Think Like an Owner

This week is a bonus episode. We are cross posting a guest appearance I had on John Wilson's Owned and Operated podcast. I'm a big fan of John and enjoy his podcast immensely, and I wanted to share it with you all. In this episode, I share more about my philosophy behind the Operator's Handbook and all the ins and outs you want to know about podcasting. Near the end, I manage to turn the mic around on him and learn about his idea of bloating before optimizing and growing Wilson Plumbing and their other acquisitions. I hope you enjoy this Owned and Operated episode with John Wilson and myself. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links: Owned & Operated Podcast My First Million Podcast Think Like An Owner Ep. 47 with John Wilson Peter Attia's private podcast Knifepoint Horror Podcast - Apple Podcasts & Spotify Grant's Interest Rate Observer The Economist Harvard Business Review BizBuySell How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis Topics: (1:36) - Introducing Alex & discussing podcasting (5:08) - Alex's background, starting Think Like An Owner & The Operator's Handbook (9:34) - When did Think Like An Owner shift from being a hobby to a business? (12:03) - The podcasting business model (19:07) - Building The Operator's Handbook and why Alex chose a print format (31:20) - The process of creating one issue of The Operator's Handbook (35:39) - Subscriber growth from the first issue (37:05) - The team behind The Operator's Handbook (39:16) - What's the process like of bringing on a team? (40:43) - Acquiring & growing publications and media outfits (50:39) - John on growing his service businesses (53:57) - Bloating with an imperfect process (57:32) - Alex's search for a media acquisition (59:43) - Wrap up

My guest on this episode is Greg Geronemus, co-founder and managing partner of Footbridge Partners, a traditional search investment firm. This is my second episode with Greg, the first being episode 17 back in April 2020, where Greg shared his experience acquiring and operating his search company SmarTours and launching Footbridge. Well, two years later, Greg and his partner David have raised that fund and are halfway through their investment period with a budding portfolio of searchers. In this second episode, Greg shares his view on the role of a search investor, misconceptions in traditional search, the risk in buying at larger multiples, and a few wild stories from his time running SmarTours. Enjoy. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links: Footbridge Partners Greg's first appearance on TLAO SmarTours Forest Park Capital The Skin Center Topics: (4:45) - Greg's Background and career (6:43) - How much did the experience of running smart tours help in your advisement to searchers? (8:40) - Is there a specific experience from your time with Smart Tours that you reference often with searchers? (10:21) - Greg's experience cancelling a season of Ukrainian river cruises (11:11) - Have you invested in any companies that have the same exposure as Smart Tours? (12:19) - Are there any themes you've noticed in the investments you pursue? (14:10) - What is your perspective on the role of a search investor? (18:10) - Can a hands-on investor approach be scaled across 60-70 searchers? (19:53) - Common misconceptions about the world of search (25:35) - What risks do you see in searchers buying larger and larger businesses? (29:30) - What are some interesting changes you're seeing on the self-funded searcher side? (33:23) - How can a self-funded searcher or search investor protect themselves during the process? (37:33) - As an investor, What sorts of numbers, metrics and reports are you looking for from searchers either quarterly or annually? (40:13) - How frequently do you communicate with searchers? (42:16) - What's the best business you've ever seen?

My guest on this episode is Mehtab Bhogal, co-founder of Karta Ventures. Karta is a Canadian based e-commerce acquirer investing primarily in e-commerce turnarounds, a corner of the world I didn't even know existed but that is incredibly fascinating. This episode is one of my recent favorites because of Mehtab's ability to share high level insights and then, in the next sentence, dive deep into obscure e-commerce details. If you enjoy conversations with seasoned operators who love to get their hands dirty, you will love this episode. During our conversation, Mehtab describes the dynamics within turnaround businesses, the risk return profile of each of them, which mimics venture in many ways, how he finds companies, and some incredible stories about what he's discovered in declining e-commerce companies. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links: Mehtab Bhogal on LinkedIn Karta Ventures Diapers.com Josh's Frogs Josh's Frogs on YouTube Topics: (5:06) - Mehtab's background and career (7:14) - Dropping out of college to flip guitars full-time (8:40) - Launching a search vehicle (9:54) - What kinds of deals did you find via Reddit? (11:02) - When did you get the sense that you were on the right track with DTC brands? (12:48) - What are the dynamics of a turn-around business? (14:24) - What are the main reasons an e-commerce business will become a turn-around business? (15:59) - What companies in a turn-around situations do you steer clear from? (17:02) - Why are you able to do due diligence so much faster with these types of companies? (17:52) - The nuance between product issues and marketing issues (19:15) - The low cost of entry for these businesses (20:30) - Risk-return vs. Venture (21:59) - How do you find these companies and choose the best ones? (24:12) - What happens day 1 after acquiring the business? (26:00) - What are some easily identifiable expenses that you find and cut? (28:50) - How do you evaluate managers? (29:59) - What do you do to shift companies into growth mode? (31:22) - What changes do you make on the product, sales and marketing side? (32:34) - A discussion on Lean production (33:50) - How do you evaluate whether a product is a breakeven bread product? (34:25) - Are you able to see what order items are added to someones cart? (36:58) - What are you surprised by that's missing or not done well at these companies? Any wild stories? (40:56) - What college class would you teach if it could cover anything? (42:28) - What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on? (42:59) - What's the best business you've ever seen?

