Rob Parker

You know, I'll tell you that the single most important factor I've observed in doing this for nearly 25 years in a successful investment is the leader, the leader and that leader's team. You can have a great idea, great concept, great industry, bad industry.

What matters the most is who is the evangelist at the top that's leading the organization and who is the team that that person has surrounded themselves with. And it makes diligence on that individual just really important. And it's not just background check, things that you can find on Google, or you can hire a firm like Kroll and others to do kind of a background review.

What matters the most is who is the evangelist at the top that's leading the organization and who is the team that that person has surrounded themselves with. And it makes diligence on that individual just really important. And it's not just background check, things that you can find on Google, or you can hire a firm like Kroll and others to do kind of a background review.

It's also calling people who used to work with you and saying, what is he like in the workplace?

It's also calling people who used to work with you and saying, what is he like in the workplace?

I feel like it's happening more and more. Maybe not at 4 million in EBITDA. Maybe not that thorough. They'll definitely do a background check. I mean, that's not that hard to do. I mean, heck, you can find out a lot just by going to Google. They'll definitely do that. They may not do the call around of people they find in your LinkedIn or people who used to work with you.

I feel like it's happening more and more. Maybe not at 4 million in EBITDA. Maybe not that thorough. They'll definitely do a background check. I mean, that's not that hard to do. I mean, heck, you can find out a lot just by going to Google. They'll definitely do that. They may not do the call around of people they find in your LinkedIn or people who used to work with you.

They may not go quite that far, but diligence is getting, it's more every year. I feel like it's a little bit more thorough.

They may not go quite that far, but diligence is getting, it's more every year. I feel like it's a little bit more thorough.

And part of that, part of why it takes six months is we spend a lot of time bringing a knife to a gunfight comment. We spend a lot of time up front preparing. And that's really important because when you launch the process and we're having live conversations with real potential buyers, that momentum at that point makes a big difference. You do not want to slow down.

And part of that, part of why it takes six months is we spend a lot of time bringing a knife to a gunfight comment. We spend a lot of time up front preparing. And that's really important because when you launch the process and we're having live conversations with real potential buyers, that momentum at that point makes a big difference. You do not want to slow down.

You want to have answers to their questions. You want to be prepared and everything organized and assembled. It makes it as easy as possible for them to really assess A1 in that case so that they stay longer.

You want to have answers to their questions. You want to be prepared and everything organized and assembled. It makes it as easy as possible for them to really assess A1 in that case so that they stay longer.

And the more you have groups in the process all the way till the end, the longer you've maintained that competitive dynamic, which means you keep prices up and can possibly even raise them further, further along in the process.

And the more you have groups in the process all the way till the end, the longer you've maintained that competitive dynamic, which means you keep prices up and can possibly even raise them further, further along in the process.

Yeah, that's a really good question. I've seen great CEOs come from a financial background. I've seen great CEOs come from an engineering background, sales background. I've had great CEOs that had MBAs from top business schools. We've had great CEOs who never even finished high school and everything in between. So there is no particular background.

Yeah, that's a really good question. I've seen great CEOs come from a financial background. I've seen great CEOs come from an engineering background, sales background. I've had great CEOs that had MBAs from top business schools. We've had great CEOs who never even finished high school and everything in between. So there is no particular background.

There is no one path that we could recommend somebody follow. People are kind of born leaders or they're not. And I think to me, what I would say, a great leader is one who is able to get the best out of the team that he or she has. You're a motivator. Your passion for what you do inspires and motivates others to be better than they ever thought they could be.

There is no one path that we could recommend somebody follow. People are kind of born leaders or they're not. And I think to me, what I would say, a great leader is one who is able to get the best out of the team that he or she has. You're a motivator. Your passion for what you do inspires and motivates others to be better than they ever thought they could be.

So that the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. I think inspiration, motivation, concern, passion, those are the things I think make great leaders. There are some nuts and bolts things. I mean, you definitely have to understand what the numbers are telling you. And you need to have a vision for the business. I mean, you need to be someone that is thinking six months in advance.