The “Second Bite” Exit Strategy, With Todd Taskey
About this Episode In this episode of the Agency Profit Podcast, Marcel is joined by M&A expert and Tower Partners principal Todd Taskey to unpack how agency owners can use mergers and acquisitions as a strategic evolution of their business rather than a final exit. Drawing on two decades of deals in the digital marketing space, Todd explains his “second bite” thesis: helping agencies doing roughly $1–5M in EBITDA sell a portion of their business, take meaningful cash off the table, and then ride a much bigger wave of growth alongside private equity or strategic buyers. Together, he and Marcel demystify investment banking, private equity, and how value is really created in these transactions—from multiple expansion and add-backs to the role of recurring revenue, retention, and EBITDA quality. Through concrete examples of Amazon, CRO, and full-service agencies, they show how the right partner can 10x enterprise value while actually making the founder’s life more fun, and why running a proper process (instead of just reacting to one offer) gives you free “consulting” on what drives your valuation. If you’ve ever wondered whether you should sell, when to start conversations, or how AI, efficiency, and margins are changing the game, this episode offers a practical, founder-friendly roadmap to thinking about M&A like a pro.
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Show Notes
Points of Interest
- 00:00 – 01:30 – Introduction: Marcel welcomes M&A advisor Todd Taskey, who specializes in investment banking transactions for digital marketing agencies doing $1–5M in EBITDA.
- 01:30 – 02:40 – What Investment Banking Actually Means for Agencies: Todd explains what “investment banking transactions” are in plain language, covering how his team guides owners from first conversations through closing and integration.
- 02:40 – 06:30 – The “Second Bite” Thesis and Evolutionary Transactions: Todd introduces his “second bite” concept using real client stories, showing how selling part of an agency can be a strategic leap forward rather than the end of an owner’s journey.
- 06:30 – 09:20 – Private Equity as Growth Partner, Not Villain: Marcel raises common fears about private equity, and Todd contrasts horror stories of big corporate deals with growth-focused PE in the $2M EBITDA range that needs more good people, not fewer.
- 09:20 – 12:30 – How Earn-Outs Go Right (or Wrong): Todd shares how unrealistic projections in a pitch deck can make earn-out targets impossible, and explains his playbook for setting conservative growth assumptions that founders can actually beat.
- 12:30 – 16:30 – Inside the Private Equity Business Model: Todd breaks down how PE funds are structured, how they earn management fees and returns, and why growing EBITDA and achieving multiple expansion is central to their strategy.
- 16:30 – 19:30 – Case Studies of PE-Backed Agency Growth: Using examples like Power Digital and other PE-backed platforms, Todd illustrates how tucking in specialized agencies (CRO, Amazon, etc.) can generate outsized returns for both founders and investors.
- 19:30 – 24:30 – Why Private Equity Wins: Data, Rigor, and Talent: Todd describes the level of analysis PE brings to the table—cohort analysis, retention metrics, financial rigor—and how this “art and science” combination helps them repeatedly grow and sell agencies.
- 24:30 – 28:40 – The Experience Imbalance and Need for a Real Process: Marcel highlights the experience gap between founders and professional acquirers, and Todd explains why running a structured process with multiple buyers is essential for true price discovery.
- 28:40 – 33:10 – Free Consulting: What the Market Really Values in Your Agency: Todd outlines how conversations with 20–30 serious buyers surface recurring themes—“this, that, and the other thing”—that tell you exactly what to fix to increase valuation, even if you do not sell.
- 33:10 – 38:30 – AI, Efficiency, and the Future of Agency Valuations: Todd shares his view that AI will most directly impact valuations through efficiency gains and margin expansion, allowing agencies to stack more clients on the same headcount and drive higher EBITDA.
Show Notes
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