My guest on this episode is Sam Shepler. Sam is the founder of Testimonial Hero, a company he bootstrapped that helps companies create more effective video customer testimonials. Sam and I spend much of the episode talking about how to create great testimonials for your company and what the driving reasons are for using video over text or other mediums. In addition to being focused on a really interesting part of a sales process, Testimonial Hero itself is an interesting case study at what a bootstrap services company grows into overtime. Over the course of the episode, we talk about hiring a great team, using software and technology in your business to automate processes, and we spend some time near the end discussing time management and productivity. Enjoy. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links: Sam on Twitter Testimonial Hero Gumroad Andrew Wilkinson: Lazy Leadership Topics: (3:31) - How do you think about investing yourself and your professional development? (6:45) - What are some of the biggest changes you've made in your routine as you've grown in your career? (8:05) - What are some learnings you've had from working with coaches? (10:02) - How did you build Testimonial Hero? What were the early days like? (12:12) - What research have you found in the comparison of effectiveness between pull quotes and video reviews? (14:15) - What kinds of companies are best suited for video testimonials? (17:16) - If a company doesn't have a content strategy or video testimonials, which should they pursue first? (18:16) - Were video testimonials always the main product at Testimonial Hero? (19:11) - What's been your journey as a founder? (21:01) - Was there a tipping point that launched your growth? (22:15) - What did your day as a CEO look like in year 1 vs. now? (24:40) - Was there a moment where you realized you needed to bring on a General Manager? (25:50) - Tracking a CEO's time (27:53) - What college course would you teach if it could be on anything? (28:35) - What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on? (29:24) - What's the best business you've ever seen? (30:53) - Are there parts of Gumroad you've tried to emulate?

My guest on this episode is Robert Graham. Robert worked in management roles at Eaton prior to attending Harvard Business School, after which he worked in investment banking and private equity. Eventually, he decided to search for a business after seeing his HBS classmates do it, and today Robert is Managing Partner at Pillar Health Group, the holding company for four healthcare businesses he acquired together as a searcher. He's also a partner at Search Investment Group, which advises searchers on finding and acquiring their dream business. Search Investment Group also invests in self-funded searchers and has launched a new funded search program that functions as a hybrid between self-funded and traditional funded search. We discussed this program, its goals and feedback they've received from searchers in the episode. During our conversation, we also talk about what managing large manufacturing facilities with hundreds of employees is like, why Robert didn't want to acquire a manufacturing business as part of his search, running two businesses at once with Pillar Health and Search Investment Group, and time management as a CEO. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links: Robert on LinkedIn Harvard Business School Search Investment Group Pillar Health Group Topics: (4:07) - Robert's journey into Search (5:32) - Could you have launched a search fund directly after attending HBS? (6:38) - How did your experience prior to Harvard Business School help prepare you for searching? (7:40) - Robert's experience running operations in manufacturing facilities (13:37) - Did you ever come across any SMB's that would've existed as suppliers within manufacturing plants that interested you? (16:43) - Running Pillar Health Group (18:51) - The explosive growth of the three branches of Pillar (20:30) - How similar are the three businesses? (22:46) - What does your current day-to-day look like? (25:33) - What adjustments are you looking to make in your role for 2022? (27:31) - Do you do any exercise that helps you decide what needs to be delegated? (29:37) - Thoughts on grocery delivery (30:57) - Search Investment Group (32:17) - SIG's program for funding self-funded searchers (35:25) - Is there a step-up in any expenditure you make when helping the searcher (36:45) - What's the reception been like from searchers? (37:53) - What personality tests have you found to be most effective when interviewing potential searchers? (41:12) - What college class would you teach if it could be about anything? (41:44) - What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on? (43:32) - Have you found any correlation between a searcher's experience in an industry to their success in that industry? (45:55) - Warren Buffet's annual shareholder meeting (47:10) - What's the best business you've ever seen?

My guest on this episode is Eric Friend. I reached out to Eric after seeing him talking on Twitter about his family's printing business Friend Paper, which was founded in 1908 in Zion, Illinois, by Eric's great grandfather. As a print publisher through our quarterly publication called the Operator's Handbook, I was curious to hear what ideas he had on using print as a content medium. It turns out he's an even bigger print publishing nerd than I am, and we hit it off immediately. I forgot to hit the record button during our first phone call, but Eric agreed to be on the podcast to share more about his family business and print as an under-loved medium. Eric shares his journey from investment banking to his fourth-generation family printing business, challenges inherent in family businesses, the rebranding effort, and how companies today can use print to stand out from their competitors with customers and create unique experiences. We also spend quite some time nerding out about print publishing and the business cards from the movie American Psycho. Enjoy. Listen weekly and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links: H.A. Friend & Co., Inc (Eric's Company) Eric on Twitter The Luxury Strategy by J.N. Kapferer The Best Made Company x Duluth Trading Co. Topics: (4:02) - The Catholic Church Story (10:14) - The timelessness of print media (13:36) - Eric's background, his career in Investment Banking, and moving into the family business (31:36) - What are some ways you want to see other companies use high quality print products? (39:14) - What are some ways to communicate luxury through print? (42:49) - Challenges in the business across generations (49:31) - What are you most excited for over the next 12 months in the business? (52:27) - What college class would you teach if it could be anything? (54:20) - What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on? (55:31) - What's the best business you've ever seen? (59:27) - Wrap up

John founded a professional services company in 1984 focused on energy conservation, inspections, and design work for large companies. He eventually grew the company to 43 employees and $13 million in sales and sold to Eclipse Combustion for $10 million in 2011. Since selling the business, he has taken on specific consulting projects to keep himself active and in the loop. I met John at a happy hour gathering in Akron, Ohio, of small business folks on Twitter and around Ohio. We shared a beer and chatted all things building a team, growing a business and life after a sale. His journey of being a founder and selling his business is the other side of the table from many of our podcast guests who acquired the business they run. John's story is filled with all the trials and triumphs of growing a business from scratch and creating a life changing outcome for your family. And I had a lot of fun recording this conversation. Over the course of the episode, we talk about reinventing yourself repeatedly, creating a saleable business, courage as a muscle that can be developed, and a few horror stories. Listen weekly and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links: CEC Consultants Honeywell Combustion Safety Sales Concepts Course John Puskar Books John Puskar on YouTube John Puskar on LinkedIn Topics: (4:11) - John's background and career (12:05) - What does an energy conservation audit look like? (13:11) - How long were you working before you could bring in a team to help you? (15:09) - Was there a point where you could accelerate the growth of your team? (24:29) - How did your day to day and the perspective of your business change when you hit that period of hyper growth? (29:03) - Courage is a muscle that can be developed over time (33:26) - John's Pivot into creating a Sale-able business (41:32) - What changes occurred in your life after selling the business? (48:52) - Horror Stories of the business (53:59) - What college class would you teach if it could be about anything? (55:31) - What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on? (56:59) - What's the best business you've ever seen? (58:10) - Wrap up

