Top M&A Entrepreneurs

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  SUMMARY In this episode focused on ecommerce mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Josh Marsden takes center stage as an expert in the field. The episode, sponsored by The Magnolia Firm's Deal of the Week, delves into various aspects of ecommerce M&A.The discussion kicks off with an introduction to Josh Marsden and his expertise in the world of ecommerce acquisitions. It further explores the origins of his journey and how he ventured into the realm of ecommerce M&A.Throughout the conversation, Josh shares insights into his specialization within ecommerce acquisitions and offers perspectives on what type of ecommerce customers are more likely to ensure success. He also delves into the practical execution of ecommerce acquisition plans, recounting his experiences in turning strategies into tangible actions.Josh's insights extend to the challenges and triumphs of going solo in the ecommerce space and the futileness of attempting to revitalize stagnant businesses. He articulates the characteristics that define a prosperous ecommerce acquisition and introduces the ARM5 methodology for scaling ecommerce companies effectively.The episode also sheds light on the financial aspects of these transactions, discussing how deals in ecommerce M&A are financed and the significance of capitalization structures. The role of mentors and mastermind groups is explored, emphasizing the influence of guidance and collaborative learning.As the episode concludes, the spotlight turns to how Josh Marsden's net worth has evolved, and how he has matured,  as a result of his immersion in the world of ecommerce acquisitions. Overall, this episode provides an insightful journey through the intricacies and opportunities of ecommerce mergers and acquisitions, guided by Josh Marsden's expertise and experiences.SHOW NOTES:00:00  Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm's Deal of the Week! 00:46  Intro to Josh Marsden01:21  How the plan started03:38  Domain of Expertise 04:57  Best type of Ecomm Customer - to guarantee success06:25  Executing on the plan08:12  Going alone & reviving the dead13:26  Characteristics of good ecomm acquisition29:00  Methodology to Scale an Ecomm Company34:44  Cap Stack - Financing the Deal46:28  Mentors & Masterminds53:32 How Net worth changed

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  SUMMARYIn this video interview, Jon Stoddard talks with Mike Finger, an entrepreneur who has been involved in four successful business exits and now runs a company called Exit Oasis. Mike shares his journey, starting with a startup he and his wife founded in the mid-90s, providing back-office and support services to schools, nonprofits, and associations. He grew the business to 50 employees over a decade but eventually felt burnt out and decided to sell. However, when he approached brokers, they turned him down due to various issues in the business.Over the next five years, Mike educated himself about what makes a business attractive to potential buyers. He shifted his perspective and made the necessary changes to transform his business into a sellable entity. Eventually, after a year of working with a broker, he successfully sold the business. The experience was a significant turning point in his life, leading him to further explore the world of acquisitions and exits. Mike continued his entrepreneurial journey, becoming a broker, running an incubator, and buying and selling other businesses, gaining valuable insights along the way.In this video interview, Jon Stoddard talks with Mike Finger, an entrepreneur who has been involved in four successful business exits and now runs a company called Exit Oasis. Mike shares his journey, starting with a startup he and his wife founded in the mid-90s, providing back-office and support services to schools, nonprofits, and associations. He grew the business to 50 employees over a decade but eventually felt burnt out and decided to sell. However, when he approached brokers, they turned him down due to various issues in the business.Over the next five years, Mike educated himself about what makes a business attractive to potential buyers. He shifted his perspective and made the necessary changes to transform his business into a sellable entity. Eventually, after a year of working with a broker, he successfully sold the business. The experience was a significant turning point in his life, leading him to further explore the world of acquisitions and exits. Mike continued his entrepreneurial journey, becoming a broker, running an incubator, and buying and selling other businesses, gaining valuable insights along the way.Mike Finger also discusses four common problems he has observed among acquisition entrepreneursSHOW NOTES:00:00  Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm's Deal of the Week! 00:34  Intro to Mike Finger and his 4 exits14:38  Launching ExitOasis31:35  Sponsor:  Let the Magnolia Firm sell your company32:17  The 4 Problems with Acquisition Entrepreneurs32:40  Problem #1 M&A Porn39:50  Problem #2 Regurgitating Guru Junk45:05  Problem #3  no one has ever made money by just buying a business. 48:25  Problem #4  Business Gigolo vs Business Owner LINKS to Mike Fingerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-fingerhttps://exitoasis.com/

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Mohit Tater shares his acquisitions and investment journey, including growth strategies, revenue verification, and a focus on content sites and affiliates. He discusses raising capital, cap table structuring, and launching Blackbook investments. Mohit explores deal sourcing, negotiation tactics, and lessons learned from failed deals. He addresses investor characteristics, the Multi Member LLC Investment Vehicle setup, and managing investments. He touches on mentors, Webstreet platform, and plans for diversification.SHOW NOTES:00:00  Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm00:34  Intro to Mohit Tater - how it all started03:09  What did you do to grow your first acquisition?05:21  Do you still use Flippa?05:36  2nd Acquisition - getting scammed 06:55 What did you learn from getting scammed07:38  How do you verify revenue 09:29  His focus: Content sites and affiliates09:55  When he started buying larger revenue site and his first investor12:01  Formal Pitch or Friends and Family13:02  Investors ROI over 3 years14:11  Where he found the deal and revenue numbers14:50  Conversation with investor to sell15:19  Deciding to reduce risks16:20  A deal that did not work out  - why it did not work out. 17:34  How he first structured the cap table with investors 18:40  Launching Blackbook investments20:40  Minimum investment date of deployment22:11  How many investors he has on his email list22:47  Types, Size of Deals and On or Off Market & where he sells them24:22  What he likes to do 25:22   How he negotiates overpriced deals26:58   Rolling equity28:05  Proof28:23  Partners?28:45  Sell your business Magnolia Firm29:09  How long did it take to build a list of investors30:27  What do these investors look like?31:36  How he sets up the Multi Member LLC Investment Vehicle 33:56  Do investors get dividends?34:47  How many investments do you current manage?36:00  Where do you want this to go - what he needs in resources?38:06  Who is your mentor?39:38  Why not raise fund - and Webstreet42:01  Webstreet Fees & value 44:58  How the Webstreet rolling fund decides on deals46:46  What Webstreet investors expect to see48:22  Do investors push back on forecasts48:57  How do you qualify to be on Webstreet49:57  What about working capital investment?51:00  How many acquisitions have you made from Webstreet money?52:43  Plans to buy bigger websites?53:57  What he needs & diversifyingLINKS to Mohit Taterwww.linkedin.com/in/mohittater/https://bbi.xyz/DealFlowSystem: https://dealflowsystem.net/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonstoddard/

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  SHOW NOTES:00:00  Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm00:51  intro to Malcolm Peace and his first look at acquisitions04:10  Acquisitions are about "Buying Time"05:56  Getting Inspiration08:30  How his mentors guided him11:10  Was the ERP project a skill test or real customer?13:45  The Pieces start coming together when you are intentional15:18  How Andre Agassi figured out Bjorn Borgs serve15:59  Launching a PE firm as minority partner - and the blowup22:26  Sourcing a deal and what happens when you get emotionally attached to a deal26:56  What his PE experience taught him about Quality of Earnings28:00   looking at deals closer to home29:02   Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm30:35  Broker or no broker - change the outcome?31:00  Building an outreach system - before and after results33:28  The search criteria thesis - The 3 D's35:58  How long did it take to find your first acquisition39:17  Helping owners to work above the business - to scale and exit40:22  Malcom's 2nd Acquisition42:37  How he financed the deal - Her Price My Terms44:45  $900,000 in free cash flow - shrimp47:43  How much he raised in capital - Why you need to stay in touch with investors49:17   All cash Friends & Family round?52:26  What is he doing with the excess free cash flow...bigger deals?53:20  HoldCo dreams53:49  Did company have GM in place?54:17  How do you feel about this deal compared to losing first deal56:25  Owner Second Guessing the Deal57:43  What Malcom does settle himself

