Invest and Scale

Invest and Scale

By Gabo MurilloBusinessEntrepreneurship
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Invest and Scale episodes

  • EP18 3 Acquisitions since 2020 with Lucas McCann owner of CoreAffinity.com

    Lucas McCann is the owner of CoreAffinity.com, he has acquired over 3 businesses in the past 4 years with his partners. In this episode, he talks about the importance of thinking of acquisitions as a team sport vs. as a solo sport. He shares with us the core strategy they use every time they speak with a potential seller, especially when it comes to off market deals, and how they incorporate these principles and utilize  the better together framework.

    Podcast Highlights:

    • Lucas' background before he got into the Acquisition game.
    • His first acquisition and the lessons he learned to keep improving.
    • He shares his experiences in building the business from scratch.
    • A set of the questions they ask when talking with a potential seller.
    • An overview of Core Affinity programs and how they work.
    • The importance of understanding how the business could look in 10 years.
    • Explain how his third business is completely different from his first and second businesses in terms of what they are offering through core affinity.
    • What strategy do they use to find direct sellers and close deals?
    • The importance of encouraging people to be direct and build relationships when they are selling their business.
    • What Lucas and his team do to make a personal connection with the potential seller.
    • Their goal after they acquired the business and how they will grow the business and add value in the long run.
    • Lucas points out some questions he considers before they even acquire a business.
    • How he learned to know his limits and not do everything himself.
    • Discusses the levels of trust between partners when working in a business.
    • Lucas' 10-year vision for their business.
    • Describes how he loves solving problems in his industry.
    • Advice from Lucas for acquisition entrepreneurs.

      • Tweetable Quote:

      “Real-life examples have really helped us better our process and better our approach to the relationship and negotiations.” - Lucas McCann

      “Never burn a bridge.” - Lucas McCann

      Resources Mentioned:

      https://coreaffinity.com/

      https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-mccann/

      50 min
    • EP17 Buying five-figure businesses to multiple eight-figure businesses with Ujwal Velagapudi

      Ujwal Velagapudi shares in this episode the lessons he learned from every acquisition he has made, how to develop a resilient mindset throughout those acquisitions, and what it takes to move from five-digit to eight-digit deals and beyond. With his real estate investing background, he was able to purchase his first business while also working full-time.


      Podcast Highlights:

      • He explained what he was doing before he started buying businesses, and what led him to make that decision.
      • How was Ujwal exposed to Acquisition Entrepreneurship?
      • How did he acquire many of his investments/businesses?
      • Ujwal discusses how he also became involved in the online space.
      • Ujwal talks about the first business he bought and how he continued to do real estate deals while also holding a full-time job.
      • In what ways did Ujwal shift his thinking to become an Investor?
      • He provides details about what kind of frontier he is pursuing and where he is in terms of investing and scaling.
      • When it comes to looking for deals, Ujwal explains what he wants and does not want.
      • He talks about how essential cash flow is from a financial perspective.
      • Shares his plans for what he wants to accomplish in the near future and in the coming years.
      • What he recommends when it comes to buying a business and what to avoid.

        • Resources:

        https://www.linkedin.com/in/ujwal-velagapudi-4a457a15/

        55 min
      • EP16 7 Figures acquisition. Interview with Jaime Arias, industrial engineer turned acquisition entrepreneur

        In this episode, we have Jaime Arias, he's an acquisition entrepreneur. He completed his first of a few acquisitions over the past two years. An engineer by trade and a Harvard MBA graduate, he found acquisitions entrepreneurship and fell in love with it; now he's growing an online business and potentially buying more.

