My Guest Les Trachtman is a seasoned entrepreneur, educator, and author with over four decades of experience in strategy, consulting, and start-ups. Les is also an adjunct instructor at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School, where he shares his years of experience and insights with the next generation of business leaders. He is aContinue reading ““Don’t F*ck It Up”: Les Trachtman on Avoiding Post-Close Founder Succession Mistakes”
Category Archives: Podcast- Buying a Business
Technical Debt: What it is, How Much of it You Can Live With, and How to Incorporate it into an Investment Thesis
My Guest Chris Smith is the Managing Partner of Spellbound Partners, a a company that helps acquirors with technical due diligence, fractional CTO services, and outsourced development services, among other things. Chris has over 25 years of experience building software platforms, and is an expert in cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS). HeContinue reading “Technical Debt: What it is, How Much of it You Can Live With, and How to Incorporate it into an Investment Thesis”
Should Search Funds Buy Healthcare Practices? A Deep Dive with Scott Becker
My Guest Scott Becker is a Partner in the healthcare group at McGuireWoods, a full-service U.S. law firm known for its expertise in corporate, healthcare, litigation, and regulatory matters, serving clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. He previously served on the Board of Partners of the firm and chaired the Healthcare group forContinue reading “Should Search Funds Buy Healthcare Practices? A Deep Dive with Scott Becker”
Is the Search Fund Acquisition Rate Falling? With Jim Edmunds, Badge Stone & Kent Weaver
My Guests This week, I’m joined by three of the most experienced and respected investors within the search fund ecosystem to discuss a topic that is understandably of interest to the entire ETA community: That subject is why the acquisition rate among search funds has fallen over the past 10 years, and whether the rateContinue reading “Is the Search Fund Acquisition Rate Falling? With Jim Edmunds, Badge Stone & Kent Weaver”
How to Avoid Common Stumbling Blocks in an M&A Process: with Raam Jani
My Guest This week I was thrilled to welcome Raam Jani to the podcast, who is one of the most experienced lawyers in the Search Fund ecosystem, and within the small business M&A ecosystem more broadly. Raam is currently a partner at Baker Hostetler, where he works on a variety of mandates, advising private equityContinue reading “How to Avoid Common Stumbling Blocks in an M&A Process: with Raam Jani”
How to Get Your Exit Proceeds (Mostly) Tax Free
My Guests This week, we explore two separate mechanisms that may allow acquisition entrepreneurs and their investors to receive their exit proceeds largely free of tax. Relative to how powerful these programs can be, both are not fully understood within the Search Fund community, especially among new and prospective searchers. In the first half ofContinue reading “How to Get Your Exit Proceeds (Mostly) Tax Free”
An Investing Masterclass with Brent Beshore
My Guest Back by popular demand, for his second tour of duty on the podcast, is Brent Beshore. Brent is the Founder and CEO of Permanent Equity, a private investment firm that invests in Founder-owned small to medium sized businesses. They are a (very) long-term investor that looks to hold portfolio companies indefinitely, often withoutContinue reading “An Investing Masterclass with Brent Beshore”
In Conversation with 3 Founders Who Sold Their Companies to Search Funds
My Guests Properly managing the relationship with the outgoing seller is likely to be among your most important tasks within your first 6 months as the new CEO. I say this because a non-functional (or worse, a toxic) relationship between the incoming and outgoing owners has the potential to damage a company more than customersContinue reading “In Conversation with 3 Founders Who Sold Their Companies to Search Funds”
From $7M to $50M via 14 Acquisitions: A Consolidation Success Story With Jay Davis & Jason Pananos
My Guests After graduating from business school in 2008, Jay Davis & Jason Pananos acquired Vector Disease Control, a company that they grew from ~$7M to ~$50M in revenue in 7 years through successfully executing on 14 bolt-on acquisitions. They were able to grow the business by a 43% compounded annual growth rate before sellingContinue reading “From $7M to $50M via 14 Acquisitions: A Consolidation Success Story With Jay Davis & Jason Pananos”
Why You May Be Ignoring Brokered Deals at Your Peril
My Guest My guest today is Ryan Farkas, a Partner, Managing Director and the Practice Leader in M&A and Capital Markets in BDO’s Central Canada region. Ryan has successfully closed countless sell-side advisory transactions in various industries spanning manufacturing, consumer discretionary, construction, engineering, automotive and information technology. Ryan has also worked on several large performanceContinue reading “Why You May Be Ignoring Brokered Deals at Your Peril”