Top M&A Entrepreneurs

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  John co-founded Wolverine Energy Services Inc. with Jesse Douglas in 2012 with an initial acquisition of a $5 million revenue oilfield services company. From his first acquisition to 2020, they acquired 16 more businesses, grew revenue to $240 million and took the company public (TSX:WEII)   Also President to Divestopedia - which helps sell businesses. 00:00 Intro to John Carvalho   - hat  tip to Williams English01:14  His call to adventure and decision to leave the ordinary world of Deloitte 03:08  17 Acquisitions later $240mm in rev and taking public  - not an org chart guy04:43   State of the O&G industry...so many products so many uses 05:10   How he rolled his fees in and structure the partnership - and scrambling together the capital06:48   How his deal stack looked for the first acquisition,  seller motivations,  how he leveraged assets09:22  Did seller keep any portion of business,  for 2nd bite or sell 100%  - age big factor in risky ride10:20  How it felt to get the first deal  - advising is different than signing and owning it. 11:16  How has it changed him - assessing risk.   How he looks at it today  How to Mitigate the risk. 12:35  Annie Duke book,  playing poker12:50  When did momentum happen - or was it still grinding away...   started with 3 separate businesses,  and strategy changed.   2nd acquisition - and 3rd acquisition changed deal structure - now seeking partners  - selling the 2nd bite of apple vision15:15   Types of companies he was buying, indirect, direct competitors or adjacency businesses - expansion strategy - geographic sectors - and some distressed deals17:30   How did he find the distressed opportunities?18:27   What did he learn about doing all these deals  - risk mitigation - in hindsight...wish we would made process more systematic - deal sourcing, offers,  deal stack, DD process,  capital sourcing  - always fun...always needs to be capital partner ready...blowing through credit limit...21:37  Did he accomplish what he set out to do,  helping CEO with journey - wanting to do deals - built wealth helping someone else23:43   Did he have any internal struggles being the #2 guy...  25:45   Having 5 deals in pipeline and assessing probability assessments on closing each deal 27:35  Parents - not sure they know what he does - generational creating better opportunity - proud - work ethic they instilled 29:40  Types of businesses he works with now.   Where his expertise is - best use33:17 Working backwards to get the highest EBITDA  how many acquisitions you need to do.  HVAC example34:10  HVAC example,  if $20mm HVAC CEO has never made an acquisition,  mind set change - risk appetite - triple the business or saying you are not ready because you would choke37:15   Does he assist in adjacent businesses  - why are you doing acquisitions - diversify risk38:40  Thoughts on purchasing an unprofitable business40:00  His Acquisition Playbook training - teaching others how to acquire businesses 42:10  Does he just teach people how to do it DIY or Do it with me...44:45  Bringing his expertise to parts they are missing - bringing leadership to C-Suite46:30  Working with Jesse, first meeting,  being young,  different,  assets behind him,  start of the relationship. 47:40  How this acquisition journey has changed him - breaking away from that paycheck.   Find out what you love to do,  you will

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Daniel Sweet specializes in taking healthy Texas small businesses ranging from $1MM - $20MM in revenue, partnering with a management team and financing partners to build a plan to take the business to the next logical level.  Our specialty industries are Technology-, Energy-, and Construction related businesses headquartered in the Great State of Texas. 00:00 Intro to Daniel Sweet.   Buy businesses in his / founders background 01:36 How they, the partners started,  asking the question is there any reason why this M&A could not be done on a smaller scale. 03:24  1000 different ways to finance the deals - 1st deal used SBA loan.  eLearning Company around $1 million in sales05:00  How he found the first deal -  his personal warm network05:42   How he assessed the opportunity - could he grow the eLearning company? 06:47   What was blocking new sales in the eLearning company - only way he got new customers07:00  What was multiple that they agreed on - 2 and change.   Nice set up.  07:45   What salary was owner taking out of business - $100k plus distributions08:05  How long he stayed on - SBA rules09:17  How was ownership sliced up - equally?  10:22 How did the "books" look, how clean/messy - was he lifestyle spreadsheet business - bank statements / tax statements only way to validate?11:45   Did he see $5mm -$10mm growth opportunity 12:45    Where are profits going?     When will profits be paid out to the owners?   What has happened since acquisition  - revenue trending at $2mm ++15:45   Has Daniel found a system or perfect type of Professional Services firm to buy and build?16:30  what is plan for the eLearning company hold,  grow and sell  - 2nd acquisition - where he found the 2nd acquisition,  how he finds his acquisitions18:10  His 2nd acquisition - Sherpa Consulting - almost same opportunities as first acquisition - lots of cross selling opportunities  - rev was at $1.3 mm - lots of untapped fruit - customer concentration concerns - combined with eLearning no longer problem - how he financed 2nd acquisition - what he did with the legacy people22:19  What was important to 2nd acquisition seller - really important23:33  his 3rd acquisition - Oil Engineering firm Scada Systems - was doing $1.6mm in rev - what is upside potential with this 3rd company  - the Law of Supply and Demand in Oil world28:00  Was 3rd acquisition profitable,  how old was company - financing deal stack - seller main concern - what was acquisition multiple ?33:45  What do think growth potential in 3rd acquisition - what is that dependent on?34:30  Acquisitions now doing $5mm boring business - what is next? 36:36  What is structure of his acquisition company  - what is vision or annual acquisition goal  rules - goal for 2021  - what for 2022?  38:26  How are they paying themselves - employee or equity law firm distribution partners - what IRR are they looking for?  - focus is on health of acquisition - low hang fruit - profitable result.42:11  What a crucible of fire stress test taught him about his partners - risk tolerance - does each partner have equal veto power on deals - Doing B2B deals,  what B2C deals are they looking at?45:30  What has he learned about himself through the acquisition process? 46:59 is he working on a fund or partnering with a fund - becoming equity partners - rule- money will never control the company - no 51% funded deals - helping people they turn away.

