M&A Science

Building Trust in Acquisitions with Dan Pollock


Listen Later

Dan Pollock, Vice President of Corporate Development/M&A at SAM Companies

Dan shares how he built SAM Companies’ M&A function from the ground up—executing over 30 deals and transforming M&A into a strategic growth engine. Backed by Peak Rock Capital, SAM Companies focuses on acquiring founder-led geospatial and infrastructure services businesses. Dan dives deep into how he balances disciplined diligence with relationship-first sourcing, how his team integrates small companies into a larger framework, and why culture and seller alignment matter as much as price.

Whether you're building out corp dev from scratch or refining your playbook, this conversation offers tactical insight into how to scale M&A the right way.

Things you will learn:

  • How to build an in-house M&A engine with a lean corp dev team How to source proprietary deals through trust and local relationships

  • How to structure earnouts and retention payments to align incentives

________________________

Sponsored by DealRoom—where M&A chaos meets its match. Still stuck in spreadsheet hell? DealRoom helps corporate development teams take control—streamlining diligence, syncing integration, and eliminating the back-and-forth. 👉 Learn how you can run a repeatable, buyer-led process  

_______________

Episode Chapters

00:03:00 – Dan’s background: from audit to M&A leadership at SAM 00:05:00 – Building SAM’s M&A muscle from the ground up 00:08:30 – Creating buy-in and accountability for integration success 00:10:00 – Getting the company ready to integrate acquisitions 00:11:00 – Sourcing: proprietary relationships vs. cold outreach 00:13:30 – Case study: renewable energy firm acquisition 00:15:00 – Thinking through revenue vs. cost synergies 00:16:30 – The psychology of earnouts and why they changed their approach 00:18:30 – How to open conversations with founder-led businesses 00:21:00 – Why founder retention is tied to valuation 00:24:00 – Turning relationships into actionable deals over time 00:29:00 – Competing with PE: how SAM positions better long-term fit 00:33:00 – Retention bonuses vs. earnouts: what's working better 00:39:00 – Why diligence and integration must run in parallel 00:41:30 – Managing team fatigue and repeatability with DealRoom 00:45:00 – Letting sellers speak with past acquired founders 00:47:00 – Private equity partnership governance at SAM 00:51:00 – Diligence red flags and small business surprises

Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

M&A ScienceBy Kison Patel

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

120 ratings


More shows like M&A Science

View all
Masters in Business by Bloomberg

Masters in Business

2,174 Listeners

Exchanges by Goldman Sachs

Exchanges

992 Listeners

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

2,317 Listeners

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry by Ted Seides – Allocator and Asset Management Expert

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

804 Listeners

Making Sense by J.P. Morgan

Making Sense

58 Listeners

Thoughts on the Market by Morgan Stanley

Thoughts on the Market

1,267 Listeners

Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast by Hugh MacArthur, Bain & Company

Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

146 Listeners

The Memo by Howard Marks by Oaktree Capital Management

The Memo by Howard Marks

416 Listeners

The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection by Alex Rawlings

The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection

32 Listeners

Market Maker by AmplifyME

Market Maker

25 Listeners

Business Breakdowns by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Business Breakdowns

353 Listeners

Acquiring Minds by Will Smith

Acquiring Minds

249 Listeners

The View From Apollo by Torsten Slok

The View From Apollo

24 Listeners

The Credit Edge by Bloomberg Intelligence by Bloomberg

The Credit Edge by Bloomberg Intelligence

26 Listeners

The Markets by Goldman Sachs

The Markets

70 Listeners