Think Like an Owner

My guest today is Jeff Homer, who's pursued one of the most interesting consolidation theses I've ever heard, music schools and more recently dance studios through his company, Ensemble Performing Arts. And his pace is incredible, acquiring essentially a school per month for five years, totaling 70 acquisitions and integrations. The number of reps he's had is incredible, and has given him a huge amount of experience to learn from. Everything from industry theses, to integration, working with sellers, building a team, debt, he's built an expertise in all facets and it's very impressive.

Jeff and I talk about pursuing consolidation strategies, what he's learned in building his own, adding ancillary products and services, and so much more. Jeff is also now investing in others pursuing consolidations and I highly recommend reaching out to him if one is top of mind for you.

Lastly, before the episode, I've launched my own search called Airframe Group and I'm looking for great companies and experts in industrial services and value-added distribution. Please reach out at [email protected] if you'd like to connect!

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

Jeff on LinkedIn

Ensemble Performing Arts

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:48) - Ensemble and Jeff's career

(00:06:39) - What is the process of buying and overhauling a school?

(00:13:43) - How have sources of funding for you changed?

(00:19:01) - Where do you feel like you've improved the most on this journey?

(00:22:11) - Is there a characteristic or culture you're looking to complement when hiring?

(00:24:13) - What skill must you improve to grow to hundreds of schools?

(00:28:09) - What is your consolidation thesis?

(00:30:44) - Are there other industries you've considered when acquiring?

(00:34:21) - What early mistakes can people avoid in consolidations?

(00:36:29) - Brand integrations

(00:43:11) - What are ancillary services you're looking for?

(00:47:19) - What flywheels are you thinking about within the business?

(00:50:05) - How have you streamlined your processes?

(00:53:58) - Valuations in lower middle markets vs. larger markets

(00:57:55) - What are other ways to drive value in Ensemble?

(01:00:03) - Do you own the RE of schools you acquire?

My guest today is Justin Watt, co-founder of Switchboard, which helps businesses with automation and AI tools to become more effective and efficient companies. He's the smartest person I know when it comes to automation, and I've been really excited to record this episode with him laying out his philosophy for tools and how to approach streamlining key internal processes.

We talk about hype vs reality with AI tools, preparing your company for automation and laying the foundation through cleaner data, the three pillars of modernizing a company via people, process, and technology, and so much more!

One last note, I've launched my own search called Airframe Group and I'm looking for great companies and experts in industrial services and value-added distribution. Please reach out, always excited to meet owners and experts in the industry. Email me at [email protected].

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

Justin on X

Switchboard

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:03) - Justin's career and background

(00:07:31) - The three pillars of automation

(00:11:56) - Examples of implementing new tools in current processes

(00:18:26) - How can you see through superfluous marketing?

(00:21:23) - What questions should people be asking when evaluating new software tools?

(00:23:06) - What do companies need to work on before they can consider implementing automation?

(00:26:20) - The AI hype & discerning noise from signal

(00:36:57) - Enablement infrastructures

(00:42:28) - What automations do you enjoy spending the most time on?

(00:49:14) - Reinventing HR Processes

(00:51:26) - The anatomy of automation

(00:53:10) - What are some quick wins you often see with companies you work with in automation?

(00:55:38) - What advice do you share with folks trying to implement automation?

I formed Airframe Group to acquire and build a transformative company in aviation services that is loyal to customers, moves fast, and pursues an ambitious vision for the long-term. I have a life-long passion for aviation and want to my next life chapter creating organizations that give the aviation community their absolute best.

My ideal partner is an owner ready for their next chapter of life and wants to transition the company to a new owner who will lead their employees, customers, and vendors toward a bright future. Other characteristics I'm looking for include the company being over $10 million in revenue, growing profitably, and providing a meaningful and important service in aviation.

I'm backed by exceptional investors and active CEOs, all with deep experience building high-performing companies that provide talented employees and customers a long-term home.

I'm an entrepreneur at heart, having founded a media business covering how ambitious CEOs grow great companies through a podcast called Think Like an Owner and a retired print publication. Through the podcast, I've met over 250 CEOs like Craig Fuller (CEO of Flying Magazine), and Joel Peterson (former Chairman of JetBlue), among many others. I was chief of staff at HousingWire, a news organization for the housing and construction markets, which we transformed into an information services company through key data acquisition and integration.

I've seen and studied how transformative companies are built, and I'm ready to lead and grow one myself in aviation.

If you're contemplating the next chapter after leading your company, please reach out – I'd love to hear from you. ([email protected])

Episode 235: 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 https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Chris on LinkedIn

Hoffmann Brothers

NexStar Network

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:39) - Hoffman University

(00:06:27) - Enabling scale and revenue growth

(00:08:56) - Differences in PE-backed company structures

(00:12:26) - Retention and morale-boosting tactics

(00:15:59) - Leadership team composition

(00:19:17) - Surfacing high-performers & evaluating management teams

(00:26:53) - Using Search Firms to find talent

(00:28:26) - Choosing an Executive Search firm

(00:31:31) - Financial sponsor interest in the HVAC and Home Services market

(00:34:16) - Reasons Consolidators are failing

(00:36:41) - Debt, Public Equity Strategies & Fund Investing

(00:46:01) - Goals for the family office

(00:47:48) - Building new locations from scratch vs. acquiring existing companies

(00:53:38) - Acquiring a school

(00:56:53) - Changing strongly held beliefs

(00:57:55) - Chris' favorite business

Ep.234: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Auren Hoffman (@auren).

In this episode, I sit down with Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph and partner at Flex Capital. The conversation centers around Auren's experiences in running data companies and his insights into the data as a service market. We discuss the slower-than-expected growth in the buyer's market for data, and what it takes for data companies to achieve significant scale, using ZoomInfo as a prominent example. The discussion also covers team management, including hiring and letting go of employees. I highly recommend Hoffman's podcast 'World of DaaS' for those interested in data businesses.

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:

Auren on X

World of DaaS Podcast

SafeGraph

Flex Capital

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:27) - What trend are you trying to learn more about in the Data market today?

(00:09:58) - Factors in why companies may not be buying data

(00:14:13) - Are there cracks in the "data is the new oil" thesis?

(00:15:50) - Common guidelines for data companies

(00;17:54) - How would you apply a B2B SaaS playbook to a data sales company?

(00:18:53) - What is the sales process for SafeGraph?

(00:22:17) - How have you reinvented yourself as a CEO?

(00:26:17) - How do you audit your time?

(00:28:40 - What traits do you look for in recruiting executives?

(00:33:47) - Leveraging tools to help one person be as effective as 2-3 people

(00:40:19) - Are there common reasons you've found someone not to be successful?

(00:42:41) - What questions do you ask to find if someone is a good fit?

(00:44:53) - What lessons have you learned from hiring and managing?

(00:55:46) - Flex Capital

(00:57:12) - How can folks reach out to you?

Ep. 232: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Sara Heston (@sara-heston).

My guest today is Sara Heston. We discuss the latest findings from the 2024 Stanford Search Fund Study, which reviews trends from the past two years. Key topics include rapid growth in the Search Fund industry, changing searcher backgrounds such as 24% of searchers not having an MBA, return trends, drivers of outsized returns, and industry dynamics. Sara also shares her transition to a director role at Anacapa. The episode provides a primer on the Search Fund model, making it an excellent resource for those less familiar with Search Funds.

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:

2024 Search Fund Study

Sara on LinkedIn

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:13) - What are some high-level takeaways from the study?

(00:04:26) - Why has the number of investors declined?

(00:08:16) - Is there a formula for the ideal Searcher?

(00:09:49) - How much more prepared are Searchers today than 10 years ago?

(00:12:10) - What stood out to you regarding the number of LOIs and industries Searchers are looking at?

(00:16:47) - What are you looking to track regarding long-term holds?

(00:20:25) - How do you see entrepreneurs exiting holding companies?

(00:26:24) - Discussing the 2017-2020 cohort

(00:31:41) - Are there any changes in the questions you're asked by students interested in Search?

(00:33:28) - The increase in women and minorities in Search

(00:35:00) - What do you hope to see in future studies?

Ep.231: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Rick Ruback and Royce Yudkoff.

My guests today are Rick Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, both Harvard professors for entrepreneurship through acquisition and co-authors of the most popular and well-known piece of content in search, the HBR book How to Buy a Small Business which I would consider the bible of the search fund world. It's one of the first resources I recommend for folks wanting to learn about search, besides this podcast of course. On top of the book, Rick and Royce have now launched their own podcast titled Think Big Buy Small that is a great primer for search funds, especially self-funded models, and I highly recommend giving it a listen.

Rick, Royce, and I talk about their careers as professors, case studies on small business they often reference, common threads through case studies and advice for new CEOs, ways search has changed, and the mission of their new podcast.

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:

HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business

Think Big Buy Small Podcast

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:18) - What made you decide to write the book?

(00:07:17) - How have you become a more effective teacher?

(00:12:29) - What cases or scenarios have been most challenging for CEOs to work through?

(00:19:03) - What are some reasons searchers buy cyclical businesses?

(00:25:06) - What recurring concepts are you trying to teach or questions CEOs ask?

(00:28:32) - What are your favorite cases to teach?

