Matt Glaros - Health Insurance Exit & Buying Print Shops
Feb 20, 2025
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Matt Glaros, who transformed his family health insurance brokerage and sold it to Hub International, shares his unique journey into the print industry. He discusses the strategic decisions behind selling at an impressive multiple and reflects on the lessons learned from the transition. Glaros highlights the advantages of acquiring print shops, likening their operations to insurance. He emphasizes the importance of financial understanding and relationships in navigating this new business landscape.
Matt Glaros' strategic decision to partner with a private equity firm significantly enhanced their insurance brokerage's revenue growth and market reach.
The transition from health insurance to acquiring print shops highlights the adaptability and similar operational challenges faced in diverse business sectors.
Emphasizing a pragmatic approach, Glaros believes flexibility in business decisions is crucial for recognizing and capitalizing on strategic opportunities.
Deep dives
Evolution of the Insurance Business
The speaker shares insights on the evolution of their family-run insurance business, which initially operated with just a few employees. After contemplating selling the business as Obamacare was introduced, the focus shifted towards offering individual health insurance alongside existing group policies. This strategic partnership with a property and casualty agency enabled the company to enhance its services, despite group health insurance surprisingly gaining momentum during this period. By 2018, the business successfully transitioned from 2 million to 4.2 million in revenue due to this evolution, reflecting their adaptability in a changing market.
Investment and Growth through Private Equity
In June 2021, the company partnered with a private equity firm to accelerate growth and expand its market reach. This partnership provided financial backing crucial for further developing the insurance brokerage and supported its multi-faceted approach. Over the subsequent two and a half years, the company's revenue grew from 4 million to 6.5 million as a result of this investment. This collaboration allowed the business to strategically navigate the complexities of the insurance industry while ensuring a sustainable growth trajectory.
Acquisition Strategy in the Printing Industry
The narrative shifts focus to the acquisition of printing businesses, perceived as having potential similar to the insurance sector’s past. As the speaker and their partner explored various acquisition opportunities, printing businesses stood out due to their fragmented market, mainly consisting of mom-and-pop shops in need of modernization. They viewed these acquisitions as a way to establish a central hub for printing capabilities, significantly lowering operating costs while maximizing profitability. This strategic vision not only aims to yield strong financial returns but also addresses the inevitable shift of some businesses back towards outsourcing printing needs.
Learning from Experience and Mistakes
Initially, the foray into the printing business proved challenging due to a steep learning curve regarding operational cash flow management. The speaker recounts how they underestimated working capital requirements, facing cash flow issues that required additional financial input. However, embracing these early mistakes led to invaluable insights into managing the unique challenges of the printing industry. This early misstep laid the foundation for better financial decision-making in subsequent acquisitions and operations.
Pragmatic Approach to Business Ownership
A pragmatic mindset characterizes the speaker’s approach to business, viewing ownership as a means to an end rather than a defining factor of identity. They emphasize the importance of maintaining flexibility in their business decisions, indicating openness to selling if circumstances align favorably. The speaker's experience reflects a nuanced understanding of timing in business valuations, advocating for the detachments from emotional ties that can often cloud judgment. This perspective allows for strategic opportunities to be recognized and capitalized upon, ensuring longevity and durability within their business endeavors.
Matt Glaros joined his small family health insurance brokerage, helped grow it 3x, and recently sold to a large strategic buyer, Hub. He's enjoying working for Hub and business is cranking more than ever. We discuss what went into the decision to sell and how they ended up a very high multiple between 15-20x earnings. Matt and his business partner have also started buying small print shops in Indiana - seeing relatively cheap multiples and lots of similarities to the insurance business.
