Moving to a Small Town to Buy an SMB
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When he bought an HVAC business in east Tennessee, John Mahony moved in next door & became a mem...
The Appeal of Buying a Food Product Business
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pat Lazure explains why Flavor-Crisp, a food product business that uses co-packers, was such a great...
Building an HVAC Holdco to £60m in Revenue
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Turner is 3 acquisitions into a 5-year plan to buy HVAC businesses across the UK that together c...
Opening Up to Franchises to Buy a Great Business
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How Doug Johns overcame his reservations about being a franchisee to acquire a dream business with $...
Building a $350m Holdco of Farms
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jack McCarthy has acquired 27 pistachio & almond farms from retiring owners, with a plan to buil...
Factory Life: Buying a Manufacturer with $1m SDE
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Jasper made a change at age 40, acquiring a plastic bag manufacturer with 10 people & a dail...
Scaling Sweaty Services with a Brokerage Model
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eddy Zakes has 2x'd revenue and 4x'd headcount at the snow removal brokerage he bought with a tradit...
2.5 Years from Buying to Exiting
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Lee Shields bought a barely-profitable property management business intending to improve, grow...
Hard but Fun: Transitioning a 77-Year-Old Business
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Darryl Lindie did a geo-constrained search in Rhode Island to acquire a sign business with $650k of ...
The Power of Conviction in Buying a Business
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Barnes bought a $400k SDE linen laundry business, channeling his conviction at big decision poi...
3 Perspectives: A Panel on Buying Small Businesses
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Recording of a live panel hosted by EO Silicon Valley with Acquiring Minds host Will Smith moderatin...
Escaping Golden Handcuffs by Buying a Business
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While not a CPA herself, a clear list of buying criteria led Gretchen Roberts to acquire a 16-person...
7 Takeaways from 200 Episodes
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Acquiring Minds host Will Smith reflects on 200 episodes, tells the podcast backstory, and teases wh...
Cash Flows Over Exits: Buying for the Long Term
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sensing untapped potential, Mark Olivito paid cash for a project-based construction business with le...
Skip the SBA: Buying a $4m Biz with a Conventional Loan
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Bryer worked with a financial backer to find & buy a 65-year-old niche manufacturing busines...
Doing It His Way: First-Timer Buys 2 at Once
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Okhravi left a cushy tech career to buy a towing business & a flooring business — and wit...
The Upside & Downside of Search, from a 20-Year Veteran
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A fireside chat with veteran searcher & investor Kent Weaver recorded at the Self-Funded Search ...
Passion, Meet EBITDA: The Joy of Buying an Art Gallery
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sean Moore looked at a handful of businesses, but a fine art gallery with over $1m SDE won the art c...
Growing EBITDA from $750k to $2m: Time to Sell?
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Hubbard returns to share how "chasing EBITDA over revenue" has benefited the trailer fabricator...
How to Buy a SaaS Business with an SBA Loan
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It CAN be done. Andrew Swiler acquired a SaaS business with $650k SDE using an SBA loan (and while l...
Boom, Bust, Boom: Buying a Whiplash Business
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chandler Reed reflects on buying a project-based business in 2021, seeing sales soar, then crash, th...
Partnering with an Operator to Buy a Business
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Landon Mance bought a $1.7m tree business alongside a minority partner who's operated the business f...
How to Survive Going from Hedge Funds to SMB Owner
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Neil Finneran had worked in hedge funds & as a CFO when the opportunity to buy a pest control bu...
A Reward for Widening Search to $300k SDE
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A year into his search Jesse Sunquist realized he needed to lower his SDE floor to find a business t...
When Buying Small Goes Right (3x Growth)
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
George Vallone returns to share how he has grown revenue 3x in 2.5 years and laid a foundation for m...
Buying a $3m Candle Manufacturer That Had No Books
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chad Hildebrant knew the best deals have hair on them. The trick is finding the right hair, turning ...
Buying $1m+ Ice Cream Shops to Expand Nationally
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn Allard didn't want a food business, but an ice cream shop with good margins & a local foll...
Buy and 3x a Project-Based Business in Just 2 Years
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2021, Johannes Hock bought an artificial turf installer business doing $5m. It's on track to exce...
How to Buy the Business Where You Work
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Corey Veverka acquired the business where he had worked for years, mitigating his risk & removin...
The $295m Search Fund Exit
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sandy Paige struggled to raise a search fund as a mid-career executive, then grew EBITDA by 7x and e...
Hiring a General Manager & Buying Business #2
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shane Ehrsam & Brandon Adams return to discuss hiring a GM, buying business #2, the rewards of S...
Leaving a Big Salary in DC for Small Business in Wyoming
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Hayes was an accomplished executive in the DC area with 5 kids when he decided to buy a busines...
Seller's View of a Searcher Buying His Business
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Wild fielded offers to buy his business for years but sold only after being introduced to the ...
Buying a 45-Year-Old Industry Pioneer
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a successful military career, Don Gourley saw buying a business as the best means to "lead a u...