        Podcast Highlights:

        • Jaime discusses how he embarked on his journey to Acquisitions.
        • He shares the challenges he faced while making his decision to be an acquisition entrepreneur.
        • He shared where he learned about acquisition entrepreneurship.
        • What criteria does he use to choose which business to buy?
        • How COVID has affected his search and sourcing process.
        • When he was in business school, what were the differences compared to when he was running his search process and acquisition?
        • Why he didn't like buying agencies.
        • He describes the business he bought and explains what Patients4you does and how it works.
        • How he started his business without a team when he bought it and slowly built it up.
        • Which is the primary source of their clients' leads, Google AdWords or SEO, or both?
        • He shares his plans for his business in the next few years if he intends to acquire more businesses.
        • Jaime answers the question of what he would do differently if he could go back five years.
        • He recounts his experience going through the process of assessing investors.
        • He shares some advice with aspiring entrepreneurial investors.

          • Resources Mentioned:

          https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaime-arias-b37a2278/

          https://patients4you.com/

          https://store.hbr.org/product/hbr-guide-to-buying-a-small-business/10090

          47 min
        • EP15 Over +40 acquisitions in the online space with Onfolio's head of strategy and acquisitions

          In this episode, we're talking to Yury Byalik from Onfolio, Head of Strategy & Acquisitions. He handles all the deal flow, finds the businesses for sale, reviews them for due diligence, then makes the acquisitions.

          Onfolio is a holding company that basically acquires and runs online businesses. Over the years, the company's business model has changed slightly, initially helping investors to acquire and manage the business for them, and only about a year ago they began making acquisitions on their own.

          They used to acquire content-related websites and shifted their strategies after a while. Now, they are mostly interested in productized service agencies, SaaS products, and digital products.

          Podcast Highlights:

          • Yury explains why finding opportunities for a good deal is a difficult job?
          • Tell us about his team and whether he plans to expand it.
          • He talks about how their management style can win deals even when they aren't the most competitive on price.
          • Explained why it is important to speak with the seller first to know their needs before offering them different models.
          • What are their current focus and ideal size of businesses to acquire?
          • Yury talks about what happened to IncomeStore Fraud and how their company started dying.
          • He shares some of their success stories at OnFolio.
          • What are the biggest challenges they face in the industry?
          • As a Head of Strategy and Acquisition of Onfolio, Yury shares some of the challenges he addresses and identifies with his team, as well as how they overcome them.
          • What is in store for Onfolio in the coming year?
          • In this market, Yury shares some advice for buyers and sellers.

            • Resources Mentioned:

            https://onfolio.com/

            https://www.thrasio.com/

            https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybyalik/

            41 min
          • EP14 Investment Banking principles for Online M&A with Chris Shipferling and Jason Somerville

            In this episode, we have Chris Shipferling and Jason Somerville Managing Partner at Global Wired Advisors.

            Global wired advisors started about two and a half years ago. Founded by three other partners of Global Wired Advisors, Jason Somerville, Joe Hogg, and Chris Bodnar. They want to bring to this part of the market a process that mimics what you would normally get out of a traditional investment banking process, and the idea is happening, the proof of concept has already taken place.

            They love working with business owners and small business owners, and they enjoy watching them go through one of the largest liquidity events of their lives.

            Highlights:

            • They describe the difference between an advisor and a broker.
            • How does their company add value to its clients?
            • In what way do they structure their fees for those who wish to sell their business? Do they offer consulting services?
            • Explain the process and the key verticals they consider when assessing prospects.
            • How are metrics different for different types of business?
            • Recommendations for buyers during this Covid time and any outlook for the next year?
            • Share what is the halo effect happening because of this pandemic.
            • Explains the opportunities from a buyer standpoint in the market to potentially take advantage?
            • Referred to the new SBA program and explained the changes.
            • Explain the two main types of loans that are being issued at the moment. The first is a PPP loan and the second is economic disaster aid.
            • An overview of the buy-side search capabilities at their firm.
            • The company's website has a section for acquirers with a set of questions segmented for all their buyers.

              • Resources Mentioned:

              https://www.globalwiredadvisors.com/potential-buyers/

              https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisshipferling/

              https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-somerville-7273b71a/

              50 min
            • EP13 Membership sites vs SaaS companies with Matt Inglot

              In this episode, our guest is Matt Inglot, who began his career as a freelancer and founded the membership agency Tilted Pixel. Over the years they have worked on a lot of awesome membership sites, and some have grown from zero to now making seven figures.

