Think Like an Owner

Ep.242: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Steve Swinney (@steveswinney). My guest today is Steve Swinney, founder and CEO of Kodiak Building Partners. The company, which started in 2011 with the acquisition of Barton Supply in Denver, has grown to 45+ acquisitions and $3 billion in sales by 2024. We cover Steve's extensive experience in building product distribution, Kodiak's diversification strategy, communication as a CEO, hiring practices, acquisition strategy, company history, and future challenges. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links Steve on LinkedIn Kodiak Building Partners Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:05) - Starting Kodiak (00:06:09) - Why did you focus on lumber as a commodity? (00:09:17) - What were the first few years at Kodiak like? (00:12:28) - What was your capital raise strategy? (00:13:51) - Consolidation & Acquisitions (00:17:08) - How have you constructed your team as the company has grown? (00:21:15) - Recruiting executives (00:22:51) - How do you foster an environment of continuous learning? (00:24:46) - How has your communication style evolved? (00:31:45) - Keeping values consistent across companies in Kodiak (00:34:01) - Is there ever a breaking point with the house-of-brands approach? (00:34:53) - What key challenges are you most excited to solve over the next decade?

Ep.241: Alex (@Aebrigeman) is joined by Ed Manfre (@emanfre). My guest today is Ed Manfre, a business leader, executive coach, and co-author of Lead Through Anything alongside recent guest Dustin Seale. He has two decades of experience helping CEOs and C-Suite leaders align themselves and their companies for success. He's served leadership roles at firms Heidrick & Struggles and Spencer Stuart as a business builder and people leader and is here today to talk through a core concept of his, that being leadership is an inside job. His conclusion through his work is that great leadership starts with an internal, reflective focus before being an external force within your company. We also talk about resilience, advice for new leaders and leading integrations, driving results through people, and much more! One last note: I've launched my own search called Airframe Group, and I'm looking for great companies and experts in industrial services and value-added distribution. Please reach out. I'm always excited to meet industry owners and experts. Please email me at [email protected]. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Ed on LinkedIn Lead Through Anything by Ed Manfre Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:07) - Ed's background and career (00:12:40) - What do the best leaders do to make the acquisition and integration process smoother? (00:16:43) - Leadership as an inside job (00:23:47) - How leaders can shine a light on behavior they want to see more of (00:25:%7) - What are some good questions to ask yourself when trying to discover your own leadership style? (00:33:25) - Maintaining stability during internal struggles (00:43:04) - Building resilient leaders (00:46:21) - Seeking out new challenges (00:54:40) - Where do new CEOs tend to get off track? (00:58:39) - How can a new CEO put their best foot forward?

Ep.240: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Sarah Rowell (@sarahrowell). This is the first episode in our new series called the Build Series, in partnership with Pacific Lake Partners and Trilogy Search Partners. Over the six Build Series episodes, we will explore how CEOs can accelerate their company's growth trajectory, as well as their own professional growth as leaders. The Build Series continues the foundation set by last year's Launch Series in growing transformative companies as ambitious CEOs and leaders. Our guest in this first episode is Sarah Rowell to talk all things board construction, getting the most value from your board relationships, and key points along her journey where her board played a critical role. Sarah and her husband acquired Kantola Training Solutions in 2018 before selling to Traliant in December 2023 after some incredible growth years at the helm. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Sarah on LinkedIn Traliant (Kantola) Trilogy Search Partners Pacific Lake Partners Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:05:00) - Sarah's experience acquiring a company (00:07:13) - Building the infrastructure for a company board (00:15:10) - Building chemistry with investors (00:20:34) - Establishing a board (00:24:42) - What do you hope for the future of this acquisition? (00:29:16) - Involving investors and the board in the business (00:39:47) - Building out Sales and Marketing (00:48:51) - Board meeting structures (00:58:17) - Emotionally connecting with Board members (01:02:47) - Closing advice

This is my second episode hosting Alex De Pfyffer and Ross Porter, founders of Heritage Holding, on the podcast. A lot has happened since their first episode in late 2022. They've built 7 platforms through 25 acquisitions and recently raised a committed fund for the next five platforms. They've done excellent sourcing, but I also admire their ability to build a strong team at Heritage that allows them to move faster across multiple strategies and platforms. We talk about elements of a platform thesis in their view, integrating teams while supporting founders, future platforms, speed, and so much more. One last note, I've launched my search called Airframe Group and I'm looking for great companies and experts in industrial services and value-added distribution. Please reach out, I am always excited to meet owners and experts in the industry. Email me at [email protected]. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Heritage Holding Alex on LinkedIn Ross on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:54) - Recapping Heritage Holding's last few years of growth (00:08:00) - What drove the decision to sell off platforms? (00:11:42) - How did initial platform acquisitions inform your criteria for future acquisitions? (00:18:08) - Fragmented PE interest (00:24:59) - Building out the Heritage team (00:31:52) - Organizing the leadership team around integrating new acquisitions (00:40:15) - Developing Sales teams (00:44:20) - Raising a Fund (00:48:03) - Setting a fast pace for activity and execution

My guest today is Jeff Homer, who's pursued one of the most interesting consolidation theses I've ever heard, music schools and more recently dance studios through his company, Ensemble Performing Arts. And his pace is incredible, acquiring essentially a school per month for five years, totaling 70 acquisitions and integrations. The number of reps he's had is incredible, and has given him a huge amount of experience to learn from. Everything from industry theses, to integration, working with sellers, building a team, debt, he's built an expertise in all facets and it's very impressive. Jeff and I talk about pursuing consolidation strategies, what he's learned in building his own, adding ancillary products and services, and so much more. Jeff is also now investing in others pursuing consolidations and I highly recommend reaching out to him if one is top of mind for you. Lastly, before the episode, I've launched my own search called Airframe Group and I'm looking for great companies and experts in industrial services and value-added distribution. Please reach out at [email protected] if you'd like to connect! Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links Jeff on LinkedIn Ensemble Performing Arts Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:48) - Ensemble and Jeff's career (00:06:39) - What is the process of buying and overhauling a school? (00:13:43) - How have sources of funding for you changed? (00:19:01) - Where do you feel like you've improved the most on this journey? (00:22:11) - Is there a characteristic or culture you're looking to complement when hiring? (00:24:13) - What skill must you improve to grow to hundreds of schools? (00:28:09) - What is your consolidation thesis? (00:30:44) - Are there other industries you've considered when acquiring? (00:34:21) - What early mistakes can people avoid in consolidations? (00:36:29) - Brand integrations (00:43:11) - What are ancillary services you're looking for? (00:47:19) - What flywheels are you thinking about within the business? (00:50:05) - How have you streamlined your processes? (00:53:58) - Valuations in lower middle markets vs. larger markets (00:57:55) - What are other ways to drive value in Ensemble? (01:00:03) - Do you own the RE of schools you acquire?

My guest today is Justin Watt, co-founder of Switchboard, which helps businesses with automation and AI tools to become more effective and efficient companies. He's the smartest person I know when it comes to automation, and I've been really excited to record this episode with him laying out his philosophy for tools and how to approach streamlining key internal processes. We talk about hype vs reality with AI tools, preparing your company for automation and laying the foundation through cleaner data, the three pillars of modernizing a company via people, process, and technology, and so much more! One last note, I've launched my own search called Airframe Group and I'm looking for great companies and experts in industrial services and value-added distribution. Please reach out, always excited to meet owners and experts in the industry. Email me at [email protected]. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Justin on LinkedIn Justin on X Switchboard Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:03) - Justin's career and background (00:07:31) - The three pillars of automation (00:11:56) - Examples of implementing new tools in current processes (00:18:26) - How can you see through superfluous marketing? (00:21:23) - What questions should people be asking when evaluating new software tools? (00:23:06) - What do companies need to work on before they can consider implementing automation? (00:26:20) - The AI hype & discerning noise from signal (00:36:57) - Enablement infrastructures (00:42:28) - What automations do you enjoy spending the most time on? (00:49:14) - Reinventing HR Processes (00:51:26) - The anatomy of automation (00:53:10) - What are some quick wins you often see with companies you work with in automation? (00:55:38) - What advice do you share with folks trying to implement automation?

I formed Airframe Group to acquire and build a transformative company in aviation services that is loyal to customers, moves fast, and pursues an ambitious vision for the long-term. I have a life-long passion for aviation and want to my next life chapter creating organizations that give the aviation community their absolute best. My ideal partner is an owner ready for their next chapter of life and wants to transition the company to a new owner who will lead their employees, customers, and vendors toward a bright future. Other characteristics I'm looking for include the company being over $10 million in revenue, growing profitably, and providing a meaningful and important service in aviation. I'm backed by exceptional investors and active CEOs, all with deep experience building high-performing companies that provide talented employees and customers a long-term home. I'm an entrepreneur at heart, having founded a media business covering how ambitious CEOs grow great companies through a podcast called Think Like an Owner and a retired print publication. Through the podcast, I've met over 250 CEOs like Craig Fuller (CEO of Flying Magazine), and Joel Peterson (former Chairman of JetBlue), among many others. I was chief of staff at HousingWire, a news organization for the housing and construction markets, which we transformed into an information services company through key data acquisition and integration. I've seen and studied how transformative companies are built, and I'm ready to lead and grow one myself in aviation. If you're contemplating the next chapter after leading your company, please reach out – I'd love to hear from you. ([email protected])

Episode 235: Alex Bridgeman (@aebridgeman) is joined by Chris Hoffman (Chris-Hoffman). My guest, Chris Hoffmann, is the President and CEO of Hoffmann Brothers, a home services business based in St. Louis. Hoffmann Brothers have scaled from $10 million in 2015 to over $100 million in revenue in 2023. We talk about how that journey happened, their experience building executive teams, investing in people through a training university they started for ongoing training, and investing activity for home services today. We also talk about what perpetual non-private equity ownership enables them to do, including their unique strategy for managing cash investments and liquidity as a growing family office. This was a ton of fun for me and I hope you enjoy this conversation as well. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Chris on LinkedIn Hoffmann Brothers NexStar Network Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:39) - Hoffman University (00:06:27) - Enabling scale and revenue growth (00:08:56) - Differences in PE-backed company structures (00:12:26) - Retention and morale-boosting tactics (00:15:59) - Leadership team composition (00:19:17) - Surfacing high-performers & evaluating management teams (00:26:53) - Using Search Firms to find talent (00:28:26) - Choosing an Executive Search firm (00:31:31) - Financial sponsor interest in the HVAC and Home Services market (00:34:16) - Reasons Consolidators are failing (00:36:41) - Debt, Public Equity Strategies & Fund Investing (00:46:01) - Goals for the family office (00:47:48) - Building new locations from scratch vs. acquiring existing companies (00:53:38) - Acquiring a school (00:56:53) - Changing strongly held beliefs (00:57:55) - Chris' favorite business

Ep.234: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Auren Hoffman (@auren). In this episode, I sit down with Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph and partner at Flex Capital. The conversation centers around Auren's experiences in running data companies and his insights into the data as a service market. We discuss the slower-than-expected growth in the buyer's market for data, and what it takes for data companies to achieve significant scale, using ZoomInfo as a prominent example. The discussion also covers team management, including hiring and letting go of employees. I highly recommend Hoffman's podcast 'World of DaaS' for those interested in data businesses. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Auren on X World of DaaS Podcast SafeGraph Flex Capital Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:27) - What trend are you trying to learn more about in the Data market today? (00:09:58) - Factors in why companies may not be buying data (00:14:13) - Are there cracks in the "data is the new oil" thesis? (00:15:50) - Common guidelines for data companies (00;17:54) - How would you apply a B2B SaaS playbook to a data sales company? (00:18:53) - What is the sales process for SafeGraph? (00:22:17) - How have you reinvented yourself as a CEO? (00:26:17) - How do you audit your time? (00:28:40 - What traits do you look for in recruiting executives? (00:33:47) - Leveraging tools to help one person be as effective as 2-3 people (00:40:19) - Are there common reasons you've found someone not to be successful? (00:42:41) - What questions do you ask to find if someone is a good fit? (00:44:53) - What lessons have you learned from hiring and managing? (00:55:46) - Flex Capital (00:57:12) - How can folks reach out to you?

Ep. 232: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Sara Heston (@sara-heston). My guest today is Sara Heston. We discuss the latest findings from the 2024 Stanford Search Fund Study, which reviews trends from the past two years. Key topics include rapid growth in the Search Fund industry, changing searcher backgrounds such as 24% of searchers not having an MBA, return trends, drivers of outsized returns, and industry dynamics. Sara also shares her transition to a director role at Anacapa. The episode provides a primer on the Search Fund model, making it an excellent resource for those less familiar with Search Funds. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: 2024 Search Fund Study Sara on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:13) - What are some high-level takeaways from the study? (00:04:26) - Why has the number of investors declined? (00:08:16) - Is there a formula for the ideal Searcher? (00:09:49) - How much more prepared are Searchers today than 10 years ago? (00:12:10) - What stood out to you regarding the number of LOIs and industries Searchers are looking at? (00:16:47) - What are you looking to track regarding long-term holds? (00:20:25) - How do you see entrepreneurs exiting holding companies? (00:26:24) - Discussing the 2017-2020 cohort (00:31:41) - Are there any changes in the questions you're asked by students interested in Search? (00:33:28) - The increase in women and minorities in Search (00:35:00) - What do you hope to see in future studies?

Ep.231: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Rick Ruback and Royce Yudkoff. My guests today are Rick Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, both Harvard professors for entrepreneurship through acquisition and co-authors of the most popular and well-known piece of content in search, the HBR book How to Buy a Small Business which I would consider the bible of the search fund world. It's one of the first resources I recommend for folks wanting to learn about search, besides this podcast of course. On top of the book, Rick and Royce have now launched their own podcast titled Think Big Buy Small that is a great primer for search funds, especially self-funded models, and I highly recommend giving it a listen. Rick, Royce, and I talk about their careers as professors, case studies on small business they often reference, common threads through case studies and advice for new CEOs, ways search has changed, and the mission of their new podcast. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business Think Big Buy Small Podcast Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:18) - What made you decide to write the book? (00:07:17) - How have you become a more effective teacher? (00:12:29) - What cases or scenarios have been most challenging for CEOs to work through? (00:19:03) - What are some reasons searchers buy cyclical businesses? (00:25:06) - What recurring concepts are you trying to teach or questions CEOs ask? (00:28:32) - What are your favorite cases to teach? (00:33:16) - What's changing or evolving in the Search space? (00:40:56) - What are the missions and goals of the Podcast? (00:46:11) - What would you add if you wrote a new book edition?

Ep.230: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Anand Sanwal (@anandsanwal). My guest today is Anand Sanwal, founder and former CEO of CB Insights, which provides data and intelligence on private markets, companies, and investors. Anand recently hired a new CEO for CB Insights and stepped into a chairman role. Anand ran the company for 14 years and developed a unique perspective on leading that I was really excited to learn more about. He's a deep thinker, and if you liked recent episodes with Henry Schuck and Ayman Al-Abdullah, you'll love this one too. Anand and I talk about why he stepped out of the CEO role and the type of person he looked for to replace him, how new CEOs should start their first couple months in a new company, how CB Insights has shaped his views on private markets, and the new entrepreneurial school he's launching to turn young kids into business pros. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: CB Insights Anand on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:47) - Evaluating the effectiveness of a CEO (00:06:21) - Building repeatable processes (00:09:05) - Executive recruiting strategies (00:19:06) - Evaluating the instincts of a candidate (00:21:44) - What are the best ways to effectively spend your time as a new CEO? (00:27:06) - Tactics for influencing culture (00:33:33) - How do you think about moving quickly and effectively? (00:36:52) - Being an insurgent company (00:40:07) - Growth advantages (00:42:38) - What have incumbent companies eliminated in order to move faster? (00:45:07) - Are there any founders or CEOs you study? (00:54:49) - Anand's entrepreneurship school (01:10:35) - Thoughts on private markets

Ep.228: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Brett Kelly (@BrettKPG). My guest on this episode is Brett Kelly, founder and CEO of Kelly Partners, a publicly traded accounting, tax, and advisory firm with global ambitions and a roughly $350m market cap. Since 2006 they have done 80 acquisitions and developed a strong playbook for building best-in-class accounting firms with a focus on high-net-worth clients and growing companies. Brett is a really serious and motivated leader who's pulled tons of great ideas from others and has a multi-decade vision for Kelly Partners. He's also the author of 5 books, one of which he wrote before launching Kelly when he was 22 years old. Brett and I talk about the origins of Kelly Partners, companies and leaders he draws inspiration from, elements of his consolidation playbook, the role of technology and software, and what the future holds for Kelly. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: More on Brett Kelly Brett Kelly's books "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie "The Art of Being Unreasonable" by Eli Broad "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller Founders Podcast Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:30) - Founding Kelly Partners and Brett's early career (00:14:01) - What steps did you take to fast-track the company's growth? (00:26:24) - Why is the accounting field less competitive than it seems? (00:30:49) - The power of consolidation in business (00:40:07) - How are you running your firm differently than a typical accounting firm? (00:44:24) - What does an average day look like for you as CEO? (00:48:44) - What impact did IPO-ing have on the business? (00:53:30) - Learnings from writing books (01:00:11) - What skills are you working on to become a better CEO? (01:05:42) - How do you view technology as part of your firm? (01:10:32) - What are you excited about over the next 5 years?

Ep.227: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Dustin Seal (@dustinseale). My guest today is Dustin Seale, co-author of Lead Through Anything alongside Ed Manfre and managing partner at executive search and leadership firm, Heidrick & Struggles. Dustin has spent his career working with high-performing CEOs from over 70 countries to help transform teams and find the right successors for CEOs and other C-suite executives. We talk about what to look for in CEO successors, including the Microsoft search Dustin's firm led to replace Steve Ballmer, why internal talent is often discounted, key predictors for success in leaders, and the core characteristics of purpose, vitality, and agility that all the best leaders Dustin has studied have, and how other CEOs can develop those traits. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Lead Through Anything by Dustin Seale Dustin on Linkedin Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:48) - The process of replacing Steve Balmer as CEO of Microsoft (00:09:31) - Pros and cons of internal vs. external candidates in a CEO search (00:10:59) - What qualities are you looking for in a CEO for a company as large as Microsoft? (00:16:46) - Creating flexibility with nonlinear planning (00:26:51) - Pushing messages as a CEO (00:29:39) - Turning a group of individuals into a team united (00:32:47) - How new CEOs can make efficient evaluations? (00:41:06) - Dustin's process for writing the book (00:47:58) - Measuring purpose, vitality, and agility (00:52:17) - Dealing with burnout and lack of fulfillment (00:56:24) - Dustin's journey to improve vitality (00:59:54) - Key concepts to take away from the book

Ep.226: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by A.J. Wasserstein. My guest on this episode is A.J. Wasserstein. Early in his career, A.J. founded Archives One, a physical records management business he operated as CEO for 17 years before selling to Iron Mountain. He then acquired One Source Water, which was eventually sold to Water Logic in 2016. He then began teaching at Yale School of Management where he has written ad nauseam about nearly every topic within growing and running small companies and search funds. His writings are my go-to resource for many questions and business concepts I want to learn more about, and I'm quick to recommend them to others. A.J. and I talk about being a professor and how to get involved if you'd like to teach, why students do not pursue entrepreneurship through acquisition and work-life integration as CEO, a topic A.J. has written and thought very deeply about, among other topics. Please enjoy this fantastic conversation with AJ Wasserstein. Links: More on A.J. Wasserstein The Judd Lorson story by A.J. Wasserstein Why MBA Students Do Not Pursue Entrepreneurship through Acquisition by A.J. Wasserstein How CEOs actually spend their time? by A.J. Wasserstein Topics: (3:14) - What made you excited to publish a paper covering an unsuccessful search? (4:26) - Is it a conscious part of your process to present both sides of an issue in your writing? (5:45) - What was your experience like going from a CEO to academia? (8:39) - What were some challenges you faced as a CEO? (13:49) - In your experience, did you find your workload felt reduced as you grew different departments? (15:20) - Is work-life integration as a CEO possible? (18:03) - Are there any CEOs you know who have achieved this balance? (19:39) - What do you think about the ROI of your time spent as an investor, professor, and content creator via research papers? (25:52) - You said it takes 5 years to be a successful CEO, would you say it takes the same amount of time as a professor? (27:04) - What are some best practices for being an effective professor? (30:20) - What moments as a professor bring you the most joy? (32:02) - How do you help students think by asking them questions? (34:25) - For someone selling their business, how would you recommend testing out the waters of academia? (37:59) - What were some interesting observations you saw in students after they went through the Search Fund curriculum? (43:20) - For students wanting to pursue Search, what roles were most effective in helping them feel ready (48:41) - Do you want to turn your papers into a book one day? (49:55) - Do you find any consistent themes in your writing? (52:15) - Do you get the sense more folks are thinking about work-life integration than ever before? (55:18) - What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on? (57:42) - What's the best business you've ever seen?

Ep.225: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Anthony Bramante (@AnthonyBramante). My guest today is Anthony Bramante who leads In Control, an automation control systems integrator primarily serving water and wastewater facilities at small and medium-sized towns across the Northern Midwest. Control systems aren't exactly top of mind for me every day, but after chatting with Anthony I'm seeing them everywhere and realizing how integral they are to our daily lives. Anthony and I talk about example control systems, the importance of cybersecurity and how vulnerable our water infrastructure truly is, how add-on acquisitions play into their growth strategy, recruiting from college campuses, and designing effective internship programs. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: In Control Anthony on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:26) - A walkthrough of InControl (00:06:29) - Anthony's career (00:09:15) - What are your control systems doing at various facilities? (00:12:08) - What are some origin points for new customers? (00:18:02) - How have you built a positive reputation? (00:19:32) - How do you find talent? (00:22:52) - What goes into a great intern program? (00:25:39) - Where should your salespeople be spending time? (00:27:30) - Does everything come down to the lowest bid? (00:30:01) - Is there an M&A process with players in other markets? (00:34:25) - What is your industry's infrastructure and cybersecurity state? (00:41:37) - Could you expand to other municipal facilities? (00:43:33) - Could you work with airports? (00:44:31) - What ideas or challenges are your top of mind? (00:48:37) - How much of your work can you standardize? (00:50:25) - Is there any new technology you're excited about?

Ep. 224: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Godard Abel (@GodardAbel). My guest is Godard Abel, founder and CEO of G2, an enterprise software marketplace that helps software buyers find the right software for their companies and key problems. G2 is the third company he has led as CEO, the first two being BigMachines, founded in 2000, and SteelBrick, founded in 2014. We talk about lessons learned building all three companies, challenges he's currently facing, picking the right industries to build in, hiring talented people, and what trends in software and AI he's excited about today. There were also some fantastic books, blogs, and concepts mentioned in the podcast so be sure to catch those in the show notes. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: G2 Godard on X "Who" by Geoff Smart "Behind the Cloud" by Marc Benioff V2MOM Dreamforce Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:27) - Sweating the details (00:06:11) - Alternative data points to focus on (00:08:05) - Measuring momentum (00:13:11) - What extra data point do you want today that might be more challenging to get? (00:14:55) - Are there legal issues in obtaining pricing data? (00:17:32) - How do you pick what industry or market you want to build a company in with regard to enterprise software? (00:21:25) - What trends are you paying attention to today? (00:24:54) - How did you improve on your processes when building G2? (00:29:46) - What have you learned from CEO peers of yours about maintaining cultures with large headcounts? (00:32:23) - Are there any ingredients from your time at Salesforce that you apply to G2? (00:34:22) - Are there more systematic ways to screen for culture and values in hiring? (00:38:40) - What challenges do you have as you scale? (00:42:13) - If you weren't running G2, what business would you be excited to run?