My guest on this episode is Jordan Evans. Jordan grew up in an entrepreneurial family in California. His parents started a language translation and interpreting business when he was two years old, and it grew over the course of his childhood. It grew enough that he actually acquired it from his parents in 2019 and has since been growing the business organically and through strategic bolt-on acquisitions of other language companies. I love episodes of family businesses. I've become more interested recently in roll-ups, so this was a really fun episode for me. Over the course of the episode, we talk about how his parents started and grew the company, childhood with entrepreneurial parents, best practices in running a fully remote team, and developing and growth through an acquisition playbook. Enjoy. Listen weekly and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links Language Network ScanSnap Topics (3:48) - Jordan's experience growing up in a family business and his ultimate decision to buy it from his parents (5:07) - Jordan's previous career in software (7:08) - What options were you weighing when you were let go? (8:31) - How old were you when your parents started their business? (9:09) - Was there a moment when it clicked that your parents were entrepreneurs? (10:40) - What was the overview of the business when you took over? (12:34) - What do customer relationships look like? (14:50) - How do you organize your team to handle so many different relationships? (16:50) - How did your parents optimize the business around lifestyle and what changes did you make to prime it for growth and bolt-on? (20:57) - What was the most difficult part of going paperless? (24:32) - The process of hiring and developing a sales team (28:01) - How do you manage a team of 1500+ freelancers? (30:45) - What was the transition like from an office to fully-remote? (32:36) - Why did you decide to start acquiring bolt-on companies? (36:58) - What's gotten more difficult as you do each acquisition? (40:21) - Where do your deals generally come from? (44:02) - How do you structure deals with sellers? (46:50) - Have you used SBA debt at all? (48:23) - What are you most excited for over the next year? (50:07) - What college class would you teach if it could be anything? (51:42) - What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on? (53:26) - What's the best business you've ever seen?

My guest on this episode is Chris Williams. I was introduced to Chris via Justin Vogt about a year ago. And since then, Chris and I have talked monthly about his search, thoughts on running a small company, the podcast, and all things work and life. I've really enjoyed getting to know him, and I'm thrilled to have him on the podcast finally. Chris recently bought a bookkeeping and accounting outsourcing business in California called System Six, which had 24 employees and around a million dollars in EBITDA at the time of acquisition. As Chris has spent more time in the CEO seat, it's been fun hearing about his ideas, challenges, and new growth plans for the company, and I'm excited to share them on the podcast. Over the course of this episode, Chris and I talk about why he chose to buy a small company versus continuing in private equity, the daily life of being a CEO, building a team around flexibility, and growth opportunities ahead. Also, Chris is looking to build a specialty in searcher owned companies for bookkeeping and accounting. If this is an area you need help in, definitely reach out to Chris at [email protected] and tell him you heard him on Think Like an Owner. Listen weekly and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links SystemSix Alpine Investors Emporos Systems Topics (5:27) - Chris' background and career (7:15) - Was there a specific moment where you realized that you wanted to run a business yourself? (8:28) - Did you find PE to be focused less on People? (10:36) - Were there any opportunities for PE firms to recruit you to work directly within portfolio companies? (12:32) - Chris's search and the emotional journey (17:13) - Are there any high-level takeaways you would share with other searchers? (19:30) - What is the business you bought? (21:29) - How much interaction did you have with the owner during the process? (24:43) - What kind of questions did the owner's wife ask you? (26:23) - How has the team received you? (28:20) - What are the biggest differences in your day to day compared to your time spent in PE? (31:24) - Is there a specific moment or memory you've had since operating that has made it all worthwhile? (33:44) - What's an operating rabbit hole you're going down right now? (36:12) - Profit Sharing (39:28) - SystemSix's interesting flexibility offerings (42:50) - What are you most excited for over the next 6 months? (44:34) - What college class would you teach if it could be anything? (48:00) - What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on? (49:36) - Have you found any interesting or reliable ways to experiment with different paths? (51:02) - What's the best business you've ever seen? (52:51) - Is there a reason you didn't focus more on software businesses during your search?

My guests in this episode are Austin Hall and Palmer Higgins. A few months ago, I ran a survey with Think Like An Owner listeners to get feedback on the direction of the podcast. And one of the questions I asked was on new episode formats. One of those formats that received great feedback was facilitating conversations between two owners in similar industries that they could dive deep into their own businesses in a way I can't since I don't operate a business like theirs. I reached out to Austin and Palmer, who both lead lawn care businesses in Chicago and Maine, respectively, and are great friends. And they work to test the format with me. This wide-ranging conversation between the two of them covers what they're struggling with within their companies, pricing, materials, hiring and training, tractions, EOS, implementation, and everything involved in scaling a people-intensive business. Please let me know what you think of the format. I'm posting this episode specifically to get feedback on the format. And if I should do more episodes like this one or not. Send me your thoughts via email to [email protected]. On Twitter, where you can find me at @aebridgeman and finally via my website, alexbridgeman.com. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts. I hope you enjoy the episode. Think Like an Owner has teamed up with the podcast app Clever FM to provide show-specific features like searchability, sorting episodes by tags, episode transcripts, and the ability to highlight and annotate episodes. Do us a favor and download Clever FM on Apple or Android and tell us what you think and what other features you would like to see. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

