Will Smith, Partner at Minds Capital, has been host of the Acquiring Minds podcast for over four years and, during that time, has had the opportunity to speak with hundreds of searchers-turned-entrepreneurs, affording him a true bird’s eye view of the ETA landscape. In this wide-ranging discussion, Will reflects on personal traits that set top-performing searchers apart; company characteristics that can stack the odds of success in a searcher’s favor, with a focus on quality of revenue; common pitfalls that can derail even the most dedicated of searchers; advice for new business owners, including the power of small gestures; and more. Whether you’re already running a search-acquired business, in the midst of a search, or still in the early days of exploring ETA, this episode distills years of hard-earned wisdom into one must-listen conversation.

Jeff Homer is the founder of Ensemble Performing Arts, an organization that provides back-of-house support to music schools, allowing teachers to focus on what’s most important to them, excellence in music education. Though there are now over seventy music schools under Ensemble’s umbrella, it all began with Jeff’s acquisition of a single school in Colorado, initially meant as a side hustle that would allow him to both work at his day job in a family office and to pursue his passion for music. What he discovered along the way, as he began to roll up more music schools around the country, is that many of these founders are immensely talented musicians but are far less interested in, and have not been trained to carry out, the administrative burden that goes hand-in-hand with music school operations. In this conversation, Rick and Royce ask Jeff for his thoughts on the value of lower market roll-ups and why he believes music schools to be high-quality businesses. They also discuss the perils of part-time search, and those rare instances when it just might work; why, in hiring, Jeff selects for senior leaders who have an affinity for music; his approach to financing the many acquisitions he's made; why Jeff decided against rebranding the schools that he acquired; his vision of the future for Ensemble; and more. Listeners will gain insights on not only creating value in a roll-up but also on finding creative niches in the marketplace to roll-up. It’s a fascinating conversation!

Last summer when, after a self-funded search, Nick Wheeler was only a few months into his new role as President at Tra-Cal, Rick and Royce had a chance to speak with him about his early experiences at the company’s helm. In that Season One episode, Nick confessed that he was “drinking from the fire hose”, but he also believed that Tra-Cal had been a high-quality acquisition and was optimistically looking ahead to the company’s future. In this conversation, Nick reflects on the journey he’s taken since last touching base with Rick and Royce fourteen months ago. Together they discuss the ongoing evolution of the company, encompassing Nick’s own transition from an early-days learning mode to a current focus on growth; hiring challenges and successes; advice to current searchers on the kinds of skills that are important for successfully running a small business; what Nick most appreciates about his current role; and more. Our hosts also look ahead to Think Big, Buy Small’s third season, launching on September 8th, in which they'll engage in many fascinating, forthcoming conversations. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts!   

At the end of each episode, Rick and Royce ask listeners to reach out with any questions they may have related to entrepreneurship through acquisition. In response, we’ve heard from people at all stages of their entrepreneurship through acquisition journeys, along with other stakeholders in search. Now, in the final episode of Season Two, our hosts address many of the queries that were received. This wide-ranging discussion includes reflections on how undergraduates can begin to think about the ETA path; traits of successful acquisition entrepreneurs – and whether they’re innate or can be learned; insights on financial modeling and valuation; whether franchises are appealing acquisition targets; mistakes to be avoided in due diligence; trade-offs for investors considering traditional versus self-funded opportunities; artificial intelligence, and more. Rick and Royce also share their thoughts on whether there are ETA-related topics on which they disagree – and they look ahead to Season Three!

A few years ago, Logan Leslie began his search with the goal of rolling up smaller, same-industry enterprises under the umbrella of one company. Fast forward to today and Logan is CEO of Main Street Auto, which is the parent company to over ninety auto repair shops around the country. In this engaging conversation, Logan shares why he believes the auto industry is ideal for roll-ups, along with his strategy for doing so therein; his thoughts on the importance of a cultural fit in search; how and why he’s been so successful in building the team around him; the role of sale-leaseback transactions in supercharging growth; and his reflections on the advantages of scale, to name but a few examples. Listeners may recall that Rick is generally skeptical of roll-ups. In this episode, however, we learn about the “secret sauce” in Logan’s approach that has Rick reconsidering his long-held position.

In the last three years, Adriana Garcia Ceja graduated from Harvard Business School, became a mother and, after a funded search, acquired an aging life care management business called ElderTree. Many would-be CEOs set out on their searches primarily wanting to experience the joys of operating a small business, while being more agnostic about what the company does. This was not the case for Adriana, who from the outset wanted to acquire either an addiction

recovery center or a company in the elder care space, searching for a business that she believed contributed to the greater good. In this discussion, she reflects on how the mission-driven aspect of her search was instrumental in fundraising conversations; the experience of closing on a business while being thirteen weeks pregnant; how and why the ETA career path can align so well for women; the merits and potential downsides of having an MBA while searching; her future plans for the company; and more. Tune in to learn about Adriana’s distinct journey and why she’s now so well positioned for both personal and professional success.

Kent Weaver was an early participant in the world of search, completing a self-funded search that led to his acquisition of a healthcare company in 2002 and then, four years later, putting on his investor hat to make his first investment in search. Today, he’s one of the most experienced and highly regarded funding partners in the space, having invested in over one hundred searches, both traditional and self-funded. In this wide-ranging conversation, they discuss the qualities that Kent looks for in prospective searchers and future CEOs, including reflections on the importance of both hard and soft skills; industry and company characteristics that he screens for during diligence; the pros and cons of solo versus partnered searches, along with funded versus self-funded searches; trends in the world of ETA; and so much more. Kent is truly energized by his collaborations with searchers, and listeners will gain valuable insights from this fascinating discussion with one who has seen so much in search. 

Connor McCarthy and Caroline Matthews are not only a married couple and new parents, but they’re also funded searchers turned co-CEOs at Canyonlands Camps. The outdoor recreation industry is little explored in the world of search and their ETA journey is also distinct in that, through the acquisition of summer camps and travel programs, they’ve taken ownership of business-to-consumer businesses, which constitute only a minority of search targets. In this conversation, the pair reflect on the experiences of buying and then operating businesses with a spouse; how they approached investors with their unique thesis; the characteristics that they look for in acquisition opportunities; and the extra complexities involved in the buyer-seller relationship, particularly in cases where multiple generations of one family have been involved in camp operations. They also share steps they’re taking to upgrade facilities and professionalize their camps; how they’re thinking about repeat customers and the progression of programming; along with thoughts on the advantages that have now come with being preferred buyers in the space, ones with a reputation of honoring family legacies. This is an episode about human relationships in ETA, and listeners will learn a great deal from the journey that Connor and Caroline are on.