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Managing Partner at Verde Holdings- Verde Holdings multi-family office that invests in: Control investments in middle market service companies in the Western U.S. Multi unit and commercial real estate nationally, Early stage technology companies.  CEO at CAPTARGET which provides M&A research and deal origination services to middle market M&A and Private Equity firms.00:00  Intro to Gabe Galvez - where it got started - where deal making started - pawn shop. 03:35  What does CAPTARGET do and how do they create deal lead flow for buyers?13:58  CAPTARGET in volume game - does not ask for points - conflict of interest/scale - working for 100 vs 519:36  How did he make decision to Volume vs than a few clients21:30  What types of clients he works on23:26 Lehman standard to double Lehman to classic fixed fee = how to pay for the ball. 26:34  The accidental start to Verde Holdings - buying companies for himself. 29:15  Verde Holdings original investment thesis - Ghetto   simple selfish wants - 20% IRR goals36:35   Acquisition or Investment in non controlling interest  - acquiring a platform company39:00   His process for the warm lead deal - offer and close in 40 days and serendipity43:45   How to repeat or scale acquisitions in different industries - simple deal criteria 48:00   Buying revenue for his platform landscape acquisition - goal $4mm in ebidta in 24 months49:52   Creating the operating constitution and a operating methodology with his partner  - saying yes or no on a deal in 24 hours.   55:45  How many to date: 4 acquisitions,  5th in closing - 2021 first year of deploying capital59:25  The entrepreneurs journey - how has it changed him - where he gleans knowledge from

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Micheal is CEO and Co-Founder at Erdos Ventures.  Micheal is graduate of Techstars LA '21.  Erdos Ventures is a Techstars backed company that leverages technology to appraise, acquire, and activate portfolios of high potential niche e-commerce brands at scale.00:00 Intro to Micheal Liu00:15  What / Who is Erdos - why the name origin - finding connections between companies01:24  His acquisition thesis - what they want to build  - an infrastructure layer for small ecomm03:27  Putting his money where his mouth is...for now.04:04   Focused primarily on NON Amazon business-  not going to compete Thrasio Holdings - important distinction between amazon and Shopify business model - Owning the Customers! 08:12  What he looks for in financial criteria for acquisition - Under $1mm in Topline Rev10:05  What is it they Erdos brings to a $1mm Rev ecomm business. 12:23  Going thru a sample acquisition scenario... 1.  Finding the business, 2. Finding the "motivated" scenario - uncovering inexperienced operators - What Thrasio does..17:14   The challenges of buying an ecomm business under $1mm in revenue25:15   Decision making with products  - Product Market Fit.  products with Ephemeral connection to customer - no drop shipping - ecomm business owns the product. 29:48  How he starts the conversation with seller...  reach outs, inbound outbound deal sourcing, understanding the journey - founders story. 31:38   Terms of offer - seeking transition period sellers,  and 100% buyouts, multiples to $1mm revenue ecomm businesses - do they have a community around product34:50  Where he gets his guiding principles from,  how he does business,  paying for unseen untapped value35:37  Source of funds to acquire business,  a bootstrap start, Techstars LA '21 graduate,  actively fundraising for acquisition fund. 37:45  Closed 2nd acquisition recently,  3rd in closing,  goal is 5 per year.   Deal flow brisk40:05   Does he have "know when to fold them" - sell.   Traditional thought process - cost of holding the company.   Smart Strategy to Hold the business...for how long...   which eliminates "trending or fad" businesses - more important to ask what problem does the product solve. 44:01  Results from 1st business to date.. 2X'ed revenue 3X'ed conversion ratio,  dropped time spent on business by 80% with automation45:38  How he gets his deal flow - 3 main channels to dig for leads MicroAquire, Shopify Exchange, Referrals47:00 What his needs -  Investors, actively raising capital, connections into eco-systems,  motivated  sellers,