(00:33:16) - What's changing or evolving in the Search space?

(00:40:56) - What are the missions and goals of the Podcast?

(00:46:11) - What would you add if you wrote a new book edition?

Ep.230: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Anand Sanwal (@anandsanwal).

My guest today is Anand Sanwal, founder and former CEO of CB Insights, which provides data and intelligence on private markets, companies, and investors. Anand recently hired a new CEO for CB Insights and stepped into a chairman role. Anand ran the company for 14 years and developed a unique perspective on leading that I was really excited to learn more about. He's a deep thinker, and if you liked recent episodes with Henry Schuck and Ayman Al-Abdullah, you'll love this one too.

Anand and I talk about why he stepped out of the CEO role and the type of person he looked for to replace him, how new CEOs should start their first couple months in a new company, how CB Insights has shaped his views on private markets, and the new entrepreneurial school he's launching to turn young kids into business pros.

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:

CB Insights

Anand on LinkedIn

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:47) - Evaluating the effectiveness of a CEO

(00:06:21) - Building repeatable processes

(00:09:05) - Executive recruiting strategies

(00:19:06) - Evaluating the instincts of a candidate

(00:21:44) - What are the best ways to effectively spend your time as a new CEO?

(00:27:06) - Tactics for influencing culture

(00:33:33) - How do you think about moving quickly and effectively?

(00:36:52) - Being an insurgent company

(00:40:07) - Growth advantages

(00:42:38) - What have incumbent companies eliminated in order to move faster?

(00:45:07) - Are there any founders or CEOs you study?

(00:54:49) - Anand's entrepreneurship school

(01:10:35) - Thoughts on private markets

Ep.228: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Brett Kelly (@BrettKPG).

My guest on this episode is Brett Kelly, founder and CEO of Kelly Partners, a publicly traded accounting, tax, and advisory firm with global ambitions and a roughly $350m market cap. Since 2006 they have done 80 acquisitions and developed a strong playbook for building best-in-class accounting firms with a focus on high-net-worth clients and growing companies. Brett is a really serious and motivated leader who's pulled tons of great ideas from others and has a multi-decade vision for Kelly Partners. He's also the author of 5 books, one of which he wrote before launching Kelly when he was 22 years old.

Brett and I talk about the origins of Kelly Partners, companies and leaders he draws inspiration from, elements of his consolidation playbook, the role of technology and software, and what the future holds for Kelly.

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:

More on Brett Kelly

Brett Kelly's books

"Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

"The Art of Being Unreasonable" by Eli Broad

"Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki

"Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller

Founders Podcast

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:30) - Founding Kelly Partners and Brett's early career

(00:14:01) - What steps did you take to fast-track the company's growth?

(00:26:24) - Why is the accounting field less competitive than it seems?

(00:30:49) - The power of consolidation in business

(00:40:07) - How are you running your firm differently than a typical accounting firm?

(00:44:24) - What does an average day look like for you as CEO?

(00:48:44) - What impact did IPO-ing have on the business?

(00:53:30) - Learnings from writing books

(01:00:11) - What skills are you working on to become a better CEO?

(01:05:42) - How do you view technology as part of your firm?

(01:10:32) - What are you excited about over the next 5 years?

Ep.227: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Dustin Seal (@dustinseale).

My guest today is Dustin Seale, co-author of Lead Through Anything alongside Ed Manfre and managing partner at executive search and leadership firm, Heidrick & Struggles. Dustin has spent his career working with high-performing CEOs from over 70 countries to help transform teams and find the right successors for CEOs and other C-suite executives.

We talk about what to look for in CEO successors, including the Microsoft search Dustin's firm led to replace Steve Ballmer, why internal talent is often discounted, key predictors for success in leaders, and the core characteristics of purpose, vitality, and agility that all the best leaders Dustin has studied have, and how other CEOs can develop those traits.

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:

Lead Through Anything by Dustin Seale

Dustin on Linkedin

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:48) - The process of replacing Steve Balmer as CEO of Microsoft

(00:09:31) - Pros and cons of internal vs. external candidates in a CEO search

(00:10:59) - What qualities are you looking for in a CEO for a company as large as Microsoft?

(00:16:46) - Creating flexibility with nonlinear planning

(00:26:51) - Pushing messages as a CEO

(00:29:39) - Turning a group of individuals into a team united

(00:32:47) - How new CEOs can make efficient evaluations?

(00:41:06) - Dustin's process for writing the book

(00:47:58) - Measuring purpose, vitality, and agility

(00:52:17) - Dealing with burnout and lack of fulfillment

(00:56:24) - Dustin's journey to improve vitality

(00:59:54) - Key concepts to take away from the book