Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Lacey Wismer of Hunter Search Capital ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceywismer/ ) about her journey from a family business background into investing in more than 100 search funds, backing operators, and building a platform around long-term business ownership.

Timestamps
0:00 Introduction: Lacey Wismer on permanent capital and long-term holds
0:30 Entrepreneurial upbringing: luck, simplicity, cash flow, and leverage
2:54 What changes when you buy to own for 30 years
5:26 Studying enduring businesses instead of trends
6:49 The anatomy of a 100x deal
8:40 Diamond Brands and the power of adjacent acquisitions
10:59 From family business buying to search fund investing
11:58 How ETA changed from 2010 to 2026
14:58 Why the entrepreneur matters more than the business
18:03 What Lacey looks for in founders
19:50 Unconsolidated niches and the “right to win”
23:21 Biggest mistakes: wrong partners, overpaying, overleverage
27:40 The upside and downside of permanent holds
30:37 Capital allocation without a planned exit
33:20 Raising permanent capital with patient investors
35:29 Finding operators for indefinite-hold businesses
39:12 What frugality looks like inside a company
42:01 U.S. vs Europe: fragmentation and entry multiples
45:13 How Hunter Search Capital wins without overpaying
51:33 Women in ETA and relationship-driven investing

Sponsor:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Why serial acquirers remain one of the most powerful business models in the world.

The best of them have acquired as many as 275 companies and traded at valuations as high as 65x earnings, yet most people still misunderstand what makes them so successful.

I explore why the best acquirers often start slow, how they solve the reinvestment problem, why balance sheet strength and specialization matter, and what investors look for when studying these businesses.

I also share why Evergreen Services Group may be building one of the most interesting HoldCo stories in America today.

Timestamps:
0:00 Why Stockholm is the mecca of serial acquirers
2:37 The big ideas from 36 serial acquirers
3:36 Why slower can actually win early in serial acquisition
7:52 How great serial acquirers solve the reinvestment problem
13:02 The 7,500x return story
16:59 What actually drives compounding
20:01 How to truly study operators and companies
22:35 Why strong balance sheets and niche specialization matter in tough markets
25:50 Evergreen Services Group

Sponsor:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Eric Wiklendt of Speyside Equity ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericwiklendt/ ) about Eric's journey and how Speyside has built a highly operational lower-middle-market private equity firm with $937 million of assets under management, 38 total investments, 20 platform investments, operations across 19 countries, and portfolio companies generating approximately $2 billion in revenue.

Timestamps:
0:00 Why Eric loves messy manufacturing deals
1:40 From Detroit operator to private equity investor
4:58 Building Speyside: Fund I, the continuation vehicle, and Fund II
7:35 How PE firms decide fund size and portfolio construction
10:24 Why Elliott backed Speyside's continuation vehicle
12:43 What LPs want now, and why PE is going through a reckoning
15:46 Operational value creation vs. financial engineering
20:03 Why sellers choose Speyside for complex situations
24:09 The red lines: positive EBITDA, size limits, and avoiding bad S-curves
33:34 The “fix and build” playbook
59:29 Independent sponsors, fund models, and the future of dealmaking

Sponsor:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Kaido Veske of Livonia Partners ( https://www.livoniapartners.com/ ) about Kaido’s journey from working at a mid-cap private equity firm in the US to returning to Europe, raising a fund that now manages nearly $200 million, and completing 16 acquisitions to date.

0:00 Why start a fund
2:56 Wharton and early US exposure
3:39 US finance years and coming back to Europe
6:03 Livonia today: focus and deal size
7:06 Minority and majority deals
7:23 Fundraising as a first-time GP
8:25 Early deals: structuring and fund size limits
10:08 Fund 1 vs Fund 2 evolution
13:38 Sourcing engine and “kill list”
16:00 Small market, big opportunity
20:32 Post-acquisition playbook and cadence
25:55 Thermory case: build, buy, exit
35:43 Mistakes: leverage and market calls
38:28 Fund size ceiling in the Baltics
46:54 Team lessons and alignment

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Mike Markus (⁠ https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy⁠ ) talks to Travis Jamison of CapitalPad ( https://capitalpad.com/ ) about building a deal-by-deal investing platform that’s already powered 10 acquisitions, with some deals projected to have an IRR of 25% or more.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:36 Why CapitalPad exists
3:08 Platform walkthrough
5:22 Lessons from the first 10 deals
7:16 What a typical deal looks like
9:10 Vetting sponsors/searchers
12:44 Investor improvement and portfolio construction
17:32 What top sponsors do differently

Sponsor:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks to Vic Keller of Experience Ventures ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickeller/ ) about building 17 companies over two decades with 9 exits, having businesses acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, and his operator-first approach to building durable, people-driven companies - including a vertically integrated car wash platform spanning manufacturing, chemistry, and service/maintenance.

