Masters in Small Business M&A
Episodes
Goodbye Partner Track, Hello “F2E”: James Bohannon of Belzberg & Co.
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is James Bohannon of Belzberg & Co., a family office with a significant history of backing lower middle market independent sponsor...
Eliot Kerlin and Broadwing: Principles over Playbooks
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Eliot Kerlin, Founder and Managing Partner of Broadwing Capital. With 25 years of experience in the lower middle market, Eliot refl...
LP First Capital: Behind the Impressive Rise of a Top-Tier Independent Sponsor
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guests are Thomas Ince and Logan Lowery, Managing Partners of LP First Capital, a top-rated independent sponsor that has closed 70 deals in ...
Furniture Industry M&A with Bo Stump
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Bo Stump, a partner at Stump & Company, a family-owned third-generation M&A advisory firm based in Charlotte, North Carolin...
Nick Huber’s journey from college entrepreneur to RE Acquirer back to full time CEO; a case study in entrepreneurial private equity
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Nick Huber, founder and owner of Bolt Storage and current CEO of Somewhere.com, a worldwide staffing business acquired in 2024. N...
From Apollo & Viking to the Gritty Lower Middle Market. Building Tucker’s Farm with Kyle Tucker
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s episode, Kyle Tucker, founder of Tucker’s Farm Corporation, joins Peter Lehrman to share his journey from big league private equity and...
Investing in Bootstrapped Vertical Market Software: A Conversation with Lance Fenton
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Lance Fenton, a Partner at Serent Capital, a private equity fund investing in bootstrapped vertical market software businesses. In ...
The Shifting EtA Landscape: The Rise of Self-Funded Search with HBS Professors Royce Yudkoff & Richard Ruback
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features guests Royce Yudkoff and Richard (Rick) Ruback, co-authors of the Harvard Business Review Guide to Buying a Small Business, and ...
Hagan Kappler is building Daisy, a Rollup & Franchisor in Smart Home Services
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you love your home “IT and AV guy”? We didn’t think so. In this episode, Peter Lehrman sits down with Hagan Kappler, co-founder of Daisy,...
Building a Consequential Investment Bank with Adam Breslawsky
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Peter Lehrman sits down with Adam Breslawsky, founding partner and managing director of lower middle market investment bank Oberon Se...
Start Local, Go National: Sam Rosati’s Journey in Commercial Fencing M&A
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Peter Lehrman sits down with Sam Rosati, founder of Pursuant Capital and the original sponsor of Perimeter Solutions Group (PSG), to ...
Building Garden City: Michael Arrieta on People-First Business
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Peter Lehrman sits down with Michael Arrieta, founder of Garden City, to discuss his unique journey from a successful career in tech ...
Ryan Sullivan, North Park Group -- the Ultra Long View on U.S. Manufacturing
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s conversation is with Ryan Sullivan, Managing Director and Co-Founder at North Park Group (https://northparkgroup.com/), a Chicago-based priv...
Tom Barber on the Design of Winning Private Equity Firms
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s conversation is with Tom Barber, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at SBJ Capital (https://www.sbjcap.com), a California-based private equity ...
Marshall Lockton: from family business to family office to acquisition #1
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Marshall Lockton. Marshall spent 15 years in sales, sales strategy and sales training roles within his family’s storied private i...
Rafa Quinn - Building A Diversified Lower Middle Market Holding Company
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Rafael "Rafa" Quinn, co-founder and President of Alternative Holdings, a diversified holding company with subsidiaries in food serv...
Private Credit Arrives in the Lower Middle Market: A Conversation with Bridgepoint’s Matt Plooster
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Matt Plooster, founder and CEO of Bridgepoint, a boutique investment bank based in Omaha, Nebraska. We start the conversation with ...
Bob Falahee’s Founder’s Journey: 15 years Building SunPro Motorized Awnings & Screens from Day 1 to a Strategic Exit
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we interview Bob Falahee, the recently exited founder of SunPro Motorized Awnings & Screens. Bob’s entrepreneurial origin s...
28 Years and Counting at The Top of the LMM: A Conversation with Mangrove Equity's Glenn Oken
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Glenn Oken, Managing Director at Mangrove Equity Partners, sits down with host Peter Lehrman to discuss the evolution of Small Busine...
The 4 Types of Business Brokers and How to Win Them Over: a Master Class with Clint Fiore
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Clint Fiore, a small business operator turned M&A broker and the President of Bison Business, a Texas-based business brokerage ...
A hero’s journey: Mike Botkin and the OneOutdoor Holdings journey from start to exit.
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Mike Botkin, founder and CEO of OneOutdoor Holdings sits down with Peter Lehrman. The conversation starts with the OneOutdoor Holding...
Due Diligence and the Art of Preventing the Broken LOI
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today Peter Lehrman speaks with Emily Holdman, the Managing Director at Permanent Equity, about the intricacies of due diligence. The conversation del...
Family-Owned and Acquisitive: 7 Acquisitions in 7 years
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Peter Lehrman sits down with Chris Gallagher, CEO of Gallagher Fluid Seals, a family-owned distributor and manufacturer of fluid...
How Search Funds Win Competitive Deals - with Max Artz of Peterson Search Partners
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re publishing Peter Lehrman’s conversation with Max Artz, a search fund expert and Partner at Peterson Search Partners, a professional i...
Rolling up Veterinary Clinics with Purpose, Partnership and Profits. A conversation with Dr.Wagner, DVM, and Dzmitry Miranovich
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today Peter Lehrman sits down with Dzmitry Miranovich and Dr Bill Wagner, co-founders of Associated Veterinary Partners (AVP), a holding company rollu...
Nick Leopard - Learn How the Very Best PE Firms Transform the Finance Function
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today Peter Lehrman welcomes Accordion’s CEO and founder Nick Leopard onto the podcast. Nick started Accordion after prior chapters in investment ba...
Brad Smith - Culture, Terms and Price, In That Order. A Deep dive into Healthcare M&A
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, host Peter Lehrman sits down with Brad Smith, Co-Founder and Managing Director of specialist healthcare investment bank Vertess Advis...
Walker Deibel - 5x Owner, "Buy Then Build" Author & Creator of The Acquisition Lab.
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Peter Lehrman sits down with Walker Deibel, a serial acquisition entrepreneur, successful small business M&A advisor and author o...