Acquiring Minds $60m Roll-Up That Started With an SBA Acquisition
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Oct 2, 2025 Onu Okebie and Brian Boland, co-founders of HTL Freight, share their journey of building a logistics roll-up using an SBA loan. They discuss the challenges of bootstrapping their first acquisition while still in business school and emphasize the importance of persistence and personal sacrifices. Their focus on niche freight specialties led to five acquisitions in under five years, showcasing their innovative operational improvements and capital optimization strategies. The duo highlights the value of embracing imperfection and continually evolving as leaders.
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SBA As A Strategic Launchpad
- Starting a roll-up with an SBA loan lets founders retain 100% ownership early and prove a thesis before selling equity.
- Brian says later equity cost was roughly a tenth compared to raising at the start.
From Lagos To M&A Partnership
- Onu described moving from Lagos, starting a trucking business, exiting it, then studying M&A at business school.
- He met Brian in an entrepreneurship class and they decided to pursue deals themselves within months.
Micro-Targeted Thesis Wins
- Narrowing a search thesis inside a large industry boosts hit-rate and competitive advantage.
- HTL evolved from flatbed focus to buying multiple niche freight brokerages and cross-selling services.
