://www.linkedin.com/in/willem-westra-6461ab172/

• Website - https://wwcapitalgroup.com/

Connect with Adithya MS (Host):

• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7

• Facbook - https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/

• Book a Call - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1

Master the art of business acquisitions in 15 min a week with our newsletter → https://behindtheacquisition.beehiiv.com/

Eric Hsu, founder of Clear Focus Law, has 11+ years of experience in law enforcement and M&A law. He’s represented buyers in over 100 closed deals worth $200M+ and is one of the most sought-after M&A lawyers in the SMB community.

In this episode, Eric breaks down his battle-tested 5-step process to safeguard your acquisitions and avoid costly mistakes.

Connect with Eric Hsu (Guest):

• Twitter - https://x.com/lawyer4smbs

• Email: [email protected]

• Website - https://www.clearfocuslaw.com/

Connect with Adithya MS (Host):• Twitter - https://x.com/Adithya__ms

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithyams7

• Facbook - https://www.facebook.com/adithya.ms.39/

• Book a Call - https://calendly.com/30min-intro-call/1