Buy a Franchise Portfolio: How to Choose a Brand
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
AJ Wasserstein, Peter Mistretta & Mike Horowitz distill the selection of a franchise brand into ...
Rocky Transition: How to Survive, Then Thrive
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Collapsing sales, unhelpful sellers, and a GM who quit. But 1 year later, Chris Jones is contemplati...
First-Time Buyer Recipe for Success: Action & Small Steps
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Connor Pera shares how taking incremental steps led to buying his first business much sooner than ex...
Unlocking Growth in a 40-Year-Old Business
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Medow brought a mindset to his search that he would reshape whatever business he bought into a ...
From Startup Founder to Buying a Small Business
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Ericson brings lessons from 13 years as a startup founder to the $4m printer rental company he r...
Buying a Small Business to Build for Decades
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
August Felker did a search fund, then later a self-funded search so he could own & build his bus...
Holdco Entrepreneurs: A Peek Behind the Curtain
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
HoldCoConf co-founder Kelcey Lehrich shares key findings from a survey of 100+ holdco operators abou...
A Non-Financial Reason to Buy a Business
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Akers had a vision for supportive, employee-first leadership. Buying a business enables him to ...
Postmortem of a Broken Deal
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Wheeler reflects on investing countless hours to buy a beautiful business, only to have the sel...
The Joys & Pain of Owning a $10m City Bus Business
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
George Goates bought a small shuttle business that he's grown 4x in 8 years, partly by running buses...
How (and Why) to Buy a B2B Services Business
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sajama Mitta wanted to make strategic decisions at the head of an organization. Buying her own busin...
16 Months to Exit: Cleaning Up in Street Sweeping
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Manny Saxena quickly bought 3 street-sweeping businesses to become the largest player in NorCal. A b...
Why Buy a Digital Service Business
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Karl Hughes recently bought a podcast production agency & explains why "productized service" bus...
Building an ATM Empire
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mitchell Sorkin started by buying 3 ATMs in 2021. Today he has over 140 machines and is targeting $5...
The Life-Changing Potential of Buying a Business
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Munn, Bakari Akil, and Bruce Vann reflect on being Black men who bought businesses & why t...
How One Tiny Acquisition Grew Into a Holdco
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Huggins bought a small water & cable utility doing $200k/year. 15 years later, his holdco i...
5x in 5 Years: Buying Small to Grow Quickly
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Holdco entrepreneur Chase Murdock buys very small businesses with potential for rapid growth & d...
Snowball Effect: Getting to $45m in 3 Years
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amir Haboosheh was drawn to the double-opportunity in acquiring home services businesses: the financ...
Don't Overlook HR Diligence: 3 Items to Check
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Sinatra returns to explain what to diligence from an HR perspective when buying your business. ...
How to Shorten Your Search: Big 3, Little 2
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Rosati shares a framework to clarify your search criteria & reduce the months it takes to fi...
The Secret to $25m Success
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James Bloom has 8x'd a small mechanical contractor he bought only 4 years ago, despite it being a co...
What Buying Small Is Like When Crises Happen
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
3 days into Monte Marcum's acquisition of an established franchise, key equipment breaks. Then the c...
Self-Funded Search vs. Independent Sponsorship
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Niklas James started off as a self-funded searcher, but evolved into being an independent sponsor of...
The Bumpy Reality of Buying an Ecommerce Business
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Martin Bispels updates us on the DTC ecommerce business he bought in 2020 and had grown to almost $2...
Owner vs CEO: 2 Approaches to Buying a Business
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Derek Turner has done both a traditional search fund and self-funded. We hear both stories & exp...
One Acquiring Minds Guest Buys Another
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
2 previous guests, Mike Botkin & Adrian Pinto, are joining forces to grow a landscaping empire t...
Raising $800k to Buy an $8m Business as a First-Timer
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With no finance background, Kevin Bibelhausen learned to raise money from investors & buy a 20-y...
It Worked: Buying an Ecom Business to Gain Freedom
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Michael was seeking to acquire not just a business, but freedom. One year later, he reports bac...
Buy Big: How to Acquire a $3m EBITDA Roofing Business
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How Austin Smoak raised money from investors to buy a very profitable roofing business that he found...
Home Care Business: How to Buy & 2x an Agency
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jérôme Bouillon bought a home care agency doing $500k/yr in 2018. Today it exceeds $1m and he's ad...
Overworked & Underpaid: Buying a Business to Escape
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Heather Shattuck-Heidorn was a tenure-tracked professor, but wanted out. Buying a business offered f...
Learning to Lead: From Searcher to Boss of 140
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Having only ever managed a few people when he bought his business, Alex Glasner shares how the trial...
Uber Driver to 7-Figure Exit in 3 Years
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Bortner couch-surfed, drove Uber, and racked up credit card debt while finding a pool business t...