              Highlights:

              • Matt explains the difference between the membership site and SAS business.
              • What are the amazing benefits of memberships? And what is most important about membership sites?
              • What services can Tilted Pixel offer as a membership site?
              • Are there different membership models inside a membership site?
              • Explains how a community can have its own challenges.
              • What does their agency do to grow your membership site?
              • What assistance can they provide for a client who owns a membership site?
              • Explains how to restructure your membership offering to make it more meaningful.
              • Matthew explains how the company helps people to get a return on investment from their property.
              • What are the common membership site mistakes they encounter?
              • Why is the Dynamite Circle valuable?
              • An overview of his Art of a Build podcast
              • What are some of the biggest benefits when buying a membership site?
              • What advice would you give to people interested in acquiring a membership site?

                • Resources Mentioned:

                https://www.tiltedpixel.com/

                https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattinglot/?originalSubdomain=ca

                43 min
              • EP12 How Content Allies and Lead Cookie have thrived despite Covid's crisis with Jake Jorgovan

                In this episode, we have Jake Jorgovan, the Founder of Content Allies and Lead Cookie. Through these companies he has generated $40M+ in sales for his clients. Jake is the host of the Working Without Pants Podcast, and Leaders of B2B Podcast. He also shares the raw lessons of his entrepreneurial journey at Jake-Jorgovan.com. His aim is to construct a business that runs without you and generates profits.

                In a similar way, they're like the Gary Vee team that empowers a lot of entrepreneurs who are experts in their field and who want to show the world and create all the content and get all the ideas out.

                Podcast Highlights:

                • Jake discusses how he decided to start Lead Cookie and how Content Allies is doing.
                • He explains the reasons why he does not like the productized service.
                • In this podcast, he talks about nearly selling Leed Cookie last year and the horrible experience that came with it.
                • What are his thoughts on Partnerships?
                • What are his thoughts on retirement, early retirement or investments?

                  • Tweetable Quote:

                  "Trust in yourself and level yourself up and just follow your own journey in that sense, instead of just trying to do what everyone else is doing and eventually pave your own way. I think that's way more satisfying and way more fun.” - Jake Jorgovan

                  “Do one thing and do it well.”  - Alex (Jake’s Advisor)

                  “Your business is a reflection of yourself. And so if you don't have the results that you want. if your bank account doesn't look like what you want, it's because you need to level up.” - Jakes’ business advisor

                  Resources mentioned:

                  Working without pants podcast

                  https://contentallies.com/

                  https://www.leadcookie.com/

                  https://jake-jorgovan.com/

                  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakejorgovan/

                  34 min
                • EP11 Business Structures and Tax Optimization with Vicenzo Villamena

                  Our guest for this episode is Vincenzo Villamena, CPA, the founder of Online Taxman. He has extensive experience in both tax preparation and advising clients in accounting and financial transactions.

                  At Online Taxman, Vincenzo oversees corporate and individual filings. He specializes in offshore structuring for US entrepreneurs abroad and US real estate transactions by foreign nationals and funds.

                  Podcast Highlights:

                  • He explained their two brands, Global expert advisors and Online Taxman.
                  • What investors need to know about digital assets these days.
                  • Two types of merger rights are shared.
                  • How Americans are saving capital gains taxes in Puerto Rico.
                  • When it comes to selling websites or internet-based companies, what are the most common trends?
                  • What makes a good advisor so important, whether you're a big company or on a smaller level?
                  • Three types of tax structures are discussed.
                  • Structure recommendations for Investors seeking to form their next S Corp, LLC or C Corp.
                  • What is a self-directed IRA investment structure?
                  • How do they assist entrepreneurs with setting up their IRAs and 401ks?

                    • Tweetable Quote:

                    "Don't be penny-wise and a dollar foolish."

