The Circle of Competence Podcast

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with A.J. Wasserstein, Professor at Yale School of Management where he teaches courses on SMB leadership, acquisitions, and entrepreneurship. In our conversation, we covered:

- What is a programmatic acquisition strategy and why it matters

- How AJ implemented this strategy while leading ArchivesOne, forming the third largest records management business in the US

- Lessons learned from 17 years buying small businesses at ArchivesOne

- What factors to look for when determining whether this strategy is right for a business

- How NOT to implement a programmatic acquisition strategy

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Mark Valdez, founder of Eads Bridge Holdings. Mark has a deep background in tech, previously serving as the chief of staff for Marc Andreessen before jumping ship to build a tech-enabled small business holding company. In our conversation, we covered:

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Jeff Sands, founding partner of Dorset Partners, a firm specializing distressed business turnarounds. Jeff is also the author of "Corporate Turnaround Artistry: Fix a Business in 100 Days." In our conversation, we covered:

- What strategies Jeff uses in the first 100 days of a business turnaround

- How to negotiate with creditors

- A balance sheet turnaround vs. an income statement turnaround

- How to run a business during lean times 

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Quinn Miller, founder of Blue Agave Vending and Fairway Coffee. Quinn has built a vending machine empire and is rolling his capital into new endeavors. In our conversation, we covered:

- How to get started in the vending business

- What makes a vending location great

- Cold calling tactics

- How to bootstrap an e-commerce direct to consumer biz

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Twitter personality Bauncey Chillups. Mr. Chillups currently works for a large family office and focuses purely on the public markets.

In our conversation, we covered:

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Nick Haschka, Founder of Cub Investments, a holding company for small businesses, as well as CEO of The Wright Gardner, a commercial landscaping and plant management business.

In our conversation, we covered:

This week, I spoke with Andrew Wilkinson, founder of Tiny, about buying, building, and operating internet businesses.

The Big Idea: Podcasting right now is where the internet was in 1999.

Favorite Quote: "As soon as I start doing something I don't enjoy, I want someone else to do it and it turns out that's a really good quality for an entrepreneur. It's what makes an entrepreneur. Very quickly when I started my business I started delegating. And If you follow that progression over decades, the ultimate form of delegation is investing and hiring others to run your businesses."

Topics Covered:

- Business models for internet companies

- How Tiny is organized as a holding company

- Structuring incentives for executives

- Why to avoid competing with venture-backed companies

- The podcasting industry

- A local news experiment in Victoria, Canada

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Chris Fredericks, founder of Empowered Ventures, a uniquely structured holding company that is employee owned. In our conversation, we covered:

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Colin Keeley, co-founder of Verne, a holding company for SaaS businesses. In our conversation, we covered:

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with A.J. Wasserstein, Professor at Yale School of Management where he teaches courses on SMB leadership, acquisitions, and entrepreneurship. In our conversation, we covered: