Think Like an Owner

Ep.175: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Philip Hussey (@philipdhussey).

My guest on this episode is Philip Hussey, CEO of Outerland, a landscape maintenance, new build, and snow removal business in Cape Cod, owned by Chenmark. Philip took the CEO role through Chenmark's GVP program in January 2022. A concept he spends a lot of time thinking about that we discuss in detail is their focus on their internal customer, i.e., the Outerland team.

They believe by serving and delighting their internal customers, they will do the same towards their external customers. I love the concept and think CEOs of any business can benefit from hearing their philosophy. We also talk about being the high-end service provider and what that looks like, recruiting for high-end and customer service-oriented companies that Phillip admires.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Outerland

Chenmark

Philip on LinkedIn

Timestamps

(00:03:44) Outerland and executing a rebrand

(00:08:11) Describing the ideal Outerland customer

(00:09:58) How Outerland differentiates themselves

(00:12:26) Building trust with customers

(00:16:37) Recruiting talent

(00:22:16) Internal customers

(00:26:10) Off-season opportunities

(00:28:58) Upsell strategies

(00:32:05) Studying other companies that create "Wow" moments

(00:43:28) Making sure Management gives a damn

(00:46:20) What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on?

(00:48:05) What's the best business you've ever seen?

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.

Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N

Ep.174: Alex (@Aebridgeman) is joined by Alex Thinath (@Alex-Thinath) and Nikita Sunilkumar (@Nikita-Sunilkumar).

This episode is the second in our Launch Series, a partnered series with Pacific Lake Partners and Trilogy Search Partners, focused on starting a search. We walk through the various phases before and after the search begins, with key questions and best practices on how to approach each phase. I'm joined by Alex Thinath, a current searcher backed by both Pacific Lake and Trilogy, and Nikita Sunilkumar, an entrepreneur in residence at Trilogy. In our discussion, we also discuss differentiation as a searcher, choosing investors, key KPIs and metrics to watch, and measuring success.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Trilogy Search Partners

Pacific Lake Partners

Timestamps

(00:02:22) Introducing Nikita and Alex

(00:04:54) Activities and questions in the 3-12 months leading up to the Search

(00:10:35) Industry research

(00:14:35) Cap table and investor selections

(00:22:53) Drafting a PPM

(00:32:34) Daily activities and tools to use one month into a Search

(00:41:55) How Searchers should pitch themselves

(00:47:42) Getting into your groove: 6 months into a Search

(00:54:12) KPIs and benchmarks to hit during Search

(00:59:50) Utilizing interns and VAs

(01:05:59) Final thoughts

Ep. 173 Alex Bridgeman (@Aebridgeman) is joined by Clayton Collins (@ClaytonACollins).

Today's episode was recorded live in late April 2023 at SMBash in Austin, Texas, with my boss, Clayton Collins, CEO of HW Media. We opened up talking about how the role came together, but for a short preview, I took a Chief of Staff role with HW Media in March 2022 to help build a media and data company in the housing industry.

It's been an exciting journey with a steep learning curve that I'm thoroughly enjoying. In the episode, we talk about acquiring within your industry, the acquisition journey at HW Media, the case for acquisitions as a compliment to organic growth, what a bad acquisition looks like, and so much more. This event is fantastic for all those looking to pursue entrepreneurship through acquiring a company, and I hope to see you all at next year's event.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

HW Media

Clayton on Twitter

SMBash

Timestamps

(00:03:56) Introducing Clayton

(00:05:36) The Chief of Staff role

(00:08:26) Growth through Acquisition

(00:11:15) HW Media's 3 acquisitions

(00:14:53) What Clayton looks for in potential acquisitions

(00:18:47) Evaluating a team inside a company being acquired

(00:20:33) Building relationships in an industry

(00:22:00) Avoiding train wreck acquisitions

(00:26:13) Debt

(00:27:24) Advice for CEOs wanting to build a repeatable acquisition process

#172: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Doug Cook (@DougCook).

This episode was a live recording at a joint event in Chicago between the Booth and Kellogg Business Schools. My guest was Doug Cook, Chairman of several companies throughout Illinois in windows and siding, chimney care, garages, elevators, and more; With windows and siding being his most notable business in Feldco. Doug gives a deeper walkthrough of his very impressive and entrepreneurial career at the start of our conversation. We also talk deeply about empathy and how to develop it as a skill, empathy when building a team and selling to customers, trust and respect as a CEO, lessons that are the hardest to be taught, and much more. Doug is a fantastic person, I think that will come through loud and clear throughout the episode.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links

Doug on LinkedIn

Feldco

Jack Welch Books

YPO

Timestamps

(00:04:47) Doug's background and career

(00:12:10) Lessons Learned: Less is more

(00:16:50) Common Skillsets in CEOs

(00:28:09) Developing empathy as a skill

(00:34:30) Finding the line between becoming too friendly with employees

(00:35:14) Developing empathy with customers

(00:37:10) The CEO's role with customers

(00:40:37) Refining a Product line

(00:47:49) Difficulties in Growth through Acquisition

(00:50:37) Building Trust and Respect with Employees

(00:56:33) Are there any CEOs you admire?

(00:58:32) What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on?

(00:59:49) What's the best business you've ever seen?

Ep. 171: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Justin Nassiri (@JustinNassiri).

My guest today is Justin Nassiri, founder and CEO of Executive Presence, a managed social media service for ambitious CEOs, with a focus on LinkedIn today. We talk about why CEOs should care and focus on building a social media following, and how CEOs can optimize their social presence, including a walkthrough of the most important things to optimize on your LinkedIn profile. We also compare the top platforms for CEOs, LinkedIn and Twitter, and the pros/cons of each and where to start.

Justin also draws on his experience being a founder of two prior companies, Captivate and StoryBox, to be a more effective and balanced CEO in his current business. He has a lot of lessons learned and advice for CEOs looking to expand their reach and improve individual performance. This episode was super interesting and rich with actionable ideas and I think you'll come away with a lot to apply to your own company.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Justin on LinkedIn

Executive Presence

Beyond the Uniform Podcast

Thumbtack

SmartShoot

Timestamps

(00:04:05) Justin's career prior to Executive Presence

(00:09:47) Capturing authenticity in a client

(00:15:04) Thoughts on different Social Media platforms for CEOs

(00:19:06) How to use LinkedIn in a more optimized fashion

(00:23:15) Growth pattern differences between Twitter & LinkedIn

(00:24:58) How to optimize your profile

(00:36:51) How CEOs can benefit from an increased presence on LinkedIn?

(00:41:32) Being Transparent on Social Media

(00:47:42) Lessons learned from founding 3 companies

(00:57:47) Finding work-life balance and creating high-quality work

(01:03:54) What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on?

(01:05:10) What's the best business you've ever seen?

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.

Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N

Ep. 170: Alex (@Aebridgeman) is joined by Aaron Perrine (@AaronPerrine) and Kevin Oxendine (@KevinOxendine).

Today's episode is the first in our new seven-episode series titled Launch Series, in collaboration with Trilogy Search Partners and Pacific Lake Partners. This series is meant to be a guide to preparing a search entrepreneur for their upcoming CEO role, the next major step in their career. Our episodes will focus on topics such as starting up a search, deal structuring, seller relationships, first hundred days, governance, and much more.

This first episode focuses on conducting effective industry research with guests Aaron Perrine and Kevin Oxendine, Partners of Trilogy and Pacific Lake, respectively.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Aaron on LinkedIn

Kevin on LinkedIn

Trilogy Search Partners

Pacific Lake Partners

Grata

Listen to last year's Trilogy Search Series on Spotify

Timestamps:

(00:02:40) Kevin and Aaron's background and careers

(00:04:37) How Searchers are approaching Industry research and focus

(00:19:17) Evaluating M&A activity in an industry

(00:24:56) Characteristics or factors that remove industries from consideration for investment

(00:31:31) Finding Industry experts

(00:36:54) How Searchers can best tell their own story

(00:42:09) The process of doing online research before getting on the phone with owners

(00:45:50) Writing a phenomenal PPM

(00:49:14) Tools for Searchers Doing Industry Research

(00:51:12) Different Levels of Industry Research

Ep 169: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Amir Haboosheh (@amirhaboosheh)

My guest on this episode is Amir Haboosheh, Co-Founder and CEO of Snowball Industries, a home services holding company with 4 portfolio companies today. Their vision is to build a permanent, publicly traded home for these companies, and Amir and I talk extensively about what an IPO looks like and the benefits and tradeoffs it brings.

We also talk a lot about empathy, a skill ambitious CEOs cannot get enough of, lessons from Amir's family on empathy, and how he coaches new managers on empathy and leadership. This conversation had a lot of depth and I think you'll be able to take away many of these lessons to your own company.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Snowball Industries

Amir on LinkedIn

Buffet: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letters

$FIX - Comfort Systems

John Wilson on Think Like an Owner

Color Code

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:03:45) Favorite Warren Buffet Lessons: Reputations

(00:07:28) Being flexible in purchase agreements

(00:09:31) Snowball's Origin and business strategy

(00:14:52) Home Services companies going Public

(00:16:48) Revenue required to go Public

(00:19:27) How the role of the CEO changes through company growth and Going Public

(00:25:45) The power and importance of Empathy

(00:41:28) Screening for empathy in candidates

(00:44:14) Color Code

(00:49:06) Giving feedback

(00:53:35) Leaning on a board for expertise

(00:57:29) What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on?

(01:00:01) What's the best business you've ever seen?

Ep. 168: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Daniel Hudspeth (@danielhudspeth).

My guest today, Daniel Hudspeth, is the CEO of Discover Health, a concierge medical practice business with locations in California, Boston, and soon to be Seattle. During his search Daniel did extensive research on private pay healthcare and eventually developed a thesis to acquire multiple concierge practices across the country.

We talk about this pivot during his search, what the concierge model looks like for patients and doctors, why it's an attractive business as an investor and operator, and what growth could look like over the coming years. Given my mom is a family physician, this episode felt close to home and I enjoyed the chance to connect with an entrepreneur like Daniel who's looking to build a better model in patient healthcare.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Discover Health

Concierge Medicine Today

ROAMD

The Predictive Index

Founders Podcast - Yvon Chouinard: Patagonia's Founding Principles

Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:23) - Daniel's Search Journey

(00:14:31) - Investor hesitations force the Search to go longer

(00:17:28) - Recruiting Doctors to the Organization

(00:25:57) - Churn dynamics

(00:29:47) - Staffing requirements

(00:31:45) - Establishing a playbook for how these businesses are run

(00:35:18) - Concierge-centric Podcasts

(00:37:23) - Defining Executive roles

(00:40:09) - How the CEO role has changed

(00:43:06) - Utilizing peer networks

(00:46:05) - Tools for hiring and recruiting

(00:50:13) - What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on?

(00:52:47) - What's the best business you've ever seen?

Episode 167: Alex Bridgeman (@aebridgeman) is joined by Chris Hoffman (Chris-Hoffman).

My guest, Chris Hoffmann, is the President and CEO of Hoffmann Brothers, a home services business based in St. Louis. Hoffmann Brothers have scaled from $10 million in 2015 to over $100 million in revenue in 2023. We talk about how that journey happened, their experience building executive teams, investing in people through a training university they started for ongoing training, and investing activity for home services today.

We also talk about what perpetual non-private equity ownership enables them to do, including their unique strategy for managing cash investments and liquidity as a growing family office. This was a ton of fun for me and I hope you enjoy this conversation as well.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at www.AlexBridgeman.com

Links:

Chris on LinkedIn

Hoffmann Brothers

NexStar Network

Chapters:

(00:03:38) - Hoffman Training University & NexStar

(00:08:26) - Enabling scale and revenue growth

(00:10:55) - Differences in PE-backed company structures

(00:14:25) - Retention and morale-boosting tactics

(00:17:59) - Leadership team composition

(00:21:17)- Surfacing high-performers & evaluating management teams

(0:28:53) - Using Search Firms to find talent

(00:30:25) - Choosing an Executive Search firm

(00:33:30) - Financial sponsor interest in the HVAC and Home Services market

(00:36:15) - Reasons Consolidators are failing

(00:38:41) - Debt, Public Equity Strategies & Fund Investing

(00:48:00) - Goals for the family office

(00:49:47) - Building new locations from scratch vs. acquiring existing companies

(00:55:37) - Acquiring a school

(00:58:53) - Changing strongly held beliefs

(00:59:54) - Chris' favorite business

Episode 166: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Ed Redden (@Edward-Redden).

Ed and his partner Justin Vogt are former podcast guests from episode 59 where we talked about starting Evermore Industries, an industrial services holding company. Last year they acquired AVUITY, based in Cincinnati, which sells physical commercial office sensors that detect motion, temperature, humidity, and more, along with a data and analytics subscription.

Ed and I talk about making the first acquisition in a holding company strategy, working at the intersection of hardware and software, talent planning and sales development, and life running a company while being a new parent. Enjoy!

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at www.AlexBridgeman.com

Links:

Ed on LinkedIn

AVUITY

Evermore Industries

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:23) - Acquiring AVUITY

(00:07:20) - Characteristics that make a great business to acquire

(00:11:38) - Competing with Venture-backed businesses

(00:13:34) - Advice from investors

(00:17:25) - Accelerating Revenue Growth

(00:22:44) - Measuring customer ROI

(00:25:09) - Data application between customers

(00:29:30) - Hiring plans

(00:36:33) - Growth pain points

(00:38:55) - Learning to sell

(00:40:26) - Life as a new parent & operator