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PODCAST

Acquiring Minds

Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs. Learn how to buy a business from the entrepreneurs who have already done it. 2x per week: stories, insights, & valuable advice about acquisition entrepreneurship. Hosted by Will Smith, who is on his own path to acquire a business. Also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquiringMinds Sign up for episode summaries at: https://acquiringminds.co

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

87:33

Why Treat an Acquisition Like a Startup

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/03/06

Register for the webinars:5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu March 6 - https://bit.ly/3QEgIoAEmployee Issues & Non-Competes When Buying a Business - Thu March 13 - https://bit.ly/4koXrFbLive Q&A with Sean Daly - Tue March 18 - https://bit.ly/41yzjZ7Day 1 changes? Yes please. Sean Daly brought a spirit of experimentation, iteration, and speed to a small HVAC business.Topics in Sean’s interview:Founding and exiting his own companyGoing hard with cold outreachHiring an

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109:59

Buying in a Small Market, Building a Regional Powerhouse

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/03/03

Register for:Live Q&A with Jonathan Bournigal - Thu March 19 - https://bit.ly/41lwPwcWebinar: 5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu March 6 - https://bit.ly/41m0o0iJonathan Bournigal returned to his native Dominican Republic to buy a business. He found a small one and has 6x'd it.Topics in Jonathan’s interview:Boomer-owned businesses vs family-run businessesAvoiding the label of “tire kicker”Searching in a country the size of Rhode IslandWhy multiples are higher in the Dominican

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80:09

How to Build a Holdco Foundation: Patiently

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/27

Register for the webinar:5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu March 6 - https://bit.ly/435spfeBarker Squire has grown his crane servicing business gradually over 6 years. Now he turns his attention to what's next.Topics in Barker’s interview:Leading teams in the Marine CorpsGetting a conventional loan instead of SBAKeeping his ears open in seller meetingsPros and cons of government contractsEmployees walking outStaying safe in a dangerous jobThe owner staying as an employeeGrowing

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88:53

Back from the Brink: When Everybody Quits Day 1

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/24

Register for the webinar:First 100 Days: Survive & Thrive as a New Business Owner - Wed Feb 26 - https://bit.ly/4hFqGle24 hours into Jack Carr's ownership of a tiny HVAC business, disaster struck. Just 2.5 years later, it did $3m in sales.Topics in Jack’s interview:All HVAC techs quit on the first dayBuying an HVAC business with no physical locationWhy he feels like his 2x multiple was too highTeaching himself HVAC skills via YouTubeHow he prices a book of businessHis process for

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103:36

How to Buy & Transform a 120-Year-Old Manufacturer

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/20

Register for the webinars:Using a Sale-Leaseback to Buy a Business - Thu Feb 20 - https://bit.ly/3QjGZYRFirst 100 Days: Survive & Thrive as a New Business Owner - Wed Feb 26 - https://bit.ly/4hCxC2GSubscribe to the new podcast, Meeting of the Minds:On YouTubeSpotify & Apple links coming soon!Lucas Philips bought a niche manufacturer with $200k SDE, aiming to make it an ecommerce/DTC business. It's working.Topics in Lucas’s interview:How his startup mindset influenced his

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112:22

Behind Every Great Searcher: A Wife's Journey with...

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/17

Register for the webinars:Using a Sale-Leaseback to Buy a Business - Thu Feb 20 - https://bit.ly/3X1BqSQSubscribe to the new podcast, Meeting of the Minds:On YouTubeSpotify & Apple links coming soon!Cliff & Christine Nelson navigated him buying a big but remote business while she was pregnant, then a first-time mom.Topics in Cliff and Christine’s interview:Highs and lows of the 2-year searchCliff quitting his job right before CovidBecoming parents and closing on a business the same

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79:57

Networking His Way to $800k SDE

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/13

Register for the webinars:Legal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/4aOwtlMUsing a Sale-Leaseback to Buy a Business - Thu Feb 20 - https://bit.ly/4hQbn9eIt took Alex Holley a few months of daily meetings to find a $4.5m home services business in his local Louisville, KY.Topics in Alex’s interview:Networking through 100 meetings in 4 monthsBuying 2 businesses at onceLearning how to run a crewGoing on jobs to learn about the workLeaving consulting for blue-collar

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70:28

Buy, Grow, Exit for a 24x Return in 3.5 Years

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/10

Register for the webinars:Legal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/414vOtcUsing a Sale-Leaseback to Buy a Business - Thu Feb 20 - https://bit.ly/42I4dPYFormer guest Chris Edwards has sold the $1.7m flooring business he bought with $200k of his own money and an SBA loan.Topics in Chris’s interview:Why he chose to sell his flooring businessDeciding not to rebrandOwning and operating in a small, isolated townA countertop acquisition that went southHow a holdco is different

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84:27

How to Lead a Trades Business Without Knowing the Trade

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/06

Register for the webinars:5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/4aNHmEzLegal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/3PXBEX6Industry-agnostic Trip Biesanz brought his sales skills to a glass fabrication & install business doing $3m in revenue.Topics in Trip’s interview:Being a franchisee for 7 yearsNetworking through MBBI and XPXWorking with Calder Capital to find a businessNarrowing down his search to constructionValue he saw in long-term

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101:13

How to Move the Needle in a $600k SDE Trades Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/02/03

Register for the webinars:5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/3En1vFuLegal Aspects of Debt Financing - Thu Feb 13 - https://bit.ly/3EjjOex7 months into ownership of a $2m fencing business, Kirk Olson is learning how to manage culture, tech, and cash flow.Topics in Kirk’s interview:Achieving financial independence, but deciding not to retireBuying a business for a total life upgradeNegotiating with very difficult sellersStructuring real estate into the

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101:35

Awakening to Entrepreneurship to Buy a Not-Boring...