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Marcus Sheridan Bio - International Keynote Speaker on Digital Sales/Marketing, Ranked #1 LinkedIn Voices for Entrepreneurship, Author of "They Ask, You Answer" and "The Visual Sale"  Owner/Partner at IMPACT a Digital Marketing Agency,  Partner at River Pools - built to $15mm in sales from Warsaw, Virginia - population 140000:00 Intro to Marcus 01:56  My experience applying Marcus's work to my business04:14  Nearly filing for bankruptcy at River Pools - losing homes - not seeing path - the Hail Mary08:41  Being Vetted by buyers - answering 100% of the prospects questions15:47  River Pools What has happened since 2018,  marketing / franchise / mfg. / acquired /sales22:59  Getting Crushed because of pricing.  And clearly stating who you are not a good fit for 22:55  If goal is to the Walmart - be a an employee. 24:35  Getting Acquired by Thursday Pools - finding great partners - that are quite different / dis-match but match with value set. 29:45 Why you need to Stress test your potential business partners40:08  The decision to get into pool manufacturing. 42:58  Why he decided to franchise River Pools 47:36 Paradox of Choice - Law of Diminishing Returns48:32  Does he have mentors - No and why...  what he does pay attention to...

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Nick McLean is founder and member Four Pillar Investments.  Nick participates in all aspects of Four Pillars’ business. Currently, most of his activities revolve around deal origination and deal execution.00:00 Intro to Nick McLean - bio00:38 Why he called his company Four Pillars Investors - and what they mean to how he operates03:27  How they qualify people from companies they acquire - 05:37 The industry sector they acquires - and why he exited the furniture company07:43  His Manufacturing,  Industrial Engineering Roots - The Tangible Importance to economy09:31 Four Pillars First Acquisition - how they found the deal - terms and price of the deal - sticking points - buying a car with no gas15:00  Applying operating efficiencies to the business and the results - steel prices rising 4X16:48  Having the plant manager ascended into the #1 role18:21  2nd Acquisition Eagle Precision larger deal and easier to get done - sourced / price 22:00  Rev / Ebidta results on Eagle Precision23:24  The bolt on company that they missed on - how they lost on the deal - why they tried to buy it24:59  Acquiring Turk Mfg. - why the company sold to Four Pillars - what it added to portfolio27:35  The Investors and financing for Eagle Precision and Turk Mfg.30:45  The Dart Casting Acquisition - how that was sourced,  who financed it - capital provider partnerships, people considerations - the process for finding capital37:24  How he works with brokers39:00  How experience has helped him in new negotiations - valuations in the same ball park40:31  His deal flow activities - all of the above - how luck and timing factor in42:26  Typical drivers that motivate seller to sell - how they position the transition44:32  Creating a bigger second bite of the apple for sellers - shooting for 8X50:34   What was your call to adventure - that moment - the better mouse trap53:15   Meeting the mentor - from intrinsic and personal experience55:12   What was biggest stumbling block to his success - overcoming lack of experience

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  E: 32 Top M&A Entrepreneurs - Matt Bodnar - 8 Successful Deals - Forbes 30 under 30,  Inc. Fastest Growing Company, Chairman of Fresh Technology, Cofounder & Managing partner of Fresh Capital, Host of Science of Success Podcast with 5 Million downloads. 00:00 Intro to Matt Bodnar 03:29  His M&A Entrepreneurial Call to Adventure - working full time or owning equity06:34  His first step - Guidance from Entrepreneurial Family - his first Zero Dollar Down Deal13:45  His dad and being active in the restaurant space 15:10  Slogging it out and eventually exiting the Aloha POS business, then acquiring an IT Data Center18:10  How he negotiated and bought - in deal terms that make sense,  then grew the Data Center business28:24  In a base line deal,  splitting upside, measuring the dollar value of contribution what the parties are bringing to the table. 31:03  What happens to a stagnant owner - how they fit in after acquisition - what happens if they don't change trajectories35:00 Categorizing the characteristic of a deal and identifying the right offers - Applicable  Deal Models40:30 Does he have an exit strategy for acquisitions  - good deals create optionality - leaving blue sky for next buyer44:22  What he learned from EPIC that he did not already know - tools in the quiver - what are different ways to do a deal - opens the door 48:13 How being a coach for EPIC helps his deal flow50:15  Is he looking for Wash, Rinse, Repeat Opportunity or just a Deal Maker - Playing World Series of Poker52:47 How he snowballed to 5 Million podcast downloads55:10 What he learned about "decision making" from professional Poker player Andy Duke

