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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

97:26

It Really Happened: 100% Financing for an $8m Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/07/04

Register for the webinars:Thu July 11 - SBA Lender Roundtable: State of the Market - https://bit.ly/4eJqUXBFri July 12 - Due Diligence Office Hours - https://bit.ly/3VPQf9pWe caution against thinking you can find it: 100% seller financing. But Renan Cortez did — and on a sizable business.Topics in Renan’s interview:His background as an Army medicLearning about acquisition via Codie SanchezUsing a virtual assistant to search for a businessNegotiating a 100% seller noteFeeling motivated by

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107:22

Turning $500k into a $38m Holdco (No Investors)

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/07/01

Register for the webinars:Thu July 11 - SBA Lender Roundtable: State of the Market - https://bit.ly/3XSdIcGFri July 12 - Due Diligence Office Hours - https://bit.ly/3W1zQA6Garrison Snell enjoyed a modest exit at age 24. By 30, he'd parlayed that into a holdco with $9m EBITDA and a mission.Topics in Garrison’s interview:Building and exiting a recording artist marketing agencyHis objective to do the most good for the most peopleEarly ventures into real estateBuying and quickly selling a

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102:51

Candid Reflections on 7 Years of SMB Ownership

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/06/27

Register here for the webinar, How to Buy a Business & Hire an Operator at Oncehttps://bit.ly/3KJnYwg7 years ago Dan Verboski bought a sign business with $650k in earnings. He's doubled it, but ownership has taken a toll.Topics in Dan’s interview:Background in the Marines and retailBuying a sign company in Tyler, TexasCulture clashes and problem employeesSelling off his real estate to keep the business goingHow he learned to fire fasterBuilding a new company cultureMaking personal

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67:56

Announcing: Minds Capital

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/06/24

Register here for the webinar, How to Buy a Business & Hire an Operator at Oncehttps://bit.ly/3KH9RaSWill Smith has partnered with Niklas James & Max Lummis in a fund to invest in searcher & independent sponsor deals.Topics in this episode:Why raise a fund?How a fund comes togetherWhat it was like to raise money from LPs for a blind poolWhy a business might be great for a searcher but not an investorHow different investors have different needsWhy small acquisitions are hard for

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89:01

Why Work IN the Business You Buy (Not Just On It)

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/06/20

Register here for the webinar, How to Buy a Business & Hire an Operator at Oncehttps://bit.ly/3Rto4Mc--Get Remediation Company CIM - Request the NDA to get the CIM of the Midwestern niche remediation company.https://bit.ly/45spnAI--Before acquiring a commercial painting business doing around $2m, Colin Gates worked on a crew as one of its painters.Topics in Colin's interview:Aggressively saving while working in private equityRecurring revenue is BSDon’t sweat getting the perfect

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113:53

3x Revenue Despite Turnover, Hangovers & Threats

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/06/17

Register here for the webinar, How to Buy a Business & Hire an Operator at Oncehttps://bit.ly/3RuI018--Get Remediation Company CIM - Request the NDA to get the CIM of the Midwestern niche remediation company.https://bit.ly/4b6rnjA--JD Beck transformed a small (and small-town) plumbing business, took it into a larger market, and tripled it in a year.Topics in JD’s interview:Lessons learned from a failed dealBuying a tiny plumbing businessBringing operations into the 21st CenturyLearning

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99:46

1 Business vs. Many: Deciding to Roll Up

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/06/13

Elliott Edge started as a searcher looking or a single business, then pivoted to a roll-up. He's 7 acquisitions in.Topics in Elliot’s interview:His philosophy on submitting LOI’sAcquiring a managed service provider amidst CovidHis wife’s role in the acquisitionValue of an MBA in acquiring a businessQuickly going remote when Covid hitBuilding trust with employeesHow soon and fast to make changesCreating more value through roll-upsIntegrating new acquisitions into the roll-upHis belief in

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104:01

2 Welders and a Shop... to $3.8m in Sales

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/06/10

Register here for the webinar, The DO's & DON'Ts of the LOI (legal office hours)https://bit.ly/3VeWF1BMatt Pohl & his wife bought a small welding business with extreme key person risk. They 4x'd the business in 2 years.Topics in Matt’s interview:Starting, growing and selling his own businessAcquiring a welding business with his wifeLearning how to hire weldersThe difficulties of hiring through a staffing agencyTransient nature of weldersGrowing while maintaining marginsStress of

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117:17

Buying a Bankrupt 117-Year-Old Manufacturer

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/06/06

Register here for the webinar, The DO's & DON'Ts of the LOI (legal office hours)https://bit.ly/3yCQaOwDespite having no experience in manufacturing, Jens Grudno jumped when he heard about a failing straight-razor business.Topics in Jens’s interview:Buying a bankrupt razor manufacturerEmbracing risk in German business cultureCleaning out and moving a 116-year old businessAnother company poaching their clientsPitfalls to avoid when buying a businessDeveloping a new, innovative

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116:54

Rolling Up EBITDA and Rents with Auto Repair Shops

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/06/03

Register here for the webinar, The DO's & DON'Ts of the LOI (legal office hours)https://bit.ly/4538koZStephen Quindlen & Paul Westhart have found powerful multipliers that could yield huge returns in an unlikely industry.Topics in Stephen and Paul’s interview:Acquiring auto repair shopsRetaining talent by adding employee benefitsFleet vs. passenger car businessAlmost losing a foreman on day oneWhy they love the Mountain WestRecruiting California workers to IdahoInnovative real

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81:15

3 Years Later, Climbing Out of the J Curve

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/30

Matt Drndak bought a parts business with a plan to grow it. It worked — he's doubled earnings. But it's taken patience.Topics in Matt’s interview:Losing everything in the Great RecessionHis experience in franchisesBuying an online store for construction equipment partsLeveraging service to stand out from competitorsDetermining the value of the inventoryServing customers with low computer literacyNon-mechanic buying a mechanical parts businessCapturing the seller’s technical knowledge in

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97:25

From Midnight Deliveries to $28m Holdco (in 6 Years)

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/28

Summary from Webflow: The first business Colin King bought was tiny & unpleasant but also the crucial first step to buying more & better ones.Topics in Colin’s interview:Finding his first business (and business partner) on CraigslistDelivering auto parts in the middle of the nightBuying a turnaround silk florals businessWhen his clothing business doubled in revenue overnightDay-to-day logistics of running diverse businessesAcquiring remote businesses: bookkeeping and

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87:43

Finding a Great Business in Cow Country

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/23

Cody Agee thought food testing would be a good recession-resistant business to buy. 2 weeks later, one listed for sale.Topics in Cody interview:Bypassing business schoolCashing out his 401(k) without using ROBSBuying a food safety and testing labThe moat of licensing requirementsHis advantage over much larger competitorsAdjusting purchase price based on quality of earnings reportFinding investors on TwitterPersonally guaranteeing the seller noteHow he uses EBITDAR vs. EBITDAPutting in an

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85:08

Art of the Roll-Up: 40 Businesses in 4 Years

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/20

Jeff Homer bought a small local music school as a fun side hustle. It turned out to be the opportunity of a lifetime.Topics in Jeff interview:Switching from high finance to music schoolsBuying his first music school as a side projectRaising growth equity after first 2 acquisitionsAcquiring a music school every monthArtists’ negative predisposition toward sellingComparing profitability of music vs. danceImportance of general managers in scalingImplementing apps to streamline operationsOther

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90:13

When a Restaurant Is a Great Business to Buy

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/16

Jarett Berke told his intermediary "no restaurants" but changed his tune when he saw what a great business Lou's was.Topics in Jarett’s interview:Finding a business through an accountantWhy restaurants are a tough businessComparing military service to running a restaurantBuying a restaurant with exceptional marginsLearning every job in the restaurantPivoting to delivery during CovidDoing a stock deal instead of an asset purchaseReinvesting by adding tables and renovating60% growth in 6

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96:04

Building a $10m Platform from 2 Low-SDE Businesses

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/13

Scott Walton bought 2 barely-profitable blue collar companies, changed the culture, unlocked growth & hired a president.Topics in Scott’s interview:Acquiring with a partnerSolving their recruitment problemDoubling revenue in 18 monthsHis 3-step LOI strategyIncentivizing good customer serviceImproving their company cultureChallenges after acquisitionFinancing without the SBACreative deal structuringHis thoughts on buying smallReferences and how to contact

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102:14

Holdco Origin Story: The Bumpy Road to $3m EBITDA

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/09

4 acquisitions, 3 years after the first deal, and 2 dishonest sellers before Chandra Rao went full-time in his holdco.Topics in Chandra’s interview:Learning from due diligence mistakesLosing $300k in the first yearChallenges with payment terms and working capitalTrue value of a seller noteOne of his partners embezzled from the companyFpppChoosing a conventional loan over SBAThe electrical contracting and fiber optic cabling businesses6x growth in 4 yearsJuggling a roll-up and a W-2A seller

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88:39

The Allure of Buying a Marketplace Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/06

Zach Smith bought a 30-year-old membership business that connects patients with dentists to return it to former glory.Topics in Zach’s interview:His exit from UberDifficulty of starting a marketplace businessWhen spreadsheets meet realityBuying a shrinking businessGoing with a stock sale instead of asset saleCurrent problems with dental insurance plansHow American Dental Care differs from insuranceThe view from the bottom of the J curveHis plan to grow all sides of the marketplaceForgoing

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94:10

How an American Bought a Canadian Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/05/02

Most first-timers shy away from buying across borders. Not Christi Loucks, whose Canadian acquisition did $550k of SDE.Topics in Christi’s interview:Buying a business for personal fulfillmentPainful broken dealsChallenges of buying a cross-border business in CanadaThe positive role emotions play in dealmakingLosing (and regaining) 55% of her clients after transitionThe line between cold outreach and spamConstant change in the tech industryUnexpected expenses after transitionPlanning for her

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103:00

Selling $100k of Dog Training… Per Day

Acquiring Minds ·

2024/04/29

Get $200 off your ticket to the M&A Launchpad Conference in Houston on May 11th:https://www.malaunchpad.com & enter code ACQUIRINGMINDSGarth Fasano searched part time for 5 years before finding a target with very sticky revenue & great business-buyer fit.Topics in Garth’s interview:Searching for 5 yearsBenefiting from the SBA looking at calendar-year financials (not TTM)Top Dog’s unique business modelWhy this business should be bought, not builtHis relationship to a dog training

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427 results

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