Listen to This Blog Post Over the past few months, I’ve been presented with five separate opportunities that contemplated the acquisition of a company with $7M or more of EBITDA (this compares to the Search Fund average of $2.2M for the 2022-2023 cohort of Searchers). While I acknowledge that five data points don’t constitute aContinue reading “Are Search Funds Moving Up Market?”
Tag Archives: buying a business
“Don’t F*ck It Up”: Les Trachtman on Avoiding Post-Close Founder Succession Mistakes
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”
Hard to Kill: A Four-Part Framework for Evaluating Small Business Acquisitions
Listen to This Blog Post I would make the world’s worst Venture Capitalist. If you don’t believe me, keep reading. As I’ve transitioned from operator to investor over the past 5 years or so, I’ve attempted to develop (and have attempted to articulate below) a general philosophy to guide my decision making, given that almostContinue reading “Hard to Kill: A Four-Part Framework for Evaluating Small Business Acquisitions”
Facing the Worst-Case Scenario: How Jed Morris Lost His Business and Rebuilt His Life
My Guest Jed Morris is the Founder and Managing Partner of Sunset Coast Capital, where he leads investments in U.S.-based aerospace and defence businesses. He specializes in helping acquisition entrepreneurs and independent sponsors navigate the complexities of small business ownership, diligence, and operator readiness. Jed’s career began in the U.S. Air Force, where he heldContinue reading “Facing the Worst-Case Scenario: How Jed Morris Lost His Business and Rebuilt His Life”
How A.I. is Transforming the Acquisition and Operations of Small Businesses
My Guest You are likely aware of how much AI has already changed how we live and how we work. You’re probably also aware – at least vaguely – of how much it will continue to change the way that we live and work over the coming months and years. The process of searching for,Continue reading “How A.I. is Transforming the Acquisition and Operations of Small Businesses”
Rob Markey: Creator of the Net Promoter Score and Founder of Bain’s Global Customer Strategy Practice
My Guest Rob Markey is the creator of the widely-used Net Promoter Score (“NPS”) system. Rob also leads the NPS Loyalty Forum, a group of 35 senior executives from loyalty-leading companies around the world, such as The Vanguard Group, American Express, JetBlue, TD Bank, LEGO, Progressive Insurance, PwC and Intuit. He is also the co-authorContinue reading “Rob Markey: Creator of the Net Promoter Score and Founder of Bain’s Global Customer Strategy Practice”
Evaluating Customer Retention in Recurring Revenue Businesses: With Craig Zingerline
My Guest Craig Zingerline is a serial entrepreneur currently working as the CEO of Growth Minded, a company that helps startups and other technology companies scale their growth and retention strategies. Prior to Growth Minded, he founded Velocity Growth and scaled to 7-figures of ARR, was Chief Product Officer at Sandboxx, and the Head ofContinue reading “Evaluating Customer Retention in Recurring Revenue Businesses: With Craig Zingerline”
Rethinking Asset Intensity in Search Fund Acquisitions
Listen to this Blog Post The vast majority of Search Funds seek to acquire businesses that are both “asset-light” and “capital-light”. That is, companies that don’t have a large base of tangible assets that need to be added to, refurbished, or replaced to either maintain operations or pursue growth. All else being equal, this makesContinue reading “Rethinking Asset Intensity in Search Fund Acquisitions”
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 Home Services Still a Good Bet? A Veteran Operator’s Take on a Saturated Market
My Guest Collin Hathaway is the Founder of Skylight Capital, a micro-cap private equity firm investing in companies with less than $5M EBITDA. Prior to founding Skylight, Collin led the deal origination team at Alpine Investors, where he managed a team focused on locating and evaluating new investment opportunities. In addition to currently serving asContinue reading “Is Home Services Still a Good Bet? A Veteran Operator’s Take on a Saturated Market”