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Bill Snow shares his journey in the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provides valuable insights into the industry. He introduces himself and talks about his background, giving viewers an overview of his origin story. Bill discusses his first deal, a spin-out deal that unfortunately did not reach fruition. He then touches on the concept of valuation, emphasizing how some individuals can have overly optimistic expectations.Bill goes on to recount his first successful deal, where he worked with a $20 million marketing company. He highlights the importance of not providing a disservice to clients or offering bad advice. The quality of earnings reports is strongly recommended by Bill, and he notes the increasing prevalence of Reps & Warranty Insurance in the industry.Towards the end, Bill mentions "10 Reasons Acquisitions Fail" and "10 Lurking Problems for Sellers," which are discussed in his book. These sections cover common challenges and pitfalls encountered in M&A transactions, providing valuable insights for anyone involved in the process.Overall, Bill Snow's video provides a comprehensive overview of his experiences in the M&A industry, offering valuable advice and insights for professionals and enthusiasts alike.SHOW NOTES:00:00  Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm00:51  Intro to Bill Snow origin story03:43  first deal Bill worked on - spin-out deal - did not get deal done04:34  Valuation - stars in their eyes05:28  First successful deal working on a $20 million marketing company06:54  disservice to client or bad advice08:05  Quality of Earnings reports - strongly recommend08:40  Reps & Warranty Insurance - seeing it more and more...09:20  How an investment banker gets paid11:39  The Best part of the M&A job & How Negotiating & playing cards are similar16:29  How to win at poker and M&A19:42  How many deals did Bill work on before book20:25  Why he wrote the book, M&A for Dummies26:11  Don't give my company ideas about wanting royalties29:15  Did the "For Dummies" brand help you?30:43  Did the M&A for Dummies book open new doors or backfire?35:41  What is difference between first edition book and 2nd?36:57   What's my Valuation?   A. "It depends"38:58   how to create Sell Side Valuations for buyers43:30   When 80% of your revenue is from one customer46:15   If the Quality of Earnings Report is done right...47:58   I am the Tax man.   page 185 of Mergers & Acquisitions for Dummies49:44   10 Reasons Acquisitions Fail:  Bureaucracy,  Zombie,  No Authority,  pg. 331 55:37   10 Lurking Problems for Sellers: Accruals,  Parallel Activities & The End Run pg. 335LINKS to Bill Snowwww.linkedin.com/in/billsnowMergers & Acquisitions for Dummies by Bill Snow  on Amazon.com

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  In this YouTube video, Craig Dickens from JD Merit Group is interviewed about his experiences in the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Craig begins by sharing his background, including his success in building a mail-order company for tri-athletes, which he eventually sold. He then discusses how he used the proceeds from that sale to pursue his next ventures.SHOW NOTES:00:00  Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm00:51  Intro to Craig Dickens from JD Merit Group01:23  Building mail order company for Tri-Athletes - 26k mail list - and sold that05:59  What was next?  Parlayed the proceeds 07:11  How much did you parlay to the next opportunity08:53  Finding his niche size11:18  Buying & Selling a QuickBooks company12:23  Looking for another acquisition - How you make decisions to invest15:20  Bending will to reality - the endowment effect  16:23  Elon Outlier 18:25  Any of those acquisitions not work out and why?21:45  Why Craig sold one at a time23:18  What usually happens when you over pay for acquisitions25:08  Did you use partners?27:18  How Craig structures deals - Finding the deal,  Sponsoring the Deal29:22  How much money does Craig bring to deal30:52  Example of $20 million deal - law of large numbers Capital Providers33:30  PE or FO or HNWI 35:24  Why he moved from owning the companies to M&A Advisor37:30  Personal Guarantees - learning from our failures40:04  Should I sell now?42:24  How do you know - John Warrillow - Built to sell 44:24  How do you find clients - Guess what?  LinkedIn45:45  Why do they pick your firm over others?49:12  First time sellers - first time buyers51:24  What do you do if seller wants more than company is worth?54:57  Fastest deal done - and average56:45  How much of your tri-athlete mindset helped you in M&A - learn to accept suffering58:24   When you deal has hair on it - the M&A Axiom - price the risk59:54  How Craig's M&A firm charges1:02:01  How many deals do you work on per month1:02:30  How do feel about your work today LINKS to Craig Dickenshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/craigdickens/https://jdmerit.com/

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Adrian Pinto is CEO of Georgia Scapes.   Georgia Scapes is a licensed and insured provider of landscape services, including: commercial maintenance and installation, irrigation, anti-erosion, and residential design and installationSHOW NOTES:00:00  Episode brought to you by The Magnolia Firm00:48  Intro to Adrian Pinto 01:35  Learning Experience - and his background at PE firms03:36  What did you Adrian do at the PE firms?06:25  When & Why he made the decision to buy a company10:04  Did you want to do it by yourself or with partner?10:50  How did you find the acquisition?12:34  What was your criteria 13:26  Why did seller want to sell?14:11  Who did the audit?14:43  Was business reasonably priced / valuation?17:10  Working Capital in the PE world - and the SMB seller wants it19:50  Why is SBA loan a double edge sword to future growth?24:25  Talking about Mark Leonard at Constellation Software & Operational Excellence 28:10  Creating Havoc with more acquisitions28:38   How he grew the acquisition by 42%30:15   How the SBA views history when you are a 25 year old company32:33  Why he chose landscaping business34:09  What was experience like with employees when you don't know anything36:25  Any employee leave?37:05  Any surprise red flags or seller disingenuous? 39:04  Did you create a risk that was not real - being reasonable?42:43  Recurring Revenue & what he liked about the businessLINKS to Adrian Pintohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianpinto/https://www.georgiascapes.com/

