My guest on this episode is Michael Arrieta. Michael is the founder of Garden City and has raised $51 million in permanent capital to acquire family-owned businesses across the country. The raise was completed in March 2020, and already they have three wholly-owned companies and minority stakes in two. Michael came highly recommended by Brent Beshore, and I can see why from our conversations. It's clear that Michael is a student of business and has mental models of hundreds of companies floating around in his head. He also has a remarkable sense of empathy and mission at Garden City, a mission which we discussed throughout the episode extensively. During our conversation, we talk about raising without a private equity background, how to involve investors in your portfolio companies as mentors, how they recruit, the technology and systems they implement at their companies, and all things Chick-fil-A, a business Michael has studied extensively. Please enjoy my episode with Michael.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:Michael on LinkedInGarden City CompaniesWhy it only costs $10k to own a Chick-Fil-A FranchiseTopics:(4:42) - Michael’s background and career(7:27) - What was it about VC that caused you to hesitate to pursue your career in that world?(8:59) What memories stick out from your time as a chief of staff that have helped you in your current role?(12:00) - What’s the thesis behind Garden City?(13:39) - How did you go about fundraising?(17:12) - What started to become possible once you saw an increase in capital interest and were there any tradeoffs you had to make in order to secure more funding?(22:14) - Where are you seeing your deal flow come from?(24:55) - What are some of the companies that you own?(28:52) - How do you approach implementing technology in your acquisitions?(31:42) - How do you find great people to bring on to your companies?(34:11) - How much advice do you get from your investor base?(36:25) - What do you view as your role within Garden City?(39:21) - How do you build relationships with leaders in the companies you acquire?(41:26) - What companies inspire you?(47:46) - What college class would you teach if it could be about anything?(48:25) - What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on?(49:41) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?

My guests on this episode are Caroline Matthews and Connor McCarthy, a husband and wife team running an investment firm called Canyonlands Funds that acquires youth summer camps from Maine to Florida. Both are extremely passionate about the outdoors and met on a trip to Bhutan while getting their MBAs at Stanford. After working in private equity for a few years after graduating, they decided to become entrepreneurs in the outdoors and have acquired two summer camps to date.Their strategy is one of the most unique and interesting I've maybe ever come across as I haven't heard of anyone else investing in used summer camps. Their business model is pretty interesting, and naturally we spend a lot of time diving into how it works.We also talk about challenges in running summer camps, how they decided to raise capital and find great investors, strategies for finding and building great teams, and why Levain's Bakery in New York City makes the best cookies in the world. Enjoy the episode.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:Caroline on LinkedInConnor on LinkedInCanyonlands FundLevain BakeryTopics:(3:56) - Caroline & Connor’s background and starting Canyonlands(7:43) - What made you decide to pursue private equity & tech before building Canyonlands?(9:33) - What were some skills you developed before starting Canyonlands?(11:35) - What business models did you consider when developing the company?(13:19) - What is the financial model backing the company?(16:35) - What are some ways you’ve leaned on your board for feedback?(20:17) - What is the business model for a Summer Camp?(27:23) - How do you find a great Camp Director?(30:37) - How are you measuring results through qualitative data from campers?(33:55) - What is the hardest data to track?(36:47) - How difficult is it to buy a camp and install a great reputation and values if it doesn’t already have them?(39:08) - What are some levers and options for growing a camp?(41:29) - What have you learned about pricing in your business?(42:47) - Do you have any plans for a punch-card or subscription type model?(45:31) - How do you go about sourcing camps to acquire?(51:03) - What’s the dynamic like being business partners and married?(54:35) - What college class would you teach if it could be on anything?(55:55) - What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on?(56:46) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?(58:18) - How would you describe Levain Cookies to non-East Coast people?

My guests on this episode are Ayo Phillips and Peter Lohmann. Both operate businesses and property services and management and also run Traction EOS in their companies. EOS rightfully gets a lot of attention in the small business world for providing a structure to grow and being what Peter calls it as a culture in a box system. But every operator uses EOS in slightly different ways, and I wanted to hear from two operators using it to hear how they've customized the model for their businesses. This episode is a breakdown of why they decided to implement EOS, choosing between self-implementing versus hiring an implementer, benefits they've realized from using EOS, how EOS impacts company culture, and their advice for other operators considering us for their businesses. Also, Ayo’s previous episode, episode 56 on Think Like An Owner, was a very popular episode for good reason. Ayo has quite the story to share, and I highly recommend book-ending that episode with this one for a great story and more background. And now enjoy our all-things EOS conversation.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:Peter Lohmann on LinkedInAyo Phillips on LinkedInTraction by Gino WickmanTLAO #56 w/ Ayo PhillipsPerfect Surface IncRL Property ManagementVision Traction OrganizerWho by Geoff SmartTopics:(5:08) - Ayo Phillips’ & Peter Lohmann’s backgrounds(7:17) - What prompted you to implement traction?(11:20) - What were some of the lightbulb moments from Traction?(18:17) - The decision to self-implement EOS(25:32) - When did you notice that the implementation was working and a culture was being developed?(30:11) - How much movement had to happen within your teams to successfully implement EOS?(35:49) - Building the base layer of EOS(38:59) - How do you think through picking “Rocks” and setting goals? Did you ever have to refine any of them?(44:31) - How have each of you personalized EOS to best fit your respective companies?(52:28) - What advice would you give to operators considering or struggling with EOS?