My guest in this episode is Ryan DeCaire. Ryan joined a private equity firm called Ashbridge Partners in Toronto Canada and became president of one of their portfolio companies, Geroline, in February 2019. Geroline is an industrial safety products company that sells ice cleats to companies in the energy, aerospace, mining, transportation, and construction industries among others. Geroline has a pretty incredible growth story from the time of acquisition in February 2019, when it had low double digits revenue, Ryan and his team doubled the size of Geroline and sold for 10x gross return to investors only 16 months later. The story of how they did it with sweat and tears will have a familiar theme to anyone in a growing small company. Ryan and I discussed building systems and a growing business, hiring for culture, creating an incentive structure for their team, going to 55 trade shows per year, and all the work needed to handle those leads and the challenges of being a business with only one or a small handful of products. Think Like an Owner has teamed up with the podcast app Clever FM to provide show-specific features like searchability, sorting episodes by tags, episode transcripts, and the ability to highlight and annotate episodes. Do us a favor and download Clever FM on Apple or Android and tell us what you think and what other features you would like to see. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links Mentioned: Ryan DeCaire on LinkedIn SureWerx Official Website Think Like an Owner Sponsors Live Oak Bank — Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle-market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP — Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies – Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring?

My guest in this episode is Sandro Mina. Sandro is a co-founding partner of Relay Investments, a search investment fund based in Boston. Prior to Relay, Sandro and his partner, Martin launched their own search fund after graduating from Stanford's MBA program in 1991, acquiring and eventually exiting three companies. Sandro delves at the company he ran called Camera World and explains what this world of search funds looked like in the early Nineties. During our conversation, we discussed the history of search funds, how searchers should think about transitioning ownership from the seller to themselves, and how searchers can construct and utilize a great board for their company. Think Like an Owner has teamed up with the podcast app Clever FM to provide show-specific features like searchability, sorting episodes by tags, episode transcripts, and the ability to highlight and annotate episodes. Do us a favor and download Clever FM on Apple or Android and tell us what you think and what other features you would like to see. Download Clever FM now on the App Store or Google Play Store Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links Mentioned: Sandro Mina on LinkedIn Relay Investment Think Like an Owner Sponsors Live Oak Bank — Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle-market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP — Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies– Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring?

My guest in this episode is Timi Okah. Timi is the first CEO in Kingsway Financial CEO Accelerator Program, having acquired an HR and accounting business called the Ravix group in October this year of 2021. There's several interesting wrinkles within this search model. One of the most interesting being that Kingsway is a public company and Ravix was acquired as a subsidiary of Kingsway. On top of this, Kingsway has significant NOLs or net operating losses on their books, which offers a unique tax opportunity at Timi and Ravix. Over the course of this episode, Timi and I talk about his engineering background and switching to business, choosing Kingsway's program, pros and cons of buying on behalf of a public company, some nuances of working with public shareholders, and what he's excited to build within Ravix over the coming years. Enjoy. One more thing before the episode, if you've ever wished you could highlight podcasts, Kindle-style, and share specific moments you can now do so using the Clever.fm app. Think Like an Owner has teamed up with Clever to create show-specific features within the thing like an owner show page. In addition to the ability to highlight and annotate episodes, you can now filter episodes by tags, search across episodes for industry's names and keywords, transcribe my episodes live, and click on links like books, articles, or definitions. As you listen along, download the app on iOS or Android by going to Clever.fm and listen to Think Like an Owner for an enhanced podcast experience. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links Mentioned: Timi Okah on LinkedIn Timi Okah on Twitter Think Like an Owner Sponsors: Live Oak Bank – Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle-market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP – Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies– Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring?

My guest in this episode is Collin Hathaway. You might remember Collin from Episode 32 back in October 2020, which quickly became and has remained the most popular episode of Think Like An Owner. Collin joins me again to more deeply discuss lessons learned through his career of buying and building HVAC and plumbing businesses across the country. Just like last time, this episode is filled with great stories, all centered around learning how to understand and work with people. Over the course of our conversation, we discussed Collin's first business acquisition in Utah that went south fast, the current market for HVAC and plumbing businesses, consequences of higher prices for those companies both to investors and those operating, governance searchers should expect from investors, and how to build companies that enable talented team members to advance their careers. Enjoy. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links Mentioned: Collin Hathaway on LinkedIn Collin Hathaway on Twitter Skylight Capital Think LIke An Owner Episode 32 (Collin Hathaway - Investing and Operating in Home Services) Think Like an Owner Sponsors Live Oak Bank – Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle-market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP – Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies– Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and Employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring?

My guest on this episode is Jason Jackson. Jason searched and acquired Unified Dental Care, a collection of dental practices in the Detroit Metro in April 2017. Jason is quick to share all the mistakes he made through his search and his time as CEO. But you can tell he's an incredibly resilient person with tons of entrepreneurial energy. Jason and I talk about the challenges of turning around a bad culture, trying to establish trust in your team, hiring for core values, the pressure that comes from being a minority searcher, and how running a business is just like boxing. This is such a fun conversation around perseverance, fighting through hard times, and building a better future for yourself and your family. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links Mentioned: Jason Jackson on LinkedIn Unified Dental care Think Like an Owner Sponsors Live Oak Bank - Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP - Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies- Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and Employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring?

My guest in this episode is Mike Botkin. You might remember Mike from episode 48 where he described acquiring B&B landscaping in Orlando, Florida with his investor equity raised entirely from Twitter. Well, he's acquired a bigger one and has raised a holding company called Benchmark Group to buy and build a vertically integrated lawn care and landscaping business in central Florida. In addition to Mike's new acquisition and holding company, we also talk about systems and policies he's implemented at B&B, how he hires and routines members of his team, and benefits from scale and vertical integration. Mike has become a great friend of mine over the last year, and I always leave our calls thinking we should have hit a record. I'm glad we were able to do so for this episode and mark this momentous event in his career. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Links Mentioned: Mike Botkin on LinkedIn Mike Botkin on Twitter Benchmark Group Think LIke An Owner Episode 48 (Mike Botkin - First 30 Days in a Small Landscaping Business) Think Like an Owner Sponsors Live Oak Bank - Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP - Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies- Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and Employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring?

