Rob Parker

Just different nomenclature. So the SIM is Confidential Information Memorandum. And there was a time in our world when those documents were driven out of Microsoft Word. And they were like books, literally like a book. Very wordy, very lengthy, a Word document. And we called them a memorandum. The industry made a conversion some years ago to PowerPoint. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Just different nomenclature. So the SIM is Confidential Information Memorandum. And there was a time in our world when those documents were driven out of Microsoft Word. And they were like books, literally like a book. Very wordy, very lengthy, a Word document. And we called them a memorandum. The industry made a conversion some years ago to PowerPoint. A picture is worth a thousand words.

So these presentations today are far more analytical, more graphs and charts and those kinds of things that, again, support a story, less wordy. And as it converted to PowerPoint and that kind of a style, It went from memorandum to presentation. So SIM to SIP. So Ken's not wrong. We sold Gettle for Ken, had the fortune to work with him and with Baum Capital.

So these presentations today are far more analytical, more graphs and charts and those kinds of things that, again, support a story, less wordy. And as it converted to PowerPoint and that kind of a style, It went from memorandum to presentation. So SIM to SIP. So Ken's not wrong. We sold Gettle for Ken, had the fortune to work with him and with Baum Capital.

When we sold Gettle, we may have called it a SIM back in those days, and it would be a SIP today.

When we sold Gettle, we may have called it a SIM back in those days, and it would be a SIP today.

Yeah, I mean, there are software applications out there that can help companies in very weather-dependent sectors like lawn care or roofing look at where the weather patterns are going to be and help you decide how you're going to sequence your jobs that day based on weather. So these tools are very sophisticated in terms of running the business.

Yeah, I mean, there are software applications out there that can help companies in very weather-dependent sectors like lawn care or roofing look at where the weather patterns are going to be and help you decide how you're going to sequence your jobs that day based on weather. So these tools are very sophisticated in terms of running the business.

The other thing they've done is these really great ERP systems that are dedicated to the home services industry allow companies that have traditionally been very localized, very local, advertised on the radio and in the yellow pages, support the local little league.

The other thing they've done is these really great ERP systems that are dedicated to the home services industry allow companies that have traditionally been very localized, very local, advertised on the radio and in the yellow pages, support the local little league.

It allows these kinds of businesses, when you have a good ERP system that's tracking good data and keeping good metrics, then you can scale beyond just your own local market

It allows these kinds of businesses, when you have a good ERP system that's tracking good data and keeping good metrics, then you can scale beyond just your own local market

And that's how, that's really been, as Eric said, it has really been revolutionary in terms of letting private equity come in and say, okay, I can take a business with great sort of local economics and I can scale it and I can manage that business now because of these great ERP systems.

And that's how, that's really been, as Eric said, it has really been revolutionary in terms of letting private equity come in and say, okay, I can take a business with great sort of local economics and I can scale it and I can manage that business now because of these great ERP systems.

Yeah, so, well, leverage can be a very powerful tool, both in a good way and in a negative way, possibly, too. And if you use a simple example, so let's say your company's bought for $100. Those $100 all go into your pocket, every one of them. Well, let's say the PE firm that bought your business for $100 provided $50 in equity, $50 in debt.

Yeah, so, well, leverage can be a very powerful tool, both in a good way and in a negative way, possibly, too. And if you use a simple example, so let's say your company's bought for $100. Those $100 all go into your pocket, every one of them. Well, let's say the PE firm that bought your business for $100 provided $50 in equity, $50 in debt.

Let's say you want to take $10 of your $100, so you've got $90 in your pocket. You take $10 and put it into the deal. You don't own 10%. You own 20%. You're 10 of 50. There's only $50 of equity. So that's the power of leverage. You put $90 in your pocket and you still own 20% of the company. So leverage can be a very powerful device that these firms will use.

Let's say you want to take $10 of your $100, so you've got $90 in your pocket. You take $10 and put it into the deal. You don't own 10%. You own 20%. You're 10 of 50. There's only $50 of equity. So that's the power of leverage. You put $90 in your pocket and you still own 20% of the company. So leverage can be a very powerful device that these firms will use.

And if you think about the private equity business, it's a tough business in a lot of ways. There is a lot of capital. that's been allocated to the private equity world. There are a lot of those firms out there. There's family offices. There's all sorts of these private capital pools.

And if you think about the private equity business, it's a tough business in a lot of ways. There is a lot of capital. that's been allocated to the private equity world. There are a lot of those firms out there. There's family offices. There's all sorts of these private capital pools.