Ep. 223: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Rick Torres (@rick-torres). My guest on this episode is Rick Torres, CEO and co-founder of Applikate Technologies, a digital pathology hardware and software business with a device that can examine tissue many multiples faster than traditional physical slide processes can today. I find this company fascinating given the life science and data element of the business and loved diving into the science behind pathology and how Applikate is making it so much more efficient. Rick and I talk about the digitization of pathology, where efficiencies are gained through their platform, the process for FDA approval, and what Rick's learned building and leading teams as CEO. I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Applikate Rick on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:52) - What is Applikate? (00:13:41) - Labor dynamics for histology (00:16:37) - Do you need to be a histotechnologist to use the machine? (00:22:33) - What are the key benefits of this faster process? (00:27:16) - Where are you storing tissue data and what is it used for? (00:33:16) - What are the steps for gaining FDA approval? (00:44:17) - How does this timeline affect recruiting? (00:47:00) - What have you learned about managing and growing teams? (00:50:47) - What advice has stuck with you most? (00:52:11) - What skill are you working on improving? (00:54:14) - What brings you energy? (00:55:56) - Leadership philosophies

Ep. 222: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Dan Cremons (@DanCremons). My guest today is Dan Cremons, author of Winning Moves, 105 Proven Ways to Create Value in Private Equity-Backed Companies, and founder of Accelera Partners where he focuses on helping private equity groups unlock people-powered value creation. Dan started at Alpine Investors for 12 years before leaving in 2021 to found Accelera, and his book is an incredibly thorough documentation of everything he learned about the private equity playbook and how it needs to evolve. Dan and I talk about the five buckets of value creation and what the biggest drivers are, what great value creation looks like at a PE firm and company level, traps for first-time CEOs, and interviewing executives to make sure you have the right team in place. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: → Buy Dan's bestselling book on PE value creation - Link → Resources for private equity professionals – Link → Resources for PE-backed executives – Link → Connect with Dan on LinkedIn – Link Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:13) - Dan's career background and learnings from Alpine (00:13:29) - How the Private Equity playbook has changed over time (00:16:23) - What a 10/10 PE firm looks like (00:25:40) - Categories of winning moves (00:30:21) - What have been your biggest learnings about revenue growth? (00:39:05) - First-time CEO traps (00:46:36) - Identifying priorities (00:53:39) - Alex's perspective on finding focus (00:58:58) - Dan's formative experiences (01:07:42) - Evaluating management teams (01:15:36) - Upskilling team members (01:20:02) - Winning the first few weeks in the CEO role

Ep.221: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Moises Eilemberg (@Meilemberg). My guest is Moises Eilemberg, CEO of XiltriX, a 24-7 life science asset monitoring business that started 5 years ago with 36 employees today and growing swiftly. Moises is unique in that this is his second time as a CEO, his first being back in 2006 when he acquired a healthcare revenue cycle management company Avadyne, which he ran for 11 years before exiting, making 4 add-on acquisitions during that time. Moises has a ton of experience to share leading teams, improving unit economics, building sales orgs, and managing the change that comes with integrating add-on acquisitions. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: XiltriX Moises on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:20) - Moises' career & XiltriX (00:07:02) - Becoming comfortable with the CEO role (00:09:33) - When did you start acquiring companies? (00:12:35) - How did your integration process change as you acquired more companies? (00:22:14) - Is there a reason you chose to be in this industry? (00:25:27) - What is the state of your market today? (00:29:12) - Is the market fragmented to a point where there are M&A opportunities? (00:31:40) - What's driving the biologics growth over the past few years? (00:33:30) - What did you apply from your experience at Avadyne into XiltriX? (00:36:44) - What was your experience setting Sales comps? (00:42:57) - What levers have you used to improve unit economics?

My guest today is Tom Klein, former Morningside Co-CEO alongside recent podcast guest Roland Lessard. This episode with Tom acts as a part two pairing with our February episode with Roland where we talked about M&A value creation after close. Tom and I today discuss M&A value creation largely pre-close of add-ons, talking through industry selection, sourcing methodologies, industry knowledge snowballs, building a reputation, and working with lender partners. Tom has been involved in 12 M&A transactions across Morningside and his previous experience in background screening. As an aside to you the listener, I'm really enjoying recent discussions on M&A value creation and consolidation strategies. If this is an expertise of yours or someone you know, I'd love to connect and chat more so please reach out. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Tom on LinkedIn Greenwich Point Capital Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:37) - Deep focused search approaches vs. scattershot approaches (00:11:18) - What numbers and measurements do you use when determining interest in an industry? (00:20:42) - How do you think about proof of success when examining companies within an industry? (00:28:29) - What are some of your favorite ways to research an industry? (00:34:11) - What are the key characteristics of a business you need to see when acquiring? (00:39:47) - What are some industries you were close to investing in but passed on? (00:43:50) - What do you start looking for once you've finalized a platform acquisition? (00:54:50) - What are some key questions you ask sellers? (01:01:35) - What do you look for in lenders? (01:18:30) - Advice for folks pursuing consolidation thesis'

The intersection of media and data has been the top idea on my mind for quite some time now. And my guest today, Craig Fuller, runs one of the best modern examples of this concept in action. FreightWaves, founded in 2016, is a media and data company focused on trucking, freight, supply chains, and all things logistics. To date, they have raised $91 million, will hit $42 million in revenue this year, split 55/45 between data and media, and have a valuation of between $300 and 400 million today. Craig's work building FreightWaves has been an invaluable model for my work at HW Media as Chief of Staff with CEO Clayton Collins and the rest of our team. Conversations like this one have been instrumental in our discussions on the future of HW Media as an all-things housing media business. But we, and especially myself, also believe this model, this intersection of media and data can be a replicable strategy across industries. The goal of my episode with Craig today was to better understand how media and data can work together to create transformative companies, and I'm grateful for Craig's willingness to share his experience and expertise. Throughout the episode, we talk about what data sets to focus on first in an industry and how to build around them, developing the product roadmap, the media data flywheel, hiring effective editorial and sales teams, and the investor perception of FreightWaves. Enjoy. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Craig on LinkedIn FreightWaves The Economics of Data Businesses by Abraham Thomas Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:05:08) - Why do media companies typically misunderstand 'data' and data companies? (00:07:51) - How did the Media & Data arms of FreightWaves impact each other as you built this business? (00:13:44) - When you think back about creating high-frequency data, how did you approach building it for FreightWaves? (00:18:32) - Where has the bulk of your capital gone in building the company? (00:28:02) - How do you think about expanding your data sets going forward? (00:32:50 - Who is involved in your product development process? (00:38:44) - How did you two sides of your business interact in the early days, and has that changed over time? (00:50:12) - How do you attract high-quality talent? (00:54:56) - How do you structure your sales teams? How do you think about pricing? (01:02:01) - What's the investor perception of businesses running on Media & Data?

Ep. 218: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Henry Schuck (@HenryLSchuck). My guest today is Henry Schuck, founder and CEO at ZoomInfo, one of the most successful data businesses in recent times with a market cap today around $12B. I've been looking forward to this podcast for a long time because Henry has proven to be an effective founder, acquirer, and public CEO capital allocator, which is a rare combination of skills to find in a single CEO. He's thought very deeply about building high performing organizations, sales functions, and how his own role needs to evolve as the company grows. We talk through lessons learned building vs acquiring capabilities, M&A and integration lessons learned, fixing problems with a process vs culture approach, and how data businesses will succeed in the future Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Zoominfo Henry on X Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:49) - What would you focus on if you were running Boeing? (00:07:26) - How have you seen other CEOs solve culture vs. process problems? (00:12:47) - How do you approach hiring? (00:20:28) - How can you incentivize employees to buy into company values? (00:23:11) - What have you learned working with investors and other CEOs to be a great founder and M&A executive? (00:26:52) - How do you incorporate new tools or partners into Zoominfo? (00:33:53) - What have you learned about integrating acquired companies? (00:36:24) - How do you get a conviction when doing due diligence on a potential acquisition? (00:38:49) - What skills around M&A are you looking to improve? (00:41:19) - How will data companies in the future succeed?

Ep.217: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Mike Stone (@michael-stone). My guest today is Mike Stone, CEO of CertaPro Painters, the largest painting company in North America structured as a franchise with 370 owners across 500 territories and over $700m in revenue. Their goal is to become a $1B company shortly and a $2.5B revenue company by 2032. The painting industry is a $60B industry growing modestly and is highly fragmented, making this an interesting industry to explore given the lack of similarly-sized national competitors. Mike and I talk about why the industry is so fragmented, the tailwinds behind the industry, what needs to evolve and grow to hit their growth goals, and how CertaPro builds a differentiated playbook within home services. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Mike on LinkedIn CertaPro Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:26) - Mike's path to the CEO of CertaPro (00:09:16) - Meeting Herb Kelleher (00:11:25) - Where does your company stand today among competition? (00:13:14) - What is holding back your competition from scaling like you? (00:14:54) - Is it faster growing under a franchise model? (00:19:52) - Are there other consolidators chasing talent? (00:22:37) - What has become harder as you've grown? (00:26:59) - Successful meeting structures (00:29:24) - What data do you value for marketing? (00:32:22) - How does seasonality affect business? (00:33:43) - What else do you need to build to scale to your goals?

Ep.215: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Ayman Al-Abdullah (@aymanalabdul). My guest today is Ayman Al-Abdullah, former CEO of Appsumo and now executive coach to other ambitious CEOs looking to scale 7 and 8-figure businesses past $100m, Ayman's specialty. I love learning from CEOs who've made that journey and can share key lessons and takeaways, and Ayman fits that to a "T." He's also a Durham native, which is where my wife and I will be moving to this summer so we had some fun talking about his move from Austin. Ayman and I talk about chokepoints in a company's growth, habits that made him successful at Appsumo, why he stepped down as CEO, and how other ambitious CEOs can be more effective in their leadership roles. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Ayman on X Ayman's website How to Make a Few Billion Dollars by Brad Jacobs The Accountant Trailer Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:20) - Leaving AppSumo to pursue coaching (00:12:28) - What was the most informative experience for you in the CEO role? (00:14:27) - What gets companies over the $7m hurdle? (00:18:26) - What culture questions do you enjoy asking? (00:24:03) - Improving the Sales role (00:25:50) - Who was the best salesperson you ever hired? (00:27:38) - Skills you need vs. what can be taught in sales (00:31:34) - Have you reflected on whether you were born to be a CEO? (00:34:44) - What have you found that helps CEOs succeed in the role? (00:37:29) - Weekly journaling and exercise rituals (00:42:30) - Ayman's 25-year vision (00:50:57) - Do you study other CEOs? (00:53:25) - The hero's journey (01:02:41) - What's something you're passionate about?

Ep.214: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Dennis Dresser (@DennisDresser). My guest today is Dennis Dresser. Dennis was a sales leader at IBM and Oracle and became CRO at Anaplan and Dialpad before taking on an advisory role with companies looking to develop best-in-class sales organizations. Throughout his career, he's developed a playbook for creating these high-performing sales teams and has thought deeply about talent management, performance management, and implementing better processes. This episode dives into some of that playbook along with characteristics to look for in hiring great sales leaders, scaling sales orgs, sales qualification methodologies, and so much more. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: JMI Equity Dennis on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:17) - Career lessons learned (00:06:27) - Evolving a Sales Team (00:08:14) - Churn impacts (00:10:10) - The high-performance sales framework (00:14:28) - Characteristics of successful Salespeople (00:15:58) - Hiring in Sales (00:18:29) - Is there one skill or quality you've been able to coach up? (00:21:17) - The Sales Qualification Methodology (00:23:50) - What are some effective ways to involve those outside of Sales in the process? (00:25:43) - Where do you see Sales Teams most often get stuck? (00:29:15) - Characteristics of a high-performing prospecting function? (00:32:14) - The future of content marketing (00:35:04) - Advice to CEOs and heads of Sales teams

Ep.213: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Armon Petrossian (@ArmonPetrossian). My guest today is Armon Petrossian, co-founder and CEO of data transformation company Coalesce, built on Snowflake's ecosystem. Armon and I kick off talking about his time in China and learning Mandarin in undergrad, and move through topics like building within Snowflake's, nuances in selling to enterprises, hiring in sales, opportunities in data, and navigating challenging topics with a co-founder. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Coalesce Armon on X Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:54) - Experiences living in China (00:09:59) - Founding Coalesce (0012:14) - How does Data Transformation work? (00:13:46) - Choosing to build around SnowFlake (00:20:01) - What other opportunities arise as data becomes more abundant? (00:22:41) - Where are you investing capital right now? (00:23:49) - What evolution does your sales team need to make right now? (00:27:39) - What's a typical sales cycle for you? (00:29:54) - What have you learned about selling to enterprises that people often struggle with? (00:31:36) - Navigating political dynamics or relationships (00:33:02) - What do you look for in new sales hires? (00:35:11) - What have you become passionate about within building the company? (00:38:32) - How do you handle disagreements with your co-founder? (00:42:00) - What works for retaining engineers? (0044:54) - What companies do you admire? (00:45:30)- Advice to other data founders

Ep.212: Alex Bridgeman (@aebridgeman) is joined by Sieva Kozinsky (@sievakozinsky). My guest on this episode is Sieva Kozinsky, co-founder of Enduring Ventures, a holding company founded in 2019 with 17 acquisitions to date. Sieva and I met at a dinner following the Berkshire Hathaway meeting in Omaha, his first time attending the meeting. A theme from our first conversations in Omaha that continues through this episode is long-term thinking being a huge advantage, and that compounding happens everywhere. Reputation, lessons, and learning - well beyond capital alone. Given that our guest last week, Eric Jorgenson, is the CEO of one of Enduring's companies, I thought this would be a timely episode to bring back to the top of the feed We talk about Sieva's background as a founder and how it impacts his role at Enduring Ventures, how he discovered he is a better buyer than a builder, great companies and founders he's studied and taken lessons from, and much more. Enjoy! Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Sieva on LinkedIn Sieva on Twitter Enduring Ventures Founders Podcast Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow The Gambler: How Penniless Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History by William Rempel Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:27) Belief Documents (00:09:13) Long-termism trends (00:11:57) Takeaways from the Berkshire Event (00:20:36) Helping employees & executives think and behave like an owner (00:26:17) Being a Buyer vs. Builder (00:33:08) Culture Index (00:35:55) The importance of having experience as a founder/operator to succeed at Enduring (00:44:50) Perretto Prinicples (00:54:17) Habits, tactics, and learnings from biographies on great founders and companies (01:08:46) What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on? (01:10:06) What's the best business you've ever seen?

Ep.211: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Eric Jorgenson (@EricJorgenson). My guest on this episode is Eric Jorgenson. Eric became a close friend while my wife and I lived in Omaha. I love the energy and enthusiasm he brings to whatever he's doing, whether it's investing in tech startups, writing books like The Almanack of Naval Ravikant and The Anthology of Balaji, hosting his Smart Friends podcast, or telling you about the latest innovations in sandwich making. And as of last summer he is the CEO of Scribe Media, a book publisher where the author retains full creative control and financial upside from their creations, and in my opinion, is the perfect business for Eric to run. In this episode, we talk about the publishing business, the power of books over other creative mediums, his new role as CEO of Scribe, and what he's learned as an author himself. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Eric's books Scribe Smart Friends Podcast Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:18) - The power of writing (00:06:27) - The business side of being an author (00:12:44) - Is there a 'right' time in someone's career to write a book? (00:18:46) - The business of Scribe (00:27:06) - Podcasts vs. books (00:31:22) - The story of Enduring Ventures stepping in to buy Scribe and making Eric the CEO (00:38:59) - Learning how to be a CEO (00:44:51) - What are some publisher benchmarks to compare Scribe to? (00:50:22) - Do you see large publishers trying to replicate your model? (00:55:22) - Who would you be excited to write a book about? (00:57:18) - What are some of the biggest lessons you've learned in your time as CEO?

This week, we are running the episode I did with Chris Powers on the Fort podcast where I was a guest on that show, and in this episode, we talked all about my background, my interest in data, the podcast, and all kinds of other things that kinds of weird theories I have about restaurants too near the end! This is a good episode showcasing not only the origin of this podcast, but also a good friend of mine, Chris Powers, his podcast, which I think is awesome, especially if you're into real estate. But it's also helpful if you're not, he's got episodes covering all kinds of areas of business and life and he's a really close friend of mine and a podcast that I really enjoy listening to. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: The Fort Podcast Chris on X Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:06:29) "If you want to buy a business, don't start a search fund, start a podcast." (00:13:13) The impact of Think Like an Owner (00:17:13) The Chief of Staff role (00:29:24) The content customer acquisition flywheel (00:33:47) What are the structures of data companies? (00:38:17) Are we living in a world where everything we do is creating data for someone else? (00:41:59) Does AI impact the data world? (00:43:34) What would it look like to buy a data business? (00:48:10) Would you implement a content flywheel if you owned a data company? (00:50:08) How would you grow a data business? (00:51:47) What fascinates you about the sales side of data business? (00:56:20) Alex's Chicken Theory