0:00 Deal-by-Deal vs Fund Life
3:48 Operator Mindset in the Lower Middle Market
8:10 Buffett Lessons + Durability
18:36 Car Wash Playbook
23:46 HoldCo Structure
27:50 Recruiting A-Players
32:17 Co-Invest Partners
36:22 Bigger Deals: What Changes
39:28 Debt vs Equity
42:06 Founders: Recap vs Sell to PE
48:04 ETA/Search Funds: Post-Close Risk
55:10 People and Investing in Yourself

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Operators, independent sponsors, searchers, and lower middle market investors: this episode is about building repeatable deal flow in the $2-15M EBITDA range by making opportunities, talent, and capital come to you.

You’ll learn “relationship compounding” through two lenses: Larry Gagosian - the billionaire art dealer who engineers environments where influential people want to be (all in service of one goal: selling more art) - and TheRealEstateG6 ( https://x.com/TheRealEstateG6 ) on X, whose “yacht” framework shows how to stop restarting from zero and build platforms, venues, and proof that create real gravity.

Show notes:
0:00 Build “inbound” deal flow in the $2-15M EBITDA range
2:58 Why most relationships don’t compound (and how to fix it)
6:44 The first upgrade: become a “regular” and let familiarity stack
10:22 Gagosian’s flywheel: one gatekeeper unlocks the next layer
13:05 Build your “market map” (CRM mindset) before it pays you
16:09 “Create your own yacht”
19:28 Deal flow as a two-sided platform: owners + capital allocators
25:07 Modern yachts: Shark Tank, media, and flipping who chases who
31:59 The 5-question test for a real yacht
38:11 The whole thesis: manufacture situations where people come to you

Sponsor:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks to Millen Rastogi of UniversaCare ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/millenrastogi/ ) about leaving his analyst role at Deutsche Bank to build a healthcare roll-up and acquire five companies.

Show notes:
0:00 Millen Rastogi
1:05 From Deutsche Bank to home care
4:30 Walking into a mess
13:26 Funding the early years
19:54 Growth numbers + COVID hit
23:02 Margins and revenue
25:50 Building the platform to buy
27:17 First acquisition
30:56 Seller financing playbook
36:35 The “silver tsunami” sellers
41:50 Second acquisition
51:48 70% seller-financed deal example
1:09:09 Learning M&A with AI + X

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks to Reza Jafer of Second Bite Capital ( https://x.com/rezajafer ) about how he left private equity to acquire three companies in three months.

Show notes:
0:00 Independent sponsor jump
3:38 Origin story
8:04 First acquisition
10:15 The motor coach platform
14:36 Deal #1 terms
18:46 Early wins
26:22 Fundraising lesson
29:44 Deal #2 raise in chaos
35:17 Platform strategy
40:41 Endgame

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

The lower middle market runs on trust and relationship building.

In this episode, we explore Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co., the quiet Charlotte-based advisory firm that shaped how lower middle market M&A gets done. Before private equity was institutionalized asset class, BHC figured out how to turn founder-led businesses into transactions lenders could underwrite and capital could trust.

This is a story about credibility over capital, why bad packaging can kill deals, and how preparation - not promotion - closes deals in the lower middle market.

Timestamps:
0:00 Why great investing ecosystems can be traced back to a few hidden origins
1:10 How a small Charlotte firm became a training ground for middle-market M&A
3:27 What Erskine Bowles saw at Morgan Stanley in the 1960s
6:35 How BHC turned founder chaos into lender confidence
10:12 Why BHC became the default choice for family-owned businesses
14:22 The true job of a great lower-middle-market advisor
15:21 Cash flow as downside protection
19:17 How BHC helped fuel middle-market efficiency
21:08 Where BHC alumni show up today
22:07 Attention to detail, low ego, and a partnership mindset

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

Follow Mike/PrivateEquityGuy on Twitter: ⁠⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.