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Eric Hsu (on Twitter at Lawyer4SMBs)  2nd degree connection2ndBusiness Acquisition Lawyer | M&A, SBA Deals, SMB | I help self-funded entrepreneurs negotiate/structure/close SMB acquisition dealsSHOW NOTES:00:00  LINKS to Eric Hsuhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/lawyer4smbs/https://lawyer4smbs.com/@lawyer4SMBs

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  Ron Holt  Former CEO & Founder of Two Maids & A Mop. Current Founder of Pink Zebra Moving.SHOW NOTES:00:00  Intro to Ron Holt01:20  Where did he get the inspiration?03:48  How he launched Two Maids and a Mop04:47 How much did you save up?06:33  Why go after a fragmented industry?08:02  Did you create a formal business plan?12:45  How long did you go without paycheck?15:12  Who was your Darth Vader?  16:10  How did you turn it around - figure out product market fit?19:24  How did you pay your people?20:40 Did you terminate the bottom 10%?21:19  What were the economics of your franchise?22:24  You got it figured out,  what did that do your revenue?23:34  Where did the franchise idea come from?26:04  You met a Subway billionaire on accident?28:13   What was the conversation like?30:43  Did you keep in touch with him?32:43  How did you go from 11 to 93 locations?33:15  How much did you sell a franchise for?37:29  Why were people attracted to the opportunity?39:12   Fast forward,  93 locations,  why did you sell to PE?40:58  The new idea...when did that start?43:22  There is not repeat revenue in moving business - or is there?44:54  Pink Zebra,  is that from Purple Cow,  #sethgodin 45:39  Did you hire an investment banker to help you sell?49:02  What kind of multiples did you get on a 93 location franchise?50:16  You have a boat load of money now,  did you apply same boot strap ideas?53:02  How many franchises do you have now?53:50  What was a big mistake you made in that first business?55:50  Do you feel like you are following in Fred DeLucas shoes?56:35  What is a win for you?58:48 Revenue for the moving company now?59:22 How many are you going to add per year?LINKS to Ron Holthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ronholtfranchise/https://pinkzebramoving.com/

 Take the Business Buyer Readiness Assessment →  The deal Camilo negotiated was:-$8.95M at close-$2.5M in equity in the PE firm that was acquiring him-$1M holdback to be released after 12 month (standard when dealing with PE, it's usually 10% but I capped it at $1M)-$500k to be paid out as a salary for 12 months for the owner to stay running the company during the first year doing only the things he loved doingI charged 10% as a commission on the deal so it ended up being a happy happy story for everyone involved.SHOW NOTES:00:00  Intro to Camilo Andrews Parra00:26  The day you became a millionaire02:11  What do you do for work now?04:22  What makes a good digital marketing client to you?05:54  How much do you clients spend on ads per month?07:11  How long have you been doing digital marketing?07:16  Did you ever take a percentage of revenue?08:59  What was your WHY,  why start looking for acquisitions?09:49  This company you tried to buy on MicroAcquire - details?11:01  What is worth $6 million?16:16  So you tried to raise capital,  what was your experience?17:48  You tried SBA - but what happened?18:33  You hit brick wall with this MicroAcquire acquisition - what did you decide to do?19:32  What type of products did your client sell?20:10  He did $700k in sales his first year?20:30  How much did you spend to get it to $3 Million in sales?21:16  Did this client do this before?23:09  How did you approach your client- to help him sell?27:48  You thought his business was worth $8m to $13M?28:10  Was this course business dependent on his celebrity status?28:41   How many courses did he created?30:56  When you were ready to sell it,  where did you start - where did you list it?33:20 Are you getting qualified buyers?36:00  What types of questions did you ask to determine if they had $4 Million to put down?40:22  So you started reaching out to PE firms...42:19  How much commission did you ask as M&A Advisor?44:47  So your client crushed it in December,  how did that affect the valuation?45:24  How fast did you close?46:32  Did you client accept "second bite of the apple?"48:16  How long did it take to get your cut?48:44  Were your partners involved?48:55  What did you feel when you saw the money deposited?49:54  Are you changing your business plan due to this success?50:28  Are you going to ask for equity now?53:09  What is your plan now - what type of clients are you looking for?