My guest on this episode is Roland Lessard, former Co-CEO of Morningside with his partner Tom Klein, a language translation services business that served over 4,000 clients in 55 countries. A core piece of their thesis revolved around M&A, and Tom and Roland through that experience acquired deep domain expertise in creating value through a methodological M&A and, more importantly, integration process. This episode is all about M&A and corporate development, both for companies doing occasional M&A and those with more programmatic strategies, which is where Roland is spending most of his town now as an advisor to CEOs. Today Roland and I talk about the "why" of M&A, how M&A most often destroys value and how to avoid this, getting the team right prior to beginning M&A, assembling and leading an integration team, planning for integration and pitfalls to avoid, and the role of debt. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Roland on LinkedIn Morningside Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:34) - Catching up (00:06:45) - Categorizing M&A (00:09:45) - Why should someone consider pursuing M&A? (00:16:22) - Horizontal deals (00:21:48) - Building Integration Teams (00:33:44) - Having a 12-month outlook, maximum (00:41:03) - Creating a dealbook (00:47:31) - Benchmarks for processes and projects (00:55:07) - Categories of integrations (00:59:56) - Metrics to track in order to make sure you're staying on goal (01:04:23) - The role of debt (01:08:31) - Key Takeaways

My guest on this episode is Richard Reese. Richard took over as CEO of Iron Mountain, a physical records management business, in 1981. He ran the business as CEO through going public in 1996 before retiring from the role in 2013. Revenue over that period grew from around $3 million in 1981 to $3 billion in 2013. Our discussion focuses on incentivizing teams with cash and stock, something Richard has thought deeply about over many decades, developing compensation plans, working with private and public investors, and a few stories from the early years of running Iron Mountain. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Richard on LinkedIn Iron Mountain Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:05:17) - Richard's background, career, and time as CEO for Iron Mountain (00:15:18) - What became easier when you went public? What became harder? (00:18:44) - What did your management team look like when you stepped in and how did you look to evolve it? (00:25:43) - When you started thinking about incentivizing the management team, what were some ways you got them to buy in? (00:39:49) - What kind of challenges did you run into with equity compensations?

Ep.207: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Savneet Singh (@SavneetS). My guest today is Savneet Signh, CEO of PAR Technology, a billion-dollar market cap publicly traded point of sale software business serving the restaurant industry. I've been following Savneet's career since college when he went on Invest Like the Best talking about acquiring software businesses through his holding company Tera. Through that work he connected with PAR, joining the board and eventually replacing the CEO. Since then he's turned the business around and is finding more success. Savneet and I talk about turning around teams, management techniques he's developed, his role as a teacher and chief communicator at PAR, and his views on software businesses from an investor perspective. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: PAR An Excellent Puzzle by Will Larson Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:02) - Joining the board of Par, becoming CEO, and saving the company from bankruptcy (00:14:08) - Retaining speed over time (00:16:22) - Stages of structural changes (00:18:48) - Nurturing healthy tension (00:20:32) - Incentive models (00:25:29) - What have you learned about your role in making hard decisions? (00:29:08) - Communication styles (00:32:34) - What does a typical week look like for you? (00:34:23) - How has your view of M&A changed? (00:36:45) - What distinguishes a great product? (00:38:01) - Is being the all-in-one solution becoming the trend in SaaS? (00:40:01) - What stands out as a trend in software right now? (00:42:24) - Takeaways from running and growing product teams (00:43:59) - Communication between sales or product and customers (00:45:11) - Advice to listeners

Ep.206: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Tim Strickland (@Tim-Strickland). My guest today is Tim Strickland, former Chief Revenue Officer of ZoomInfo and now an advisory partner at Summit Partners. Tim led during a massive growth period for ZoomInfo and had to learn how to rapidly scale sales teams both within ZoomInfo and incorporate go-to-market teams from acquired companies. I've loved my own sales experience through data at Altos Research and wanted to hear what sales look like in hugely successful data companies just like ZoomInfo. Tim and I talk about the characteristics of high-performing sales teams, where companies get stuck and common challenges, key points in a company's growth cycle for sales teams, and what he looks for in new sales hires. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about the audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Summit Advisory Tim on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:37) - Tim's Sales career and the impact on the CRO role (00:08:02) - Focuses for a sales team (00:15:07) - Key reorgs within the sales team at Zoominfo (00:17:39) - Defining the CRO Role (00:20:51) - What to look for when hiring (00:26:28) - What makes a good SDR into a great SDR (00:29:07) - Where do you see the sales team get stuck most often? (00:33:50) - Hard lessons learned

Ep.205: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Mike Wyman (@michael-k-wyman). My guest today, Mike Wyman, brings over 30 years of experience in various CFO roles to this episode where we dive into the CFO role, especially in newly acquired businesses with limited financial infrastructure. Today Mike advises CEOs throughout the search fund ecosystem on making critical CFO hires and brings his experience to several boards as well. In our discussion, Mike outlines the CFO mentality and focus on constant improvement, what the various phases look like early in a new CEO's tenure concerning finance, and advice for hiring your financial team. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Mike on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:02) - Mike's favorite roles during his career (00:12:31) - Developing the CFO Mentality framework (00:16:19) - Early improvements to implement in a finance department post-acquisition (00:18:38) - Phases and priorities in the finance of a search fund company (00:30:27) - Hiring a CFO (00:34:07) - Responsibilities of a strategic CFO (00:36:25) - Personal discoveries about life as a CFO (00:38:16) - Common mistakes from CFOs and CEOs post-acquisition (00:39:57) - What makes an effective finance team? (00:42:25) - Closing advice

Ep.204: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Mike Zani (@MikeZani). My guest today is Mike Zani, CEO of The Predictive Index, a talent optimization platform built around their nearly 70-year-old behavioral assessment tool. Today they help companies optimize their teams by identifying the key strengths of employees and hiring prospects to get the fit right. This is Mike's third time being a CEO and he brings a wealth of knowledge around early team construction and scaling. Mike and I talk about the story of The Predictive Index, the evolving role of human resources, the landscape of tools to help optimize talent, and all kinds of lessons on change management. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: The Predictive Index Mike on LinkedIn The Science of Dream Teams by Mike Zani Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:18) - Acquiring Predictive Index (00:07:15) - The keys to early success (00:12:28) - Goals and ambitions in the early days post-acquisition (00:22:13) - Developing HR Teams (00:37:49) - How do you create a cohesive portfolio of tools to gather team data? (00:44:28) - The T-shirt analogy (00:53:00) - Improving yourself: Not listening (00:57:17) - Preparing for the next CEO role (01:00:19) - Maintaining high levels of energy (01:02:50) - The joys and frustrations of growing a company alone vs. with a partner

Ep.203: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by David Dodson (@Dave-Dodson). Today's episode is a re-run of my conversation with David Dodson, an investor, professor, former CEO, and author of one of my new favorite management books, The Manager's Handbook. We talk about the strategies and tactics he's learned over many years of studying high-performing CEOs and distilled into his book. If you're looking for a belated gift for an ambitious friend, I cannot recommend highly enough gifting a copy of The Manager's Handbook. And now, please enjoy this fantastic primer discussion on the book with David Dodson. I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ Links: Pick up a copy of The Manager's Handbook by David Dodson David on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:15) David's experience as a first-time author (00:09:33) The decision to design the book for busy people (00:11:24) The challenge for CEOs to read given their time constraints (00:14:08) The 5 skills that are common among great leaders (00:22:51) How readers can apply the book's lessons to their company (00:27:14) How to improve meetings (00:32:19) Radical Candor (00:38:35) The impact effective communication has on the 5 skills (00:43:42) Thoughts on good hiring (00:50:46) Successfully onboarding a new hire (00:54:28) Knowing when to fire an employee (00:56:22) The fanatical custodian of time (01:01:10) Best email & Slack habits (01:09:47) What section David would add to the next revision

