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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

54:22

Postmortem of a Broken Deal

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/08/10

Nick Wheeler reflects on investing countless hours to buy a beautiful business, only to have the seller kill the deal.Topics in Nick’s interview:Finding a commercial landscaping businessWinning the sellers’ trustHow he interpreted early red flags Lessons learned about due diligenceConflict with sellers over working capitalWhy the deal fell apartThe financial cost of the broken deal The emotional cost of the broken dealHow brokers can help (or hurt) your dealWhat Nick is most grateful

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80:37

The Joys & Pain of Owning a $10m City Bus Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/08/07

George Goates bought a small shuttle business that he's grown 4x in 8 years, partly by running buses for municipalities. Topics in George’s interview:Buying a transport/bussing companyPivoting into operating city busesImportance of relationships in securing contractsImpact of CovidGovernment corruption in urban transitPromotion opportunities for his employees Nasty cost of doing business in bussing: frivolous lawsuitsPotential for inorganic growth through acquisitionsDifferent niches within

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69:27

How (and Why) to Buy a B2B Services Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/08/03

Sajama Mitta wanted to make strategic decisions at the head of an organization. Buying her own business was the answer. Topics in Sajama’s interview:Using her investing background to evaluate businessesBuying an environmental health and safety consulting companyHow the founders made themselves replaceable How they keep their clients in compliance with regulationsThe fragmented nature of the industry and opportunities for growthHow California compares to other states on regulationsThe

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99:54

16 Months to Exit: Cleaning Up in Street Sweeping

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/07/31

Manny Saxena quickly bought 3 street-sweeping businesses to become the largest player in NorCal. A big PE fund noticed. Topics in Manny’s interview:The importance of maintaining a strong pipeline during searchWhy he chose a street-sweeping business during COVIDThe transition into running a blue-collar business and motivating the teamWhy he recommends in-person conversations with sellersAdvice for other immigrants in businessThe importance of attitude and soft skills in hiringManaging

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91:40

Why Buy a Digital Service Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/07/27

Karl Hughes recently bought a podcast production agency & explains why "productized service" businesses are attractive. Topics in Karl’s interview:Starting a super-niche content marketing businessThe benefits of productizing a serviceSaying no to the wrong revenueWhat he learned about using cold outreach to find sellersAcquiring a podcast production company with his partnerWhat he likes about digital businessesHis vision to build a holdcoThe small changes he made immediatelyWhy buying

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77:03

Building an ATM Empire

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/07/24

Mitchell Sorkin started by buying 3 ATMs in 2021. Today he has over 140 machines and is targeting $5m EBITDA in 3 years. Topics in Mitchell’s interview:The difference between arbitrage and building a businessMitchell's journey to acquiring 140 ATM machinesHow to evaluate an ATM routeRevenue and margins in the ATM businessChallenges with SBA financingHis most controversial Twitter threadFuture plans to raise a fund3 ways to profit in the ATM businessDealing with theftHow people underestimate

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76:32

The Life-Changing Potential of Buying a Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/07/20

Chris Munn, Bakari Akil, and Bruce Vann reflect on being Black men who bought businesses & why this path is so powerful. Topics in this interview:What inspires and motivates them as business ownersThe three necessary factors for capitalism to workUnclaimed opportunities for minority businessesThe impact of entrepreneurship on family and future generationsChanging your mentality to lead a company effectivelyBeing “buttoned up” vs. being authenticDealing with sellers who want to talk U.S

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85:18

How One Tiny Acquisition Grew Into a Holdco

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/07/17

Matt Huggins bought a small water & cable utility doing $200k/year. 15 years later, his holdco is on track for $20m/yr. Topics in this interview:Matt's decision to step off the academic trackMatt's career as a professional online poker playerTransitioning from poker to small businessAcquiring a utilities company for a group of condosThe surprising complexity of running a utilities companyStarting a manhole lining business The stability and diversity of the water industryAcquiring

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88:38

5x in 5 Years: Buying Small to Grow Quickly

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/07/10

Holdco entrepreneur Chase Murdock buys very small businesses with potential for rapid growth & decades of staying power. Topics in Chase’s interview:Starting a custom suit company with $750Decata Group's “car wash integration process” for acquisitionsWorkshop SLC’s 5x growth in the first year of acquisitionGetting out of the “small business death zone” ASAPThe knife fight of acquiring and growing small businesses The #1 ingredient in company buildingMaslow’s hierarchy of business

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92:36

Snowball Effect: Getting to $45m in 3 Years

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/07/06

Amir Haboosheh was drawn to the double-opportunity in acquiring home services businesses: the financial, and the impact. Topics in Amir’s interview:Why Amir wasn’t interested in a digital businessOffering blue collar employees shares in the companySnowball’s plan for going publicSnowball’s playbook for operating businessesHow to hire a good GM for your businessHow to incentivize operatorsAcquiring a marketing companyWhy SDE isn’t everythingHow Anderson Air doubled revenue in 3