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/30

Register for the webinars: Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/4hlhlic5 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/3QautetWhen Shell Zhang recognized her own tolerance for risk she stepped off a linear path to buy a $600k SDE travel business.Topics in Shell’s interview:Buying a group tour businessOvercoming key-person riskGoing from a regional company to a national companyAvoiding “boring businesses”Paying over asking price for the

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76:36

How a Couple Left Tech to Buy a Business Together

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/27

Register for the webinars: Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/4heHi355 Stages of the Business Buying Process - Thu Feb 6 - https://bit.ly/4h7HOQjRay & Dana Chery sensed a need for change in their careers. A 26-year-old portable sink manufacturer was the answer.Topics in Dana and Ray’s interview:Going all-in as a couple buying a businessHow they beat out 50 other buyersMoving from the finance world to manufacturingBuying a portable sink manufacturerHow Ray

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123:37

How to Survive Buying into a Terrible Industry

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/23

Register for the webinar: •Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/3CbswuPMonths into his ownership, Ayo Phillips realized his industry was fatally flawed. He survived and 5 years later, exited.Topics in Ayo’s interview:Acquiring with funding from a family officeBuying a declining business in a competitive industryUnethical practices within his industryBeing honest about your motivation to buy a businessLosing 19 employees who became competitorsTreating his business

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105:20

The $50m Lifestyle Holdco

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/20

Register for the webinars: •Is It a Fair Multiple? The Art of Making Your Offer - Wed Jan 22 - https://bit.ly/4asGoxw •Legal Preparation for Your Search - Thu Jan 30 - https://bit.ly/3CbswuPAbhi Ravishankar & 3 partners devised a novel holdco structure to prioritize flexibility, cash flow, and the long term.Topics in Abhi’s interview:Going from BCG partner to small business buyerStarting a holdco with 3 friendsTheir primary and secondary partner modelSetting up contingency plans in

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93:37

How to 4x a Contracting Business in 3 Years

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/16

Mike Heath bought a garage door installer from owners who didn't use email. He grew sales fast, but profits came harder.Topics in Michael’s interview:Passing on a commercial cleaning businessAcquiring a garage door business with silent partnersInstalling an operator on day oneMessy, unkempt books from the sellerHitting a cashflow crisisBringing in a consultant and keeping her on full-timePaying off the SBA loan earlyDoubling their gross marginSplitting revenue across 3 partnersAcquiring 2

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87:32

How to Buy a $13m Business with No PG, No Investors

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/13

Sale-leaseback and asset-based lending enabled Carlo Santelli to acquire and own 100% of a $3.5m EBITDA manufacturer.Topics in Carlo’s interview:Applying 3x to Columbia before getting inLeaving a finance career to buy a businessWhy he only buys proprietary, not through brokersMaintaining deal momentum when a seller is very busyThe power of asset-based lendingThe power of a successful sale leasebackBeing comfortable learning as you goHow he thinks about riskClosing on 4 businesses this

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114:33

Bullseye: Buying a $1m SDE Business in a Hot Industry

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/09

Pete Ciaverilla bought a $12m HVAC business, then grew earnings 50% in 3 years. His timing couldn't have been better.Topics in Peter’s interview:Combining households with his parents while searchingUsing a buy-side advisorFunding less than 5% of the deal himselfTransitioning the seller’s family out of the businessBuying a company with 65 employees, $12M in revenueAdvantages of buying a bigger companyBalancing commercial and residential HVACImpact of seasonality on revenueWhy private equity

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110:21

Taking a Flower Shop from $600k to $9 Million

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/06

Michael Jacobson bought his uncle's barely-profitable 45-year-old flower shop in LA. In 4 years he's grown it 16x.Topics in Michael’s interview:Revamping his uncle’s flower shopReplacing the overpriced phone systemBuilding custom software for the floral industryWhy flower shops are hard to runHow “wire services” like 1-800 Flowers workSwitching to Google Ads for better ROIDoubling revenue with a new websiteOperating as a digital-first brand with physical locationsBecoming the French Florist

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84:26

The Path to Becoming a Better Operator & Strategist

Acquiring Minds ·

2025/01/02

Tim Lahey has doubled the $1.6m company he bought, and buying small has prepared him well for the next phase of growth.Topics in Tim’s interview:Being inspired by Doug CookLooking for a “dusty, not rusty” businessPartnering with an M&A firm to searchAcquiring a home technology companyGetting bitten on a cashflow crunchHandling customer complaints as the ownerCulture of small businessesChanging too much too fastListening for what customers wantChallenges of buying smallReferences and how

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91:10

First-Timer Buys 8-Figure Business 4 Hours Away

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/12/30

Nick Molina on how he found, acquired, & plans to manage a 275-employee business in Minneapolis from his home in Miami.Topics in Nick’s interview:Taking his first company public in 1998His unwillingness to retireThe tremendous cost of start-upsWhich state he won’t do business inBuying a business he doesn’t have to operateImportance of listening in salesLiving in Miami while owning a business in MinneapolisWhat makes a good property management businessUsing a loan broker Appeal of

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436 results

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