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PODCAST

Think Like an Owner

Exploring how the most ambitious CEOs grow great companies. Each week we dive into the strategies and tactics that build transformative businesses with the operators doing it firsthand. Learn more at https://tlaopodcast.com/

business careers

All Episodes

53:53

David Johnson - Building a Jeep Ecommerce Business -...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/12/15

David Johnson started Northridge 4x4, a Jeep parts and accessories business, in his father’s garage and eventually hired his father and brother to help in the business. The company only grew from there and David has several great stories in his 20 years growing the business. Northridge also does most business online and so a good portion of our conversation revolves around running an e-commerce business model. In the episode we talk about the hires he made to grow the company, why he still

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56:01

Brandon Laughridge - Blending Real Estate and SMBs -...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/12/08

My guest is Brandon Laughridge. Brandon lives in Kansas City and owns a property management company North Terrace and a furniture and home interior store Nell Hill’s, along with a growing real estate portfolio. This is the first episode on the podcast where we discuss how real estate overlaps with owning small companies, something I hadn’t spent much time thinking about until meeting Brandon. Those on Twitter will recognize Brandon as he has been a key contributor to SMB Twitter, perhaps most

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49:45

Matt Estep - Picking Low Hanging Fruit Off the Ground...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/12/01

My guest Matt Estep got his business start early in life when he started a go-kart manufacturing business in high school with dreams of eventually being a professional NASCAR driver. The business still exists today but Matt sold it with other plans in mind. Matt went to Harvard Business School, launched a search fund, and acquired Midwest Supplies. Following the sale of that business to a private equity group, Matt has invested in multiple other small companies and dozens of search funds. During the

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46:14

Aaron Green - The CEO Role in a Growing Company - Ep. 39

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/11/24

My guest Aaron Green founded a staffing company called Professional Staffing Group, or PSG, in 1996. He has grown it along with 6 other related companies to just shy of $100m in revenue and 2,000 employees. Most of my guests operate small companies and PSG of course started small, but I wanted to learn from an owner who had managed to scale a company and their role in it over a long period of time. Frequent listeners of Think Like an Owner may notice a connection to previous guest Jared Henderson,

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48:24

Mitchell Blackmon - Operating and Growing a Chimney...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/11/17

My guest, Mitchell Blackmon started Patriot Chimney, a chimney service and installation business in Roanoke, VA, last year with his brother Matt and his friend Billy. They have recently made their first hire and have another one coming shortly, a testament to the growth they’ve been experiencing. If you liked the recent episode with Rich Jordan, you’re going to like Mitchell’s story too as he’s thinking about many of the growing pains and plans. We talk about getting into college despite losing the

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46:29

Lacey Wismer - Getting More Women in Search - Ep. 37

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/11/10

My guest on this episode is Lacey Wismer. Lacey runs her recently started search investment fund called Hunter Search Capital and has been conducting research on female searchers and unique challenges they encounter while seeking and operating a business. We talk extensively about women in search along with how she’s seen the model grow over her career, alternative models in search, constructing a searcher’s board, and how she’s instilling entrepreneurial values with her two daughters. Speaking

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50:06

Rich Jordan - Buying a Small Plumbing Business - Ep. 36

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/11/03

My guest is Rich Jordan. Rich bought a home service plumbing business only a few short weeks ago in Pennsylvania. If you’re on Twitter, you might already be familiar with Rich as he has been tweeting about his time running the business and has been so much fun to follow. If you’re not already following him you’re missing out. During the episode we talk about Rich’s first few days in the business getting his hands dirty, fighting off competing offers for his plumbers from competitors, and a few moves

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43:52

Mark Sinatra - Going Off-Playbook as CEO - Ep. 35

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/10/27

My guest, Mark Sinatra, raised a traditional search fund with a partner in 2006 after graduated from Wharton and a year and a half later acquired an HR company called Staff One HR. I’ll let him tell the full story but there were significant ups and downs running the company including moving the company from Southern Oklahoma to Dallas, managing staff turnover of roughly 85% during that move, and losing their biggest customer who was 30% of their revenue. Despite those downs, the company grew

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53:14

A.J. Gordon - Running a 3rd Generation Family...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/10/20

A.J. Gordon runs Gordon Aluminum in Schofield, WI, a company that was founded by his grandfather, passed to A.J.’s father, and eventually to A.J. himself. The company has a fascinating story told in great detail that includes machines breaking down, closing business lines, multiple recessions, and a lightning strike that set fire to their offices and burned their computers and data, forcing them to start from scratch. This is a story about a company and family’s will to survive, rebuild, flourish,

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41:28

Jared Henderson - Operating with a Social Mission -...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/10/13

I interview many folks with unique backgrounds and Jared is among the most unique. Jared worked at NASA, then McKinsey, got his MBA at Harvard, then alternated between working at McKinsey and Teach for America, ran for governor of Arkansas, and last year became the CEO of Assist Services. Assist is a Portland based transportation company for underprivileged children to help them get to and from school and other important locations. Jared is leading Assist Services to become a nationwide company, all