Ep.202: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Scott Barstow (@ScottBarstow). My guest today is Scott Barstow. Scott has founded and led tech companies and teams throughout his career. He now supports the Pacific Lake portfolio as an operating partner focused on building great software product and engineering orgs. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Scott through my Chief of Staff role with HW Media and Pacific Lake's executive leadership program, and I think highly of his perspective on software and team construction. Scott has spent years thinking about what makes high-performing product orgs work, and in this episode, we dive into key characteristics of high performance and how software CEOs can implement them in their product teams. We talk about key fundamentals like culture, communication, ICP, to more complex topics like Conway's law, the role of leadership, and recruiting tactics and strategies. I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Pacific Lake Scott on LinkedIn The Alliance by Reid Hoffman Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:14) - Framing the goals of a Product org and key roles (00:07:53) - Defining Product Software companies and key differences between product and engineering (00:14:16) - Who determines the priorities of features and creates a product roadmap? (00:16:48) - How to effectively communicate across an organization (00:23:04) - How the CEO's role plays in prioritization (00:25:43) - Building trust in an organization (00:33:19) - Benchmarks for timing from idea to shipping (00:39:15) - How $5-$10m ARR product orgs scale (00:47:34) - Keeping teams independent and autonomous (00:56:41) - Recruiting (01:07:18) - Final thoughts

Ep.201: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Gary Walter Jr. (@GaryWalter). My guest on this episode is Gary Walter, Jr, who took over running Infutor, a consumer identity data business, as CEO after his father passed. Infutor took on investment from Norwest Venture Partners and experienced rapid growth before selling to Verisk for $250m in 2022. Today he advises other data companies and CEOs, with specialties in data and sales orgs. Gary and I talk about building great sales teams and go-to-market strategies, developing effective 5 year plans, and empowering your team. I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Verisk Invest Like the Best: Brad Jacobs Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:39) - Gary's intellectual curiosity (00:06:35) - Gary's career in data and the state of Infutor (00:15:20) - Learnings from Gary's father (00:18:59) - Hiring an executive team (00:21:21) - Empowering your team (00:23:38) - Finding your zone of genius (00:26:28) - Building a sales-driven culture (00:31:12) - Creating an effective strategic plan (00:32:50) - Handling disagreements (00:34:26) - Finding inspiration in others (00:37:25) - The sales strategy is more important than data being proprietary (00:40:32) - Synching product priorities (00:43:25) - The emotional side of selling a company (00:45:30) - How CEOs can effectively approach selling the company

This is my 200th episode of Think Like an Owner, and for this special episode I've invited my good friend Justin Mazeka Vogt on for the honors. Justin and his business partner Ed Redden were among the very first to reach out to me when I first started the podcast 5 years ago. We've discussed this episode's topics extensively, from thinking bigger to gaining leverage and designing the ideal life for ourselves, all topics Justin is passionate and thoughtful about. We also talk about what they've learned building Avuity and providing leverage across their team, not just to themselves as individuals Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Justin on Twitter Evermore Industries Invest Like the Best w /Jeremy Giffon Traction by Gino Wickman Tim Ferriss w/ Sam Corcos Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:32) - What it means to think bigger and apply it in your career (00:08:24) - What sticks out to you from everything you learned about Charlie Munger? (00:10:58) - Building a compounding vision (00:25:10) - Giving yourself leverage (00:27:55) - Learnings from Tim Ferriss' Podcast w/ Sam Corcos (00:36:48) - What process or part of your every day have you cut because it didn't benefit the organization? (00:41:00) - Balancing an asynchronous strategy with a sense of urgency (00:45:00) - Advice on thinking bigger (00:50:47) - How Alex sees the Podcast compounding going forward

Ep.199: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Ann Rhoades (@Ann_Rhoades). I'm thrilled to share my episode today with Ann Rhoades on building values-driven cultures that drive outperformance. Ann was the VP of People at Southwest Airlines with founder Herb Kelleher and was a founding executive as VP of People, and eventually a board member of JetBlue Airways. She has also worked with companies like Doubletree Hotels, P.F. Changs, Restoration Hardware, and countless others through her consulting and research firm, People Ink. Our discussion focused on building and maintaining values-driven companies from the perspective of the CEO and how they can drive the process forward. One of my favorite takeaways was the importance of tying your values to behaviors, providing real-life examples of how to act in accordance with your values. It's one thing to announce your core values to your team, but tying them to their everyday roles is crucial. We also talked about how to hire based on values, employee retention, continuous improvement, and how strong values-driven cultures create category leading companies. Please enjoy this fantastic episode with Ann Rhoades. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: People Ink Ann on Twitter OC Tanner 2024 Workforce Study Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:46) - Why values are so important (00:14:24) - Ann's career path and key experiences that led to building a high-performance culture (00:24:50) - Typical symptoms of a lackluster culture (00:27:25) - Implementing values (00:30:22) - The most common obstacles CEOs have in implementing values (00:32:46) - Having a values-focused hiring process (00:47:27) - Connecting values to behaviors (00:50:01) - Tools and systems to measure how an org is living the values (00:52:50) - Retaining A-players (00:55:03) - Advice to CEOs looking to build stronger cultures

Ep. 198: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Joel Peterson (@JoelPetersonGSB). My guest today is Joel Peterson. Joel is the founder and chairman of Peterson Partners, a private equity, venture, and search investment firm, and the former CEO of Trammell Crow. He is also the former Chairman of JetBlue AIrways and is currently in his 31st year teaching at Stanford GSB. Finally, Joel has published two books, The Ten Laws of Trust and Entrepreneurial Leadership. This in-person episode goes far and wide into building and maintaining trust, designing a fulfilling life, skills growing CEOs need, leadership transitions, lavish communication, and building value focused organizations as CEO. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Joel on LinkedIn Peterson Partners Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:02) - Joel's favorite classes to teach at Stanford (00:05:36) - Engineering a remarkable life (00:10:21) - Joel's Values-driven leadership and companies class (00:13:03) - Hindsight on running Trammell Crow (00:20:32) - Launching Peterson Partners (00:23:14) - Characteristics of high-performing CEOs (00:33:48) - Measuring trust of an organization with their CEO (00:38:22) - Joel's time at JetBlue (00:39:48) - CEO audits (00:41:01) - Navigating tough situations (00:46:02) - Adaptability in Founders (00:49:16) - Insights on Recruiting Talent (01:00:00) - Getting over betrayal

Ep.197: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Jason Anderson (@andersonjasone). My guest today is Jason Anderson, CEO of Arizona College of Nursing and former CEO of VRI. Jason brings an extensive range of experience as CEO to this episode and we dive into critical skills he's developed to be effective at each step. One of my favorite parts of our discussion was on how he is constantly on the lookout for talent in everyday life, always in "recruiting mode" for his company. We also talk about hiring executive talent and using recruiters, tough situations like losing a large customer, leadership transitions, and connecting with your team. Please enjoy my conversation with Jason Anderson. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Arizona College of Nursing Jason on LinkedIn Tru Recruitment Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:45) - Jason's previous career in Sales and it's impact on his role as a CEO (00:07:02) - What skill have you improved upon since operating as a CEO? (00:11:16) - Involving families of team members in business events (00:13:18) - Talent recruitment (00:16:24) - Using recruiters and hiring executives (00:20:49) - Evaluating executives and leaders within the company (00:23:33) - Refining communication styles (00:29:09) - Improving your performance at work, outside of work (00:31:30) - Setting boundaries (00:32:45) - Challenging experiences as a CEO (00:39:59) - The unique experience of running a PE-backed company (00:45:00) - Building effective Sales teams (00:48:00) - Inorganic growth (00:51:34) - Being more aggressive in your career path

Ep.196: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Shikhar Saxena (@shikhar-saxena). My guest today is Shikhar Saxena, co-founder and CEO of Milan Laser Hair Removal. Milan, founded in 2012, is the nation's largest laser hair removal provider with over 300 locations in 32 states and 1,900 employees performing 50,000 treatments a month. Keys to Shikhar's growth story have been an obsession with customer experience and a constant study of other CEOs and resources to improve his performance. We talk about that obsession with customer experience and lessons learned through scaling, studying peers, and the market for med spa businesses today. Please enjoy this fantastic episode with Shikhar Saxena. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Milan Laser Hair Removal Shikhar on LinkedIn Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:59) The Milan origin story (00:13:07) Verticals to pursue in the Med Spa space (00:14:43) Improving the customer experience (00:21:05) Studying companies to learn about consumer experience (00:23:59) Changing clinic management through scale (00:26:33) Key executive roles (00:28:44) Hiring and interviewing (00:33:51) Disseminating core values across locations (00:37:08) Dealing with stress (00:41:59) How PE changes processes (00:45:15) Predictions for the industry (00:46:17) The decision to focus solely on hair removal (00:50:42) Future growth plans (00:53:54) Shikhar's book (00:58:29) Final thoughts

