Today’s episode is a rerun with past guest Ross Brendel, a co-founder and the managing partner of Westerly Group alongside cofounder Rich Littlehale. Westerly Group invests in acquisition entrepreneurs with committed, permanent capital to pursue a specific industry thesis over an indefinite time horizon. They are investors in several of our podcast guests such as Justin Vogt and Ed Redden, Eric Factor, and Austin King, among others.

I wanted to bring this episode back to your attention as permanent capital and longer time horizons are becoming more talked about today and I think it’s important to discuss the nuances of this approach, as Ross does in this episode.

In this conversation, Ross shares Westerly’s permanent capital thesis and model, whether buying a business has become harder or easier, how to think about a purchase price with a longer-term view, and the nuanced advantages of committed capital in pursuing acquisitions.

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Links:

Ross on LinkedIn

Westerly Group

Sylmar Group

Era Services Group

Evermore Industries

Northrim Horizon

Business Model Generation

Topics:

(3:32) - Ross’ background & career

(6:39) - Why do you think interest in longer-term hold vehicles has increased in the past few years?

(9:33) - Should entrepreneurs be less price-sensitive when looking to buy a business?

(11:36) - How do you find entrepreneurs with the right mindset when buying a business?

(13:42) - Do you think buying a business has gotten harder over the past 5-10 years?

(18:46) - What are some of the unique ways you’ve seen Searchers find companies to buy?

(20:25) - Can you tell us about some of the teams you’ve backed?

(23:19) - Can you talk through some of the advantages of committed capital structures?

(28:06) - Was it intentional to take a generalist approach to your work?

(31:53)- What happens if an entrepreneur you back loses desire for the industry they initially start Searching in?

(33:51) - Does your Zero Horizon Investor idea give you more flexibility in terms of the business models you go after?

(37:18) - Are there any other models in Search that are interesting to you?

(39:36) - How do you think you’ll continue to find entrepreneurs and teams? Do you have a formulaic approach?

(42:10) - What college class would you teach if it could be about anything?

(44:12) - What’s a strongly held belief you’ve changed your mind on?

(45:33) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?