In 2023 Ben Tiggelaar made the acquisition most people dream of - an IT services business that's recession resistant, with sticky clients, healthy margins, management team in place, and can be run remotely. He's steadily improved the business and made another acquisition already putting revenue over $8M. We discuss if he plans to sell, the IT services landscape, tuck in acquisition strategies, investing in other searchers, and why he's enjoying life more running DataTel. Previously Ben had a successful exit in a dental platform after his investment banking career.

Ben Tiggelaar on X: https://x.com/bentigg 
DataTel: https://datatelco.com/
SMB Junction: https://www.smbjunction.com/
Clint Fiore & Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter & Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

Marc Hawk joins Inspired Or Acquired to share the journey of selling RevLocal to Hibu. Marc Hawk was the CEO of RevLocal for 14 years and is now part of the Hibu team as EVP. During that 14 year run, RevLocal became one one of the biggest digital marketing agencies for small businesses. Marc explains they didn't have to sell and the 3 reasons why you might sell a company after growing to +$50M revenue. We also cover the details of integration, the company synergies, and how he's feeling a few months post close.

Marc Hawk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marchawk/
Clint Fiore & Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter & Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

What does a Stanford grad and former investment banking employee employee do when they start their own business? A deck construction company of course. Jameson Haslam has quickly built West Coast Deck to over $1.2M revenue within 2.5 years. He's dialed in content marketing and social media, and built some innovative online tools that he might license to other contractors. We discuss if he would sell today, new products he's launching, and how he's modeling his business after other $7-10M deck builders in other markets. Jameson is funny, scrappy and reflective. Enjoy!

Jameson Haslam on X: https://twitter.com/jamesonhaslam
West Coast Decks: https://www.westcoastdeck.com/
Clint Fiore & Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter & Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

Ian started InTech Scientific years ago and it's become a very profitable and well respected business. He services lab equipment in universities, hospitals and bioteach startups through New England. Now he's getting inquiries and offers from buyers, and he's wondering what his business is worth and what a sale could look like. We also discuss if he decided to staff up and scale to 2-3x the value in the next few years. 

InTech Scientific: https://www.intechscientificsolutions.com/
Clint Fiore & Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter & Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

Cheryl Ham has built Hypnotic Yarn into a +$1M revenue business with 28% net profit margin and 80% of revenue on a subscription basis. She was an amazing story of trying to 'create a little side hustle' that has become a great business with a great mission to help customers unleash their creativity. We discuss what her business might be worth today and future plans for the company. 

Hypnotic Yarn Website: https://hypnoticyarn.com/
Clint Fiore & Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter & Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

Devin Wanzor has bought and sold more than 10 businesses. He joins the podcast to share his journey from being an SBA lender to being part of a sign manufacturing roll up to buying a high end liquor store and recently buying a business close to his passion for flying planes. We also discuss how he's improved profitability as an operator and his unique perspective helping others with financial due diligence.

Devin Wanzor on X: https://twitter.com/DevinWanzor
Devin Wanzor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devin-wanzor-5459a31/
Clint Fiore & Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter & Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

Chris Edwards recently sold his flooring business in Steamboat, Colorado. He bought the business just 3.5 years prior then quickly grew revenue 50% and grew EBITDA 100%. He's an amazing example of what's possible in acquisition entrepreneurship. Our conversation dives into the hard lessons, growth levers, and his decision to sell. 

Chris Edwards on X: https://twitter.com/toph_edwards
Chris Edwards on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-edwards-44664052/
Clint Fiore & Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter & Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

'POV Husband' is a genuine, funny follow on TikTok and Instagram. Prior to becoming a content creator he worked in banking and bought a business to escape his 9-5. He ended up buying a fast casual restaurant in 2020. Then they quickly bought a 2nd and 3rd location with real estate. In 2022 they decided to sell 2 of the locations. We discuss how much they made on the sale, why restaurants sell for lower multiples, and what businesses he's debating next. 

POV Husband on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pov_husband
POV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pov_husband/?hl=en
POV Husband YouTube video on restaurant profitability: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd4wrWpwHdI&t=28s
Clint Fiore, Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter, Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

Matt Cafrelli left a stable career in accounting to dive into the riskier world of acquisition entrepreneurship. He and his partner created a HoldCo to buy some service businesses. Their first acquisition was a window cleaning company in April 2023, followed quickly by a landscaping business in March 2024. We discuss the pros and cons of buying on the small side, future acquisitions, and their long term goals for the holding company.

Matt Cafrelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattcafrelli/ 
Clint Fiore and Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter and Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/

Jesus started Longhill Contracting 7 years ago doing drywall and paint contracting for home builders and multifamily developers. They've grown organically very quickly due to Jesus' servant leadership, his great team doing great work, and housing growth in Colorado. In 2024 they're on pace for $23M revenue and $2.7M EBITDA. We discuss what his company is worth today and where he wants to take it in the next +5 years. 

Longhill Contracting: longhillcontracting.com
Jesus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesus-montelongo-18960163/
Clint Fiore and Bison Business: https://bisonbusiness.com/
Patrick Dichter and Appletree: https://appletreebusiness.com/