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60:37

Collin Hathaway - Investing and Operating in Home...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/10/06

My guest today is Collin Hathaway. Collin runs a small micro private equity fund in Seattle, WA called Skylight Capital and has developed a strong core competence in plumbing, HVAC, roofing, and other home services businesses. He also has one of the most interesting stories I’ve heard of getting into micro private equity. During the episode we talk about his path to Skylight, why he focuses on home services businesses, characteristics he looks for in new acquisitions, and a little bit of his home

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54:48

Ryan Lechner & Nico Gimenez - Searching with a...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/09/29

My two guests for this episode are Ryan Lechner and Nico Gimenez who have raised a traditional search fund together as partners called Bonsai Group and are a few months into their search. I’ve had searchers with partners on the podcast before, Sam Rosati being a great example, but I haven’t had them on the podcast before together. What made this episode particularly fun is Ryan and Nico are lifelong friends and it shows. Finding a partner for a search with aligned values can be very difficult and

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45:36

Brian Vanderheyden - Owner of Richmond Alarm Company...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/09/22

My guest is Brian Vanderheyden who ran a search from Chicago starting in 2015 and 2 years later in 2017 acquired a company called Richmond Alarm Company in Richmond, VA. Richmond Alarm was founded 73 years ago and Brian acquired the business from the founder’s two sons who had taken over the business from the father. During the episode we talk about Richmond Alarm’s history and their in-office museum of 73 years of security technology, how he’s developed his team over time, the dynamics of the

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52:38

Scott Picker - Founder & Owner of Aspen Creek...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/09/15

My guest today is Scott Picker. Scott was born and raised in Oregon and went to college at Washington State University where he majored in agriculture education and horticulture, before starting Aspen Creek Landscaping in Sherwood, Oregon. Over the last 20 years, Scott has built a 55 employee landscape construction and maintenance company focused on high end residential and local wineries. During the episode we talk about him planning out and building Aspen with his wife from the ground up, how it

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58:28

Ben Rudman - Investing in Consumer Businesses - Ep. 28

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/09/08

Most of the investors I’ve had on the podcast aren’t interested in consumer businesses, which is precisely why I wanted to talk to a consumer focused investor. Enter Ben Rudman. Ben is the founder of Charis Consumer Partners, a consumer focused independent sponsor, and has a passion for consumer businesses that is hard to resist. In this conversation, we review his time developing his expertise in consumer, why it’s such a challenging place for investors and where he looks to invest, some pitfalls

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47:14

Mason Myers - Buffett Inspired Ownership at Greybull...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/09/01

My guest today, Mason Myers, has spent the last 10 years building an incredible investment vehicle called Greybull Stewardship. With Greybull, Mason has acquired 11 portfolio companies with an evergreen fund structure with opportunities for LPs to add or withdraw capital only every four years. This structure gives Greybull a very long time horizon to offer the right owners a great home for their business. Mason’s founding idea behind Greybull was to build the firm he believed owners deserved to sell

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53:06

Joel Blake - Entrepreneurship through Apprenticeship...

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/08/25

My guest today, Joel Blake, has a fascinated story about how he became an owner of a manufacturing sales company called Marketing Technologies. Before acquiring, Joel first worked for the company as an employee before he and another partner took over the business from the two retiring owners. Joel calls this model entrepreneurship through apprenticeship and it’s a major topic of our discussion. Joel also, as you can imagine, has a deep appreciation for sales and we talk extensively about how to

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33:19

Betsy Brandt - Preparing to Search - Ep. 25

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/08/18

I’ve done a few search fund focused episodes, for instance last week’s episode focused on life during a search. In this episode exploring search funds, Betsy Brandt joins me to talk her preparation in launching her search fund, Forest Park Capital. I wanted to hear more about how a search fund is planned, the benefits of an MBA program, how capital is raised, and so on. Betsy was kind enough to share her experience working in investment banking and operating at a private equity backed company, going

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48:23

Jules Brenner - Life as a Searcher - Ep. 24

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/08/11

I continue exploring search funds and with this episode I talk with a searcher who is in the middle of the process and thus is experiencing it’s ups and downs live. My guest, Jules Brenner, runs a self-funded search called Manufacturing Succession and as the name implies is focused on acquiring a manufacturing company. Jules has an interesting background with engineering and start-ups and talks about how that background guides his search. In addition to life as a searcher, we talk about preparing

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40:54

Trish Higgins - Chenmark Five Years Later - Ep. 23

Think Like an Owner ·

2020/08/04

Trish Higgins was the guest on my very first podcast episode and was kind enough to share her time with me when I had no downloads, no show, and no website. Funny enough, that first episode is still my most downloaded episode to date. A lot has happened since then and I’m very excited to have Trish on the show for a second episode. In this episode, we cover Trish’s recent move to the operating side, how Chenmark has evolved including what’s become easier and more difficult over time, and we dive

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283 results

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