                    Resources Mentioned:

                    https://onlinetaxman.com/

                    http://globalexpertadvisors.com/

                    https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincenzo-villamena-7055815/

                    33 min
                  • EP10 Family Business 8 Figures exit with Ryan Tansom

                    Our guest this week is Ryan Tansom, who helped turn around his family's business and sold it for eight figures to a local competitor in 2014. He co-founded Arkona where he created International growth, five principles, and a framework, and hosted the popular life after business podcast with over 200 episodes and 300,000 downloads.

                    As an entrepreneur, he enjoys helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses and increase their value by changing their mindset from annual income to focusing on long-term growth.

                    Podcast Highlights:

                    • Ryan discusses how he became involved in family businesses, what challenges he encountered, and what changes he made when he took control of the business.
                    • We discuss the differences between the ownership and management roles.
                    • Ryan talks about how long it took him to sell his business and what it cost.
                    • Changing the name of his Life After Business podcast to Intentional Growth - How to grow the value of your coming with the end in mind.
                    • What are some of the challenges faced by first-time founders?
                    • EOS ®, the Entrepreneurial Operating System.
                    • An overview of how to choose the best advisors, lawyers, tax professionals, bankers and brokers.

                      • Resources Mentioned:

                      https://arkona.io/podcasts

                      https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/intentional-growth/id1132187581

                      44 min
                    • EP09 Legal insights for buying or selling a business

                      Disclaimer

                      This recorded conversation is for informational purposes only and it is not legal advice, transmission of the conversation is not intended to create and viewing or listening does not constitute an attorney client relationship, viewers and listeners are advised to seek professional help if they are concerned about a specific legal issue.

                      In this episode of Acquire and Scale Show, We discuss the buying business process with Sankeetha Selvarajah, an attorney for start-up businesses.

                      Sankeetha Selvarajah is the Managing Attorney of Selvarajah Law P.C., a civil transactional firm located in Boston, Massachusetts with satellite offices in New York, NY. She is also the CEO of BiztoCo, a business educational platform creating profitable CEOs.

                      She has also worked with startups as an advisor, strategist, and reluctant therapist and outside general legal counsel to over 150 small businesses.

                      She is a business lawyer turned into a deal advisor in the Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) world. Her profession as a lawyer equips her to speak practical recommendations on how to acquire and run your business.

                      Conversation Highlights.

                      Sankeetha shares her journey in the M&A world.

                      She explains her expansion as a deal advisor in investing, buying, selling ventures.

                      Sankeetha’s personal gem is Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) dealings.

                      1st Question when buying an Online Business: Are you buying it to build or are you buying it to acquire?

                      Buying to build means having brand cohesion.

                      2nd Question when buying an Online Business: What is your gut telling you?

                      For investments, there’s a process that must be undertaken: Asking of Questions, Consultation, Walk Through of buying a company, Sending documents to the lawyer.

                      Your service provider team is your default advisory board ( your accountant, lawyer, financial adviser, and your banker).

                      Why, why, and why do you want to buy?

                      What is the return on buying this investment in the next 3 months?

                      Sankeetha’s recommendations to buyers

                      LOI and NDA are legal recommendations.

                      Sankeetha narrates some acquisition stories that didn’t go well.

                      Sankeetha mentions some common mistakes when buying a company.

                      Practical Tip: If you don’t understand the term, go to your service providers.

                      Recommended resource Founder’s Pocket Guide, Fair Market Value, and Book Value & EBITDA.

                      Know the different types of valuation.

                      Protect your asset by creating a company shield.

                      Corporation gives you more flexibility for future gains.

                      What is the difference between an asset purchase and stock purchase?

                      Lawyers are not scary; They are available always.

                      Remarkable Quotes:

                      “Everything is negotiable.”

                      “You should firmly be rooted in open and honest communication. It is a transactional relationship but it is still a human relationship.”

                      “Make friends with your service providers. Use them as tools.”

                      42 min

                    About Invest and Scale

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                    Invest and Scale Podcast is a show about entrepreneurial investors.