Masters in Small Business M&A

Hagan Kappler is building Daisy, a Rollup & Franchisor in Smart Home Services


Listen Later

Do you love your home “IT and AV guy”? We didn’t think so.  

In this episode, Peter Lehrman sits down with Hagan Kappler, co-founder of Daisy, an emerging national player leader in home technology installation, integration, and servicing. Daisy has acquired eight companies in roughly 12 months, and is beginning to integrate franchise opportunities into the buy-and-build M&A playbook.  

The conversation is all about Hagan, her team, her authentic history of operating and transacting in related categories, and Daisy’s unique approach to combining M&A and franchising. 

Hagan details how her team is drawing lessons from other home services markets, how they’re experimenting with new recurring revenue business models, and how they’re tackling other challenges that plague the residential A/V and smart home categories. 

Discussion Points:

  • The Daisy origin story and the idea of a national smart home services model
  • The market opportunity: A $30 billion industry with no national brand
  • Hagan’s transition from home services to smart technology
  • Differentiating through service with the recurring "Daisy Care" model
  • Building a brand and operational infrastructure: CRM, training, and call centers
  • Balancing M&A and franchising strategies for scale
  • Strategic geographic expansion and post-acquisition value-add initiatives
  • The unfair advantage of an experienced M&A team in home services
  • The importance of optionality in financing and operational models
  • Franchising as a growth engine: improving owner quality of life and increasing business valuation
  • Recurring service offerings as a key differentiator
  • Aligning the business for 2025: Scaling recurring services and brand identity
  • Masters in Small Business M&A (sign up for the podcast here) is produced by its host Peter Lehrman and the team at Axial (www.axial.com). Axial makes it easy for small business owners to confidentially explore growth capital and exit transactions with top-ranked lower middle market M&A advisors and professional capital partners. In every episode, we explore the dynamic world of small business M&A, interviewing a mix of proven and emerging owners, operators, acquirers, and M&A advisors whose strategies and methods are being put to the test.

    If you’d like to go deeper, head to Axial.com, where we make available the Axial member directories, downloadable tools for dealmakers, the Axial quarterly lower middle market investment banking league table rankings, the SMB M&A pipeline report, and other useful information. If you’re a business owner, professional acquirer, or M&A advisor, you can start using Axial for free at Axial.com.

    Resources

    • Hagan Kappler LinkedIn
    • Daisy Website
    • Peter Lehrman LinkedIn
    • Peter Lehrman X
    • Axial Website
    • ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Masters in Small Business M&ABy Peter Lehrman

      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9

      4.9

      14 ratings


      More shows like Masters in Small Business M&A

      View all
      Masters in Business by Bloomberg

      Masters in Business

      2,173 Listeners

      Built to Sell Radio by John Warrillow

      Built to Sell Radio

      209 Listeners

      Founders by David Senra

      Founders

      2,080 Listeners

      M&A Science by Kison Patel

      M&A Science

      127 Listeners

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

      Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

      793 Listeners

      My First Million by Hubspot Media

      My First Million

      2,643 Listeners

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

      Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

      146 Listeners

      All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

      All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

      9,799 Listeners

      Acquisitions Anonymous - #1 for business buying, selling and operating by Bill D'Alessandro, Mills Snell, Heather Endresen, and Michael Girdley

      Acquisitions Anonymous - #1 for business buying, selling and operating

      244 Listeners

      The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection by Alex Rawlings

      The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection

      32 Listeners

      Business Breakdowns by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

      Business Breakdowns

      351 Listeners

      Acquiring Minds by Will Smith

      Acquiring Minds

      254 Listeners

      Joys of Compounding by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

      Joys of Compounding

      97 Listeners

      Moneywise by Hampton

      Moneywise

      650 Listeners

      Think Big, Buy Small by Harvard Business School

      Think Big, Buy Small

      34 Listeners