My guest in this episode is Matt Moldenhauer. Matt is the president of Bellwether Forest Products, an integrated wood supply company owned by a family office called Elmore Companies, where Matt is also a partner. Matt became president after Bellwether was acquired in 2016 and has grown the business from 13 employees to over 60 today with plenty of ups and downs along the way. In this episode, we talk about identifying and promoting talent from within, running an asset-heavy business, building trust with your team and customers, adding technology and systems, the fragmentation of the timber industry, and their broader timber acquisition strategy at Elmore. Matt was recommended to me by Rich Jordan, who I consider to be a phenomenal operator. And when he recommends someone I listen closely, I think you'll see why in this episode. Enjoy! Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Think Like an Owner Sponsors Live Oak Bank – Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP – Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies– Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and Employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring? Links Mentioned: Matt Moldenhauer on LinkedIn Matt Moldenhauer on Twitter Bellwether Forest Products Official Website

My guest in this episode is Heather Endresen, co-director of Search Fund Lending at Live Oak Bank. Her name probably sounds familiar as Live Oak is a sponsor of this podcast. Given the strong interest from our audience, I decided to bring Heather on the show to share the ins and outs of the SBA program as it's highly relevant to the subject matter of Think Like an Owner. During our episode, we discussed the history of the SBA program as a government program, high-level terms of SBA debt, what companies and deals are good fits, what add-backs are accepted and which are not, risk to searchers and the worst case scenario, and the SBA programs value to strategic acquirers. I hope you enjoy this in-depth episode on the SBA program with Heather. Enjoy. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Think Like an Owner Sponsors Live Oak Bank – Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP – Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies– Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and Employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring? Links Mentioned: Heather Endresen on LinkedIn Heather Endresen on Twitter Live Oak Bank Official Website

My guest today is Collin Hathaway. Collin runs a small micro private equity fund in Seattle, WA called Skylight Capital and has developed a strong core competence in plumbing, HVAC, roofing, and other home services businesses. He also has one of the most interesting stories I've heard of getting into micro private equity. During the episode, we talk about his path to Skylight, why he focuses on home services businesses, characteristics he looks for in new acquisitions, and a little bit of his home services operating playbook. I've been trying to get Collin on the podcast since our first conversation a year ago and I wish this episode could have been longer. Collin is a great, entertaining storyteller and I hope you enjoy his hearing fascinating journey so far. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. Think Like an Owner Sponsors Live Oak Bank – Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle market companies. Live Oak has closed billions of dollars in SBA financing and is actively looking to help more small company investors across the country. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think. Hood & Strong, LLP – Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. Hood & Strong is highly skilled in working with search funds, providing quality of earnings and due diligence services during the search, along with assurance and tax services post-acquisition. They offer a unique way to approach acquisition diligence and manage costs effectively. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. Oberle Risk Strategies– Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company's commercial insurance and employee benefits programs. Over the past decade, August Felker and his team have engaged with hundreds of searchers to provide due diligence and ultimately place the most competitive insurance program at closing. Given August's experience as a searcher himself, he and his team understand all that goes into buying a business and pride themselves on making the insurance portion of closing seamless and hassle-free. If you are under LOI, please reach out to August to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to August directly at [email protected]. Interested in sponsoring? Links Mentioned: Alpine Investors Skylight Capital Flint Group

My guests in this episode are Paul Yancich and Daniel Eisen, who founded Arcadea Group, a permanent capital holding company that has raised $320 million to invest over ultra-long periods of time in typically independent, founder-controlled software companies with strong growth in duration potential. Prior to founding Arcadea, Daniel and Paul had careers in private equity, growth equity, and buyout. Most recently is Constellation Software, where they both were hired by and worked for Mark Leonard in various senior executive roles in the company. We talk extensively about what they learned in their backgrounds, how Arcadea differs from PE growth equity in Constellation in their approach, and what it means to invest in and grow a company over a very long time horizon. It seems like more and more of these permanent capital vehicles are being created. If you know any great ones with a unique approach, please reach out and let me know. This is a fascinating area that I want to learn more about. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

My guest on this episode is Badge Stone. Badge started his search journey with a Stone Pump & Trench that was on the verge of bankruptcy when he acquired it. After turning it around, he acquired another company called Perimeter Security. He sold both and made investing in searchers his full-time role through his firm, WSC & Company, alongside two other partners. Badge has invested in over a hundred searchers and has extensive experience as both an investor and operator. WSC's seven-person team is based in Charlotte, North Carolina and is investing and of its second fund, a $100 million fund closed earlier this year focused on the traditional search fund model. During our discussion, we talk about turning stone-pumping trench around, lessons learned from over a hundred search fund investments, a few notable companies, he's been a part of, what's typically missing in a new company, and a wide range of discussion on board construction, and usage for entrepreneurs and investors alike. This episode is fantastic and I learned a ton and I think you will too. Listen weekly and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

My guests on this episode are Andrew Soon and Michael Novielli, co-founders of Due West Education. Due West counsels and helps Chinese students apply to top American universities and study abroad programs. I visited China in college on a school trip and it was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. Since then I've been looking for interesting businesses abroad to study and invite on the podcast. Andrew and Michael are incredible examples of US entrepreneurs creating new businesses in other countries around the world and I think you'll love our conversation. We discuss China's cultural view of US education, tailwinds pushing Due West's business along, how data factors into process of helping students apply to the most elite colleges, fighting inherent incentives in the education industry with great internal communication, and how their business might be impacted by moves against after school tutoring in China. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast.

This is a special episode of Think Like an Owner. In this episode, Tim Ludwig turns the microphone around to interview me on where my interest in small companies came from, starting and building Think Like an Owner, memorable moments from running the podcast, my answers to my own closing questions, and much more. We also discuss a new media company I'm incredibly excited to announce called The Operator's Handbook. The Handbook is a print publication interviewing small company operators to find new ideas on how to operate, improve, and grow small companies more effectively. Tim has been very impactful in starting The Operator's Handbook and is a close advisor of mine as I build this new media company. If you want to learn more about the Handbook, visit theoperatorshandbook.com and sign up to receive updates as we prepare the first issue for release. Tim believed in me when I had very little to show for my ambition and has continued to be an impactful mentor in my life and career. He was the perfect person to host this special episode and I am incredibly grateful for all the time and wisdom he's shared with me. Please enjoy this turn-the-tables episode with Tim Ludwig and myself. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast.

My guest on this episode is Reg Zeller. Reg worked in corporate engineering roles for many years before deciding to leave and do his own thing. His own thing ended up being rolling up foundry businesses through his holding company CaneKast, with five companies acquired so far. These companies are very hard to acquire and operate and Reg spends a lot of time sharing why most buyers can't acquire foundries and why he's best suited instead. Over the course of this episode, Reg and I talk about how foundries operate, how he looks to acquire others, finding your strengths and leveraging them, some of his operations playbook for new foundries, and drinking too much coffee. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Mia Jackson. Prior to searching and acquiring her health care supply business, Vital Care Industries, Mia worked in consulting, engineering and supply chains, a friend's start-up for a time, and received her MBA and Masters of Science in Engineering Management from Northwestern. She brought a ton of great experience into her search business and we talk about how impactful that was in being a CEO for the first time. I haven't had too many health care entrepreneurs on the show so we also spend some time diving into Vital Care's product line and where it fits in a hospital setting. I found this part fascinating and I think you will too. During our conversation, we also discuss her passion for health care, supply chains, and going paperless, how she wants her company culture to evolve, how she motivates her team, and how she helps team members advance in their careers and their ongoing education. This was such a fun episode and Mia's energy is impossible to ignore, I hope you enjoy the episode! For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Craig Fuller. Craig is the founder of FreightWaves, a data and media business focused on freight and supply chains. FreightWaves is a VC backed company with $19 million in revenue with editorial content, a data product, job board, video content, and multiple podcasts. Prior to FreightWaves, Craig had no background in media but has built quite a playbook for media businesses with a data component. Craig, as of a month ago, is also the new owner of Flying Magazine, an iconic, blue-chip publishing brand in the general aviation community which we discuss extensively in this episode. For a deeper background on FreightWaves, I highly recommend his episode on A Media Operator, which we'll link to in the show notes. During our conversation, we discuss his fascinating background in his family's trucking business, starting a tech business before FreightWaves, launching FreightWaves, and his acquisition of Flying Magazine and his plans for growth and improvement. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is John Rood. John started an education business with his wife that began as a SAT and other tests prep business and eventually found its niche in MCAT testing. Together they grew the business adding tutors and a management team before selling to private equity. John has also invested in a few search funds and is contemplating a search himself in the education space. During this episode, we talk about starting their education business, how they pivoted from tutoring to content, building a business in the context of operating systems and learning from others, and the value of organizations like Traction and Entrepreneurs Organization to small business operators. We also talk broadly about education businesses and where future business models in the space might lead. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Peter Bell. Peter and Justin Turner were guests on my fourth ever podcast episode and were very early supporters of the show. Their firm, along with two other partners, is Traction Capital Partners in Tacoma, WA. Traction is an independent sponsor which now owns 3 companies with a potential 4th on the way in the next few weeks. Peter joined in late 2018 and set to work at their first portfolio company, SeaWestern, in Kirkland, WA. SeaWestern is a distributor of firefighting equipment across the Pacific Northwest and Peter was tasked with learning the business and looking for avenues of growth and improvement. Needless to say, in the two and a half years since, he's learned a lot. During this episode we talk about stepping into a new leadership role, learning a new business model, growth opportunities at SeaWestern, and why your resume doesn't matter in a small business. And for a thorough background on Traction, I highly recommend listening to episode 4 where Peter and Justin share Traction's mission and investment model. And now, enjoy the episode. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Brent Beshore, the founder and CEO of a lower middle market private equity firm called Permanent Equity. Permanent Equity acquires family-owned companies and has 11 in their portfolio today. They have also raised two 27 year funds, a $50 million fund in 2017 and a $248 million fund in 2019. Permanent Equity is probably the most experienced, systematized, and well-known acquirer in the small business world and I'm excited to finally have Brent on the podcast. During this episode Brent and I talk about their marketing strategy, what competitive advantages they've built and are building for tomorrow, how businesses can build a margin of safety in their operations, and lessons learned from buying and improving family-owned businesses. I recently moved near Brent's headquarters in Columbia, MO to Omaha, NE and we also spend a few moments discussing life in the Midwest. Finally, I will be attending Brent and Patrick O'Shaughnessy's conference Capital Camp in Columbia at the end of August and I hope to see many of you there. If you're going, please reach out and let's connect beforehand. And now, enjoy the episode. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Peter Kang, who co-founded a digital branding and design company focused on direct to consumer e-commerce called Barrel. For long-time listeners of the podcast, the name Barrel may sound familiar. Barrel was one of the original sponsors of Think Like an Owner as we became a weekly podcast. Today Barrel is no longer a sponsor and thereby doesn't pose a conflict of interest, which allows us to share Peter's exciting and fascinating personal story on the podcast. During our discussion we cover the founding of Barrel, big moments in their growth cycle which includes designing the annual report pages for large public companies, how Peter realized he as an owner didn't need to be the salesperson for the company, and how they allocate excess capital at Barrel. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Dave Waters. Dave is the founder and CEO of Alluvial Capital, a value based hedge fund focused on the smallest public companies with market caps of $5-100 million, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dave is fascinating to me because he has dedicated his career to investing in similar sized companies as other podcast guests of this show, but through the public markets. I wanted to learn how he views these companies through a public lens, his investment process, and his thoughts for private company owners thinking of investing in comparably sized public companies. We also talk about how his business-owner LPs view their investment in his firm, the most unique companies he's come across, and how he evaluates managers of these small public companies. This was a super interesting discussion that I'm positive you'll enjoy. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Nick Fedele who recently acquired a 30 employee sheet metal construction business called Metal Alliance Inc near Philadelphia. Nick has a background in public accounting before taking on a management consulting role and eventually becoming a CFO. After 2 years as a CFO, he felt ready to seek out and acquire a business for himself. Nick and I talk about the ownership transition with the previous owner who wanted to remain involved, his principles for handling situations that go wrong - hence our episode title "death, taxes, and stuff goes sideways", his strong dislike of paper, and what he's excited for next in the company. I learned a ton from Nick in this conversation and I'm sure you will too. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Tony Cappaert. Tony started his career at Microsoft before co-founding a CRM software business for real estate agents called Contactually. The company was acquired by Compass in 2019 where Tony serves as Head of Lead Generation. As you'll see though, Tony is a busy man. He also founded a cabin rental and management company called Blue Maple and is raising a fund to invest in self-funded searchers. Tony and I talk in-depth about niching down Contactually to target real estate brokers, his thoughts on pricing including why every company underprices, why they sold the company to Compass, and his view on the search fund world including what he looks for in prospective searchers as a former operator. If you ever want to reach out to Tony to talk software, property management, or search funds, don't hesitate to send him an email at [email protected]. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Manny Saxena. Manny grew up in India and decided he wanted to become a CEO. To prepare for the role, he attended Kellogg's MBA program and built leadership experience at Sears and Persado. Finally, he partnered with Broadtree Partners to acquire two commercial sweeping companies called Contract Sweeping Services and Statewide Construction Sweeping in Northern California. Manny and I talk extensively about the sweeping business, how he's learned the ropes in the sweeping industry from the previous owners, unique businesses he came across in his search, new systems and technology he's implemented in both companies, lessons from his time at Sears, and much more. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My third and final guest in this real estate miniseries is Chris Powers. Chris is the founder and GP of Fort Capital, a real estate private equity firm in Fort Worth, TX focused on industrial real estate. He's also a fellow podcast host with his show called The Fort Podcast, which is excellent and I highly recommend listening and subscribing to. While it was a shorter episode, Chris and I covered a lot of ground. We discussed how business owners should view their ownership in company-specific industrial real estate, options available if an owner wanted to acquire other industrial property, trends he's seeing, and why he loves boring businesses. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

This is the second episode in a three part miniseries on real estate, which kicked off last week with Nick Huber, and is resuming with this episode focusing on residential real estate with Moses Kagan. Moses is the founder and GP of Adaptive Realty, a real estate private equity firm which acquires and remodels multi-unit residential real estate in the Los Angeles area. Moses is very thoughtful and intentional and I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him better. In this episode Moses and I discuss his family's background in real estate and lessons he learned as a child, different options for small company owners to invest in residential real estate and pros and cons with each, and how he develops a unique lens for viewing assets in a different way than his competition, among other interesting topics. Enjoy! For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

Today's episode is the first in a three-part miniseries on real estate. Even though Think Like an Owner is a small company focused podcast, many small company owners also own real estate and I thought a short miniseries would be an interesting way to bring that conversation onto the podcast. This first episode features Nick Huber, who owns self storage facilities through his company Bolt Storage across the East Coast in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. What makes Nick so interesting is he started out owning and operating a small moving company he started in college called Storage Squad. Over the course of this episode, we talk about life running Storage Squad, why he decided to branch into real estate, using Reddit and Twitter to grow your business, and where he's taking his own podcast next. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guests on this episode are Eric Factor and Austin King who together raised a long-term holding company called Era Services with the mission to acquire, operate, and grow industrial service companies. Their first acquisition completed earlier this year is a company called CraneTech which installs and maintains overhead cranes fixed inside factory buildings. Eric and Austin have a connection to another Think Like an Owner podcast guest, Ross Brendel of Westerly Group, an LP of Era Services, who I interviewed on episode 57. Justin Vogt and Ed Redden of Evermore Industries from episode 59 are also an investment of Westerly Group. During the episode, we discuss all things cranes including how they found CraneTech, challenges and tailwinds facing the business, the ins and outs of the crane labor market, how they're competing for customers and employees, and what's next for the business. If you enjoy heavy machinery, you'll love this episode. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Sam Rosati. Sam was an early supporter of the podcast and was featured on Episode 11, which I highly recommend listening to prior to this one. In that earlier episode, Sam shares his background and how he and his brother Joey together acquired a company called Alpha Dumpsters. In this episode, Sam shares that they've since sold Alpha Dumpsters and have started an SMB conference in Orlando scheduled for February 3-6, 2022, which I'll be attending. Sam also shares with me a new incubator model they have built for self-funded searchers. I'll let Sam share most of the details, but self-funded searchers should listen to this episode and learn about this new program. Sam is doing wonderful things for the self-funded search world and I believe the incubator and conference will both be massive successes. Now, please enjoy my follow-up episode with Sam Rosati. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