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  E: 31 Top M&A Entrepreneurs - Matt Fischer  8 Fitness Acquisitions , Opened 10th Location00:00 Intro Matt Fischer - 8 Fitness Acquisitions, Opened 10th Fitness Location - Fitness SaaS02:19 His Uncle's inspiration - The Mentor Entrepreneur influence04:33 Meeting his Mentor - Not much of sharer - watched from behind the scenes05:40  First Acquisition with Partner - what happened to that - did it make money - meeting expectations - the eventual sale09:05 Managing a retail fitness and the beginning of the idea to acquire more - Trying to buy Any Time Fitness Franchises - perfecting the model13:53  Acquiring operating gyms - cold calling the numbers to success15:30 KPIs and Critical Drivers - making money - simple math. 16:55  Negotiating Leases - Power - Motivated Land Owners and Transparency21:27  How much marketing he has to do on new acquisitions24:00  $9 a month versus $40  the amount of work involved - What $9 a month customers do the most25:48 Seeing the P&Ls  and the advantage of having a wife as an accountant27:45  His current corporate structure for the business & personal guarantees. 29:55   Approaching $10 million in revenue - he loves fitness and likes money - goal $30 million in revenue 31:19  hard to find gyms for sale,  Seeking adjacent businesses 33:50  Number of COVID cases with Navy SEALs35:40 Turning Costs Centers into Profit Centers37:20  Owned a supplement business - $500k a year - why google killed that business - what he learned - upselling and turning it back on. 42:35 How the M&A Entrepreneurial journey transformed him 

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Michael is an online business entrepreneur and investor. He started building, buying and selling websites as a student and later founded Domain Magnate in 2008 to make a career out of it.00:00  Intro to Michael Bereslavsky micro revenue acquisitions, first acquisition he paid $120 - sold for $2500 20X MOIC00:00 moving upstream in Revenue Acquisitions - staying below $1 mm  - why - its the market07:44  Focusing on Content sites,  finding the model that works11:21 SaaS multiples 13:10  SaaS Businesses that he will not buy - working with investors14:30  Building a team to acquire 160 companies17:08  Profitable or Unprofitable acquisitions - and price ranges, history & multiples20:03  Running Content sites22:11  Finding the buyers for his flips24:32  Know when to hold them,  know when to fold them (flip for sale)28:50  Launching a Fund - two.   Raising his third fund. 30:14  Investor profile, seeking  accredited,  $100k,  for $10mm fund. 35:05  Born in Russia, moved to Israel, now in Thailand 36:50  His deal flow,  1300 deals in database - not the top part of the funnel39:31   Deal Financing - understanding what seller is looking for42:55   Over 100% IRR to investors on first fund,  His 3rd fund  raise goal is $10 mm goal

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  00:00 Intro to Adam Coffey,  Army Vet,  bought sold 100 companies in 20 years, bought 21 for CoolSys, author of the Private Equity Playbook and The EXIT Strategy Playbook02:07  Why did he write them and reason for Private Equity Playbook and The EXIT Strategy Playbooks - adding credibility03:42  Sponsored by 2 different Private Equity firms - the back story - the goal of...07:42  How he started with CoolSys 09:42  The target & customer characteristics for CoolSys acquisitions11:30  How he grows new acquisitions by cross pollination13:37  How he sources new deals -what happens when CoolSys is shaking the trees 17:00  Growth expectations,  before after,  organic and buy build21:19  Rollovers,  2nd Bite of Apple - how the seller benefits, again and again and again - why sell your company once?26:25  Three more ways for seller to generate multiple income streams29:51  Working with, inspired by his brother, son & the entrepreneurial creative flair 32:25  Ebidta,  Going into LOI landmines - Cash Profit - Value & Fair/Unfair Representations37:35  How he values a business and offers calculates multiple ranges based on filter characteristics - why he buys world class assets vs fixing what is broken42:05  Stephen Schwartzman - Don't Lose Money formal/unformal veto power over acquisitions43:30  What kills a deal - maliciousness, accounting, or odd man out. 46:57  Sellers motivation:  Turn out the lights or join the team  - focusing on price top dollar leaving money on the table 50:47  Why he joined the United States Army - what it offered him - if not for his service...54:17   The 3 types of employees he hires - how CoolSys created 21 blue collar - guys - in - trucks Multi Millionaires