My Guest John Ratliff started Appletree Answers, a telephone answering service, from his apartment in 1995. After growing the company to 24 US-based locations and more than 600 employees, he sold the company to a strategic buyer in 2012. Since selling his company, John has served as CEO of Scaling Up Coaches (2018-25), worked asContinue reading “A Playbook for Growing People-Intensive Service Companies”
Tag Archives: selling a business
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together: With Dr. Sherry Walling
My Guest This week, I was thrilled to welcome Dr. Sherry Walling to the podcast. Sherry is a clinical psychologist, speaker, podcaster, and best-selling author. She is also a founder and entrepreneur herself, starting a company called ZenFounder, which aims to help entrepreneurs and CEOs navigate issues of transition, rapid growth, loss, and any mannerContinue reading “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together: With Dr. Sherry Walling”
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”
Long Term Holds: With Zac Carman, CEO of ConsumerAffairs for 14+ Years
My Guest My guest today is Zac Carman, CEO of ConsumerAffairs.com since 2010, the year in which he acquired the company from its founder, Jim Hood. ConsumerAffairs is a user-review website that helps over 7 million people per month make decisions on big questions like home warranties, debt consolidation and elder care planning. Prior toContinue reading “Long Term Holds: With Zac Carman, CEO of ConsumerAffairs for 14+ Years”
Achieving the Entrepreneurial Dream Through Franchise Ownership
My Guest Michael is the Founder of Streetlight Capital, a firm that invests in search funds and other forms of entrepreneurship through acquisition. Through Streetlight Capital, Michael successfully acquired, operated, and exited Buckeye Restaurant Group, an operator of franchised Wingstop restaurants. Michael acquired Buckeye’s first restaurants via a self-funded search in 2018, and via newContinue reading “Achieving the Entrepreneurial Dream Through Franchise Ownership”
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”
Dr. Bill Hudenko: Professor of Psychology at the Dartmouth School of Medicine and a 4x Founder & CEO
My Guest Today I was thrilled to be joined by Dr. Bill Hudenko, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Dartmouth School of Medicine. In addition to his experience as a professor and clinician, Dr. Hudenko is also a 4x CEO & Entrepreneur, having founded and sold several companies that have utilized technology toContinue reading “Dr. Bill Hudenko: Professor of Psychology at the Dartmouth School of Medicine and a 4x Founder & CEO”