My guest today is Mahesh Rajasekharan, CEO of Cleo, a software platform for supply chain system integrations. A few months ago I asked a few friends which sales-focused CEO they admired most and they all unanimously said Mahesh. With Mahesh at the helm, Cleo has grown from a single-digit ARR business in 2012 to nearly $100 million in ARR today, with even greater ambitions for the future. He has built some of the most robust and high-performing sales and product teams I've seen and is a value-adding investor and advisor to many other CEOs. Mahesh and I talk about the story of Cleo and how they drive customer value, pivot points along the growth journey, building best-in-class sales and product orgs, growth while remaining profitable, private equity ownership, and so much more. Please enjoy this fantastic conversation with Mahesh Rajasekharan. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Cleo Mahesh on LinkedIn Topics: (00:04:06) Cleo and how Mahesh has evolved the business (00:11:37) Identifying customer needs (00:14:04) Growing and coordinating a product team (00:18:17) Communicating with customers (00:21:20) Building and scaling a Sales organization (00:37:15) How the CEO role has changed (00:39:02)Self-evaluation (00:42:49) Defining profitable growth (00:48:56) Themes for companies who can't become profitable (00:52:17) An example of a project that wasn't working initially but learned it would down the road (00:54:13) Experiences as a private equity-backed CEO (00:58:21) The most enjoyable part of the CEO role (00:59:27) M&A (01:03:47) Advice for software CEOs in scaling

Ep. 194: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Coley Andrews (@coley-andrews) and Mitch Cohen. This is the final episode in our Launch Series with guests Coley Andrews and Mitch Cohen, partners at Pacific Lake and Trilogy, respectively. Through this series we have talked about industry research, starting your search, working with sellers, legal diligence, first 100 days, and more. Today's conversation touches on the spirit of search and the collaboration and mentorship that comes from the search community. Coley and Mitch also describe what makes a good board member, leaning on your board and investors, evolution of search as a model, and so much more. Please enjoy this final Launch episode with Coley and Mitch. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Pacific Lake Partners Trilogy Search Partners Launch Ep #1 Launch Ep #2 Launch Ep #3 Launch Ep #4 Launch Ep #5 Launch Ep #6 Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:31) Why Mitch and Coley went into Search (00:12:10) The impact of mentors (00:16:35) Creating a culture of mentorship, patience and empathy (00:30:14) Mentorship as a board member (00:43:23) How the highest performing CEOs interact with their boards (00:49:11) Most helpful questions to ask your board (00:53:35) Board involvement in hiring decisionos (00:58:08) Changes and challenges in the Search Fund industry

Ep.193: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Jehiel Oliver (@Jehiel). My guest today is Jehiel Oliver, founder and CEO of Hello Tractor, a farming equipment rental platform serving farms across Africa. Jehiel has an amazing blend of energy, excitement, and tenacity that is hard to find and energizing to be around. Jehiel and I talk about how he influences behaviors in creating new markets, training markets, capital strategy through growth, and growing in his role through vulnerability. Please enjoy this fantastic episode with Jehiel Oliver. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Hello Tractor Jehiel on Twitter Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:57) Getting into the tractor business and the business model for Hello Tractor (00:07:01) Influencing behavior (00:09:15) Maintaining trust (00:11:05) The most challenging parts of service (00:13:53) Entering new markets (00:17:33) Experimenting with incentives (00:18:56) Costs & operating leverage (00:22:11) Fostering speed amongst the team (00:25:27) Vulnerability in the CEO role (00:28:01) Working through key challenges

Ep.192: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Chris Powers (@fortworthchris). My guest today is Chris Powers, founder and chairman of Fort Capital, an industrial real estate investor based in Fort Worth, TX. Chris is also the host of The Fort Podcast, which I was a guest on just last week and we'll link to that episode in the show notes. Chris has built an amazing real estate firm and recently promoted his business partner Jason to CEO so he could step into a chairman role. We talk primarily today about his role as a leader in Fort, but we also recorded an episode together a few years ago with a focus on his investing strategy — episode 70 from June 2021. This discussion centers around what he's learned running Fort, both as CEO and Chairman, including tactics and strategies that have been effective, how organizations scale, looking up to peer businesses and modeling the path there, identifying what you're good at, and mentorship. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Chris on Twitter The Fort Podcast Alex's appearance on The Fort Fort Capital Chris' first appearance on TLAO Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:05:11) Chris' elevator pitch (00:06:22) What drives your passion for thinking? (00:07:45) Are there any companies or people you study and learn from? (00:10:10) Are there any common mindsets at places like Berkshire and Blackstone? (00:13:06) What feels risky to Fort Capital that wouldn't feel risky to a Blackstone? (00:14:47) Are there any dangers to studying people or companies who are 10-20 steps ahead of you? (00:17:19) How do you identify "your way"? (00:20:09) How did focusing only on industrial real estate lead to massive growth? (00:27:09) What do you notice from folks who remain as the CEO as they get from 0 to 1? (00:29:11) Fear of delegation (00:35:20) How has the flywheel spun since you stepped out of the CEO role? (00:39:03) What have you done to sideline your ego in decision-making (00:42:58) Where have you drawn the line between your decisions and those of the CEO? (00:46:50) What have you learned about healthy disagreement? (00:48:43) How do you get people to understand that disagreements aren't personal? (00:51:43) What are some ways you've found to be an effective mentor? (01:01:02) Chris' experience with executive coaching (01:04:30) What skill are you hoping to achieve over the next year?

Ep.191: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Sam Krieg (@sam-krieg) and Chris Hendriksen (@chris-hendriksen). Today is the 6th episode in our Launch Series, a partnered episode series with Pacific Lake Partners and Trilogy Search Partners on preparing for the CEO role as a search fund. This conversation centers around a CEO's first 100 days in the company post-acquisition, and I'm joined by Sam Krieg, Co-CEO of Central Storage & Warehouse, and Chris Hendrikson, partner at Pacific Lake Partners and former CEO of VRI. We talk about the key objectives new CEOs should approach the business with, important frameworks for making decisions, how to authentically get to know your team and business, the role of the founder and your investors, and so much more. Please enjoy this episode on the first 100 days, and check out our earlier Launch episodes as they complement this discussion well. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Sam on LinkedIn Chris on LinkedIn CSW Pacific Lake Partners Trilogy Search Partners Launch Ep #1 Launch Ep #2 Launch Ep #3 Launch Ep #4 Launch Ep #5 Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:54) Chris and Sam's experiences in the first 100 days as CEO (00:07:43) Goals for CEOs to have in their first 100 days (00:11:03) "Do no Harm" vs. making team changes early in a CEO's tenure (00:23:42) Building trust with key players and the company (00:30:44) Accelerating learning of how the business works (00:41:38) Mapping out ways to alleviate problems within the business (00:47:02) Working with the founders on a transition plan (00:52:39) How CEOs can transition trusting relationships with customers and key vendors to new owners (00:58:47) Where you can learn on your board and investor group (01:07:03) When to start having formal board meetings (01:09:30) Closing advice

Ep.190: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Felix Brooks-Church (@felixbc). My guest is Felix Brooks-Church, CEO of Sanku, which helps local mills across Africa produce fortified food, primarily flour, via their machines and technology. Felix was introduced to me by David Dodson, co-founder and chairman of the board at Sanku. Sanku has a fascinating origin story, which includes a stint in Nepal, refining the technology, and is now a quickly growing enterprise that has required a ton of learning on Felix's part to adapt his role to the growing company. Felix and I talk about how he's adapted his role, leaning on the board for feedback and advice, sustaining growth, and building discipline. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: Felix on LinkedIn Sanku Sankhu village in Nepal Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:03) Themes observed across decades of life (00:08:26) Shifting from an inward focus to an outward focus (00:09:39) Experiences that prepare you for a Leadership role (00:11:41) Influences on the mission of Sanku (00:14:21) The inspiration for fortifying flour as the core of the business (00:17:29) The Sanku business model (00:22:46) Takeaways from working in Nepal (00:29:44) Themes & learnings as a CEO (00:34:34) Building out an executive team & hiring best practices (00:42:41) Risk tolerance (00:44:05) Leaning on peers for support (00:47:22) What strongly held belief have you changed your mind about? (00:51:03) What's the best business you've ever seen?