Surviving the Nightmare: Sales Plunge 95%
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
9 months after Jesse Safir bought a printing biz, Covid cratered it. 3 years later, sales are nearin...
How to Raise Money from Investors to Buy a Business
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
2 searchers, Kaustubh Deo & Kevin Bibelhausen, share how they found investors to provide money t...
How to Buy a $5m Business & Hire an Operator to Run It
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It CAN be done: Matthew Saskin recently acquired a big towing business, hiring an operator to run it...
The Opportunity in Carve-Outs (and Uncle Sam)
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Caroline Chapdelaine seized opportunity when a biomed company needed to sell a $2m unit that made sp...
Fetal Position to Foundry Holdco ($30m & Counting)
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Despite dire warnings against it, Reg Zeller bought a foundry. He's since bought 6 more & sees a...
How to 2x Sales in a Service Business You Buy
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Adrian Pinto returns to reflect on his 1.5 years as owner of a landscaping business that he's grown ...
How to Build a Portfolio of 20 Franchise Locations
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Horowitz was looking to buy an independent business when a different path opened up. Today h...
Life as an Operator: Leaving PE to Buy a $2m Tree Business
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kaustubh Deo reflects on his first year as the owner of a tree business versus his former life in NY...
From Determined Searcher to $75m Accidental Holdco
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Adam Duggins had 650 meetings to find his first business in 2013, not expecting he'd buy 3 more over...
Feast or Famine: How to Grow a Niche Manufacturing Biz
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bruce Vann returns to update us on his manufacturing business, and a thesis around the roll-up of wi...
Navigating Failure: Buying a $5m+ Business that Collapses
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Ikalowych shares his traumatic journey of going all-in to buy a hail-repair business, then havi...
Single Mom, 2 Kids, and a $4m Business
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Morli Desai left corporate to scratch her entrepreneurial itch, using an SBA loan to buy an ecommerc...
6 Months from Twitter Inspiration to $2m Business Owner
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pawel Kosicki learned about buying small businesses in July. By January, he'd bought one himself wit...
Back to a W-2: When Business Ownership Isn't the Way
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Damon Chlarson takes a job in tech sales, despite having improved the business he bought & survi...
How to Buy and 2x a Subcontractor Business
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brenden Van Buren is growing his fencing business, despite the industry's notorious cyclicality &...
One Year Later: Holdco Grows to $75m in Total Revenue
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Justin Turner returns with details on 2 new acquisitions by his holdco Traction, plus updates on the...
How to Build a Holdco Around Company Culture
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Arrieta's holdco has made 3 acquisitions since 2020. Sales & culture, not tech, have pro...
Honeymoon, Darkness, then Light
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a rollercoaster year in his appliance repair business, John Schooler returns with scars, wisdo...
Growing a Small 1st Acquisition into a Holdco Platform
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Hitchings bought a $250k SDE cooling biz. It has grown 3x and will now fund a 2nd acquisition...
How to Buy a Neighborhood Institution
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Sieve saw his life implode after COVID. Buying a highly profitable 40-year-old restaurant tur...
How to Buy & Operate a Plane Ride Away
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Quirk acquired a $800k EBITDA window & door business in the UK, continuing to live with his...
Recent Guest Exits for 8 Figures
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shortly after his first interview in June, Jason Andrews sold his business to a strategic buyer for ...
Reward for Being Systematic: $2m Dog Training Business
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chirag Shah applied systems from his days as a product manager to find & acquire a dog-training ...
How to Roll Up Legacy Franchises (to $36m/yr)
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Beers, owner of 30 Midas locations, teaches how to acquire an empire with seller financing for...
Using $100k to Buy a 7-Figure Dream Business
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler O'Connor bought a 20-year-old golf school he found on BizBuySell doing mid-7 figures with 35% ...
One Year Later: 60% Growth + 2 More Acquisitions
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Patrick Dichter returns to update us on a productive first year as CEO of a bookkeeping business he ...
Key Moments from 3 Entrepreneurs Who Bought Businesses
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Multiple perspectives today as Chelsea Wood of the Acquisition Lab moderates a panel with 3 women wh...
Former Searcher Opts to Franchise Instead
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jacob Lee signed up for 10 locations in the Scenthound franchise after deciding it was a better oppo...
Manufacturing Opportunity: Look Where Others Aren't
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jules Brenner searched for 2.5 years before buying a manufacturer with great tailwinds and a path to...
How to Buy a Salon as an Industry Outsider (and Survive)
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Romer bought a large but tired hair salon in Austin for $80k. Her first year as owner was the ...
Buying Franchises: A Primer for Searchers
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twitter-famous Wolf of Franchises on why & how you should buy existing franchise businesses, inc...
Buying a $3m Course Business (Whose Founder is the Face)
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Online course businesses have dazzling margins but a key weakness. Dom Wells explains how to acquire...
The Wine Business: 5x Growth in a Tough but Fun Industry
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
David Page bought a Bay Area wine business in 2010, against the advice of colleagues. 12 years later...