I'm a big aviation geek. I love flying, looking at airplanes and seeing where they're going via Flightaware on my phone, and collecting model aircraft. My guest today, Elliot Epstein, founded Geminijets, a company that makes metal diecast commercial airplane models. Beyond just the aviation nature of the company, this is a fascinating business for its relationship with hobbyists and collectors, the airline industry and current trends, all in addition to being a manufacturing and distribution business. In this episode Elliot shares why he started the business, the process of creating a new model from start to finish, how coronavirus and the 737 MAX program have impacted sales and shipping, how the model business has evolved, and available growth opportunities for the company. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Chase Murdock. Chase started his career as a venture-style entrepreneur with a custom suit business after spending time working in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. After the business didn't go as planned, Chase and his business partner Adam Malmborg decided to pursue smaller, creative, more high end businesses. Today they have two businesses, Tailor Cooperative, a local custom suit business, and Workshop SLC, a fine arts studio, both located in their hometown of Salt Lake City. This episode was a fascinating dive into boring vs creative businesses, gathering customer feedback and NPS scores, pricing, and designing a high end client experience. I loved this episode and learned a ton and I hope you do as well. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Victoria Sylvester, or Vikki for short. Vikki is the founder of Acacia Training, a U.K. based training company focused on childcare, healthcare, and dental care. I was very excited for this conversation for a number of reasons. First, Vikki sold Acacia to MBH through their Agglomeration model whereby Acacia's private stock is exchanged for MBH's public stock. We discuss the model in great length and it's one of the more unique models for SMB acquisitions I've come across through the podcast. Second, Vikki's role as CEO has changed dramatically over time as the company has grown and I was very interested to hear about each of those stages and what tasks have been challenging for her to let go of. Over the course of this episode we discuss the early years of Acacia, how she receives feedback from her team and her students, what she looks for when acquiring other training programs, and her perspective as an owner selling her company. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest today is Steve Ressler. Steve has been an entrepreneur for much of his career in software and government services and has recently been translating that experience into search fund investing, among other projects. A good portion of our discussion focuses on evaluating and scaling niche software businesses and whether niche means limited growth prospects or a formula for other markets. I've gotten to know Steve pretty well and he's an absolute wealth of knowledge for searchers interested in software and government services, please reach out to him if those are areas of interest for you. Over the course of this episode we discuss Steve's experience being a founder and having his company acquired, what he looks for in search investing, tailwinds in government service businesses, and whether individuals should invest in self funded searchers. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

This is the second episode of an experiment I did on a new episode format that was shorter, 20-30 minutes, and focused entirely on ideas and challenges operating small companies. The first episode in this experiment was last week's episode with Jason Hill on adding food to the office and some of these interesting benefits there. On this operating focused episode, I talk with Palmer Higgins of Mainely Grass and Chenmark on why he's getting rid of sales roles and doesn't operate on a commission structure. We talk about the positive and negative unintended consequences of becoming a more versatile team, the training and adjustment period of shifting roles, and some of Palmer's thinking on paired metrics and why commissions are a poor metric and incentive to use in their business. If you want to learn more about Palmer and his work, you can listen to our earlier podcast, episode 43, on his move to CEO at Mainely Grass. For now, enjoy our episode on sales roles and incentives. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

This episode and next week's episode are both experiments I did a while back with Think Like an Owner when I was considering launching a new podcast series. The aim for these was to have short, 20-30 minute episodes on specific ideas and challenges operating small companies. I may eventually launch the new series, but I have other projects I'm excited about and want to invest more time into. Let me know what you think of these next two episodes and if you want to see more episodes with a similar format. This first one is with Jason Hill. Jason appeared in episode 50 to share his learnings acquiring and growing his father-in-law's countertop business. In this episode, we talk all about food at the office and some of the benefits to making food a stronger priority at work. Jason has done a lot including adding coffee machines, more microwaves, and even doing company pig roasts at his house. I'd advise listening to this episode on your lunch break, it'll probably make you hungry. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guests, Justin Vogt and Ed Redden are the co-founders of Evermore Industries, a holding company looking to acquire industrial service companies with a time horizon measured in decades. Justin and Ed also happen to be the co-founders of the Stanford Search Fund Club during their time at Stanford. They hosted over 20 events and met professionals all across the search space and used that experience to shape what they wanted to create with Evermore. One interesting podcast connection, Westerly Group, through podcast guest Ross Brendel on episode 57 and co-founder Rich Littlehale, are investors in Evermore Industries, among other long term investment vehicles. During our conversation, we talk about their time running the search fund club at Stanford, their views on search funds, how they raised capital for Evermore Industries, and benefits of being acquirers with an ultra long term view. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest on this episode is Deepa Talwar. Deepa is currently searching for a company from her home in Fort Collins, CO. Her background includes working with prominent Silicon Valley tech companies like Uber, Thumbtack, and Stripe, and she decided she wanted to become an entrepreneur, but not in the typical Silicon Valley way. During our conversation, we talk about how her tech experience gives her a new perspective when looking at companies, red flags she's seen looking at deals, how she seeks the truth from owners and brokers, helpful advice she's received along the way, and her own advice learned through experience. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

Ross Brendel is the cofounder and managing partner of Westerly Group alongside cofounder Rich Littlehale. Westerly Group was founded on the principle of supporting acquisition entrepreneurs with committed, permanent capital to pursue a specific industry thesis over an indefinite time horizon. Groups they've invested in thus far have theses in the water industry, mission-critical B2B services, industrial services, and route-based and multi-site consumer businesses. Permanent capital and longer hold periods have become much more popular in recent years and Ross and Rich take an incredibly interesting and unique angle in their study and investing in the model. In this conversation, Ross and I discuss Westerly's permanent capital thesis and model, whether buying a business has become harder or easier and how to think about a purchase price with a longer term view, the types of entrepreneurs Westerly seeks to invest in, and nuanced advantages of committed capital in pursuing acquisitions. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

My guest, Mark Valdez, is starting a new permanent capital holding company called Eads Bridge Holdings to acquire small profitable, durable companies with a long-term focus. What I found so interesting about Mark is he began his career in venture capital and was one of the early employees at Andreesen Horrowitz, an extremely successful and storied venture capital firm. We talk about Mark's time in venture and parallels to the search fund world, a thesis of Eads Bridge they are exploring, and how we might apply some elements of the venture capital content playbook to small company investing. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

Mark Hunter is a treasure trove of insights and stories from a career in micro private equity. Mark is a co-founder of KLH Capital in St. Petersburg, Florida and has been a part of deals all over the country from all walks of life. In this episode he shares many counter-intuitive methods he's used in buying companies, how to develop emotional intelligence, be more thoughtful about who you work with, and what felt like dozens of stories buying and running companies. This conversation is loaded with advice and experience and I hope you walk away with a few ideas for your own life and career. For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast. I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.