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40:47

Don't Overlook HR Diligence: 3 Items to Check

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/07/03

Mark Sinatra returns to explain what to diligence from an HR perspective when buying your business. Topics in Mark’s interview:Top 3 things to diligence in your acquisition when it comes to HRHow industry associations can be a source of deal flow (once you're already acquired)"Book of business" acquisitionsBest type to execute add-on acquisitionsHow to prioritize what to integrate in an add-on acquisitionHow to recover from losing a big customerValue of personality profiling tools in

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54:20

How to Shorten Your Search: Big 3, Little 2

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/29

Sam Rosati shares a framework to clarify your search criteria & reduce the months it takes to find a business to buy. Topics in Sam’s interview:The reason search takes so long How to speed up your search processUnderwriting criteria of SBA lendersKnowing how to kill a dealConsidering the fit of the searcher as CEOUnderstanding SBA loan frameworkImportance of recurring or repeating revenueOpportunities and risks in buying smallManaging criteria to get enough deals in the pipelineCommon

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101:47

The Secret to $25m Success

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/26

James Bloom has 8x'd a small mechanical contractor he bought only 4 years ago, despite it being a competitive industry. Topics in James’s interview:How his background in M&A informed his due diligence processHow he ensured a smooth transitionCommercial HVAC vs. residential HVACWhy he funded growth out of his own pocketReducing his weekly work hours from 100 to 60How his business differentiates itself in the construction industryGrowing his staff from 8 to 80Growing revenue from $3M to

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78:06

What Buying Small Is Like When Crises Happen

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/22

3 days into Monte Marcum's acquisition of an established franchise, key equipment breaks. Then the crises kept coming. Topics in Monte’s interview:Buying 2 existing & adjacent franchise businesses at onceHow Filta’s customer pricing is structuredWhy commercial kitchens love his businessCombining two businessesEquipment starts breaking on day threeMonte’s series of fetal position momentsWhat exactly is hard about running a businessHow one rockstar employee guided him through a season of

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102:59

Self-Funded Search vs. Independent Sponsorship

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/20

Niklas James started off as a self-funded searcher, but evolved into being an independent sponsor of 7 acquisitions. Topics in Niklas’s interview:Why he returned the funds raised for his traditional search fundHow the painful challenges of his first acquisition set him up for success on later dealsWhy SaaS isn’t as sexy as it seemsEvolution from self-funded searcher to independent sponsorDefinition of an independent sponsorWhy HVAC is so attractiveGrowing his home services businessWhat type

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53:05

The Bumpy Reality of Buying an Ecommerce Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/15

Martin Bispels updates us on the DTC ecommerce business he bought in 2020 and had grown to almost $2m/yr one year later. Topics in Martin’s interview:Using the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)Building and managing a great remote teamWhy he doesn’t sell on AmazonThe difference between buying and shoppingOpportunities for bolt-on productsMarks of a good ecommerce businessThe power of story to differentiate your productMoving his supplier from China to VietnamFinding a good 3PLKeeping

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85:15

Owner vs CEO: 2 Approaches to Buying a Business

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/12

Derek Turner has done both a traditional search fund and self-funded. We hear both stories & explore the differences. Topics in Derek’s interview:The advantages of a geographically-focused searchHis method for pitching business owners doing cold outreachChallenges within the laser van businessBeing a good soldier vs being a suckerThe downside of growthThe perils of buying from unpleasant ownersHow the company grew with no marketingHiring a GM to run the businessWhy have a board with a

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63:30

One Acquiring Minds Guest Buys Another

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/08

2 previous guests, Mike Botkin & Adrian Pinto, are joining forces to grow a landscaping empire throughout the Southeast. Topics in Adrian and Mike’s interview:Adrian and Mike meeting through Acquiring MindsWhy it was difficult for Adrian to get a line of credit for his businessMike’s holding company acquired Adrian’s landscaping companyThe pros and cons of buying assets vs. stockHow an SBA loan can hamper growth in some situationsWhy Mike says acquisition is a talent gameHow they

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84:38

Raising $800k to Buy an $8m Business as a First-Timer

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/05

With no finance background, Kevin Bibelhausen learned to raise money from investors & buy a 20-year-old fabric business. Topics in Kevin’s interview:His health crisis that led to a career changeLosing funding at the last minuteRaising $800k in 5 weeksAutomating his money-raise process with investorsThe value of being active on TwitterAcquiring a $8m business using very little of his own moneyThe ideal number of investorsWhat attracted Kevin to Heritage FabricsManaging working capital

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36:01

It Worked: Buying an Ecom Business to Gain Freedom

Acquiring Minds ·

2023/06/01

Alex Michael was seeking to acquire not just a business, but freedom. One year later, he reports back on how it's going. Topics in Alex’s interview:Top line growth in the last yearHow he diligenced Wallaroo WalletsHow he uses Amazon PPC adsThe limitations of an Amazon FBA businessAn expensive lesson about traffic diversificationLaunching new productsHaving his family involved in his businessLiving life on his own termsHis unconventional thoughts on productivityThe topics he writes onLinks

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