My guest for this episode is Kaustubh Deo. Kaustubh recently acquired a tree service business in Seattle through a self-funded search after working in private equity in New York. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Kaustubh over the last two years and have found him to be one of the most insightful thinkers in the search space. A good portion of our conversation focuses on concepts like risk-reward and making transitions, topics he has given a lot of thought. Throughout our discussion, we talk about the differences operating in large private equity compared to in small companies, loosening his deal-breaker list, effectively investing his time learning the new business, and YouTube strategy for the tree service industry.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:Kaustubh Deo on LinkedInBlooma Tree ExpertsGuilty of Treeson on YouTubeSingleOps & the Green Industry Perspectives PodcastTopics:(4:24) - Would you ever get on YouTube?(5:43) - Why don’t tree-climbers gravitate toward W2’s?(8:21) - What’s your main recruiting base?(10:49) - Are you seeing any tree service content creation outside of YouTube and Instagram?(11:48) - How did you end up in the world of tree services?(14:02) - How did you decide to focus on the Seattle market?(17:31) - What was your deal process like?(19:13) - Thoughts on Deal-breakers in search(22:40) - The deal experience in private equity vs. small business acquisitions(26:15) - What are some ways you tried to learn about the company’s culture without interacting with the employees?(31:12) - What are some ways you are looking to improve communication with customers?(37:34) - What’s your transition been like actually running the business?(41:15) - How helpful has it been seeing customer interactions first-hand?(43:10) - The differences in operations for private equity acquisitions vs. small businesses(46:40) - Do you have any advice for people in Search?(48:42) - What were your personal preferences when you started your search and how did those change over time?(52:30) - What growth goals do you have for the next 10 years?(54:58) - What college class would you teach if it could be about anything?(57:08) - How do you determine the risk vs. reward balance in a decision?(58:59) - What’s a strongly held belief you’ve changed your mind on?(1:01:51) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?

The podcast discusses causes of failure in search, strategies for maintaining a healthy pipeline, risks in search transactions, Alex Mears' career background, and lessons learned from the military. It also covers investing in veteran search funders, fostering open feedback culture, and synergy between vertical market software and information services.

My guest on this episode is Tony Layne. I met Tony and his wife Cassi at SMBash in February after several folks strongly recommended I talk with them and I'm glad they did. Tony and Cassi are lifelong entrepreneurs in various ventures, but by far, their most successful venture is Senior Dental Care, now called Aria Care Partners under private equity ownership.Senior Dental Care started as a mobile dental services company for senior care homes and evolved to partner with insurance companies to pay for their services on behalf of patients through Medicare, meaning it didn't cost patients a dime to get dental care. Once the insurance aspect clicked, this business exploded, and it's created life changing financial results for them both.Our discussion is very story-based as we go through Tony and Cassi's journey, which is fantastic as their story is anything but dull, boring, and smooth, which brings me to a point about challenges. At the end of the episode, Tony said he was concerned that he'd talked about too many near death experiences in their business, but I feel these stories are perhaps the most important to share.When we hear stories of successful entrepreneurs today, they rarely share failures and hardships endured during the path to success, and that makes other growing entrepreneurs think that they're failures when they hit a rough patch. Sharing near death experiences in entrepreneurship is incredibly important as it demonstrates that hardship is normal, even for those that become successful. I hope Tony sharing his near-death experiences encourages others on this podcast and others to share the same.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:Tony on LinkedInLynniam FarmsTopics:(6:07) - Tony’s background and career in Real Estate, construction & dental health care(32:50) - Being extorted by the state of Florida(37:08) - Butting heads with the board (40:39) - Growing their business and growing their family(44:31) - Acquiring an 1,800 acre property that would become Lynniam Farms & selling off the dental business(54:22) - Stepping away as CEO and getting into the transactional side of the business(56:31) - Setting up a Family Office(58:46) - Do you want to spend more time working with traditional searchers?(1:00:13) - What college class would you teach if it could be about anything?(1:01:28) - What’s a strongly held belief you’ve changed your mind on?(1:02:46) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?

My guest on this episode is Tom Birchard. Tom has spent a great portion of his career managing service and operations teams for Ingersoll Rand and Trane, and as of March 2022, has taken a president role with a family office to acquire home services businesses. The family office is Whitney Wilder and it's technically a multifamily office based in St. Petersburg, Florida, that operates like a private equity firm, but without a fund, giving them lots of flexibility, investments, and timelines. The office was formed after some successful real estate investments and their next move is acquiring home services businesses with Tom leading that new effort. Tom and I discuss managing projects and teams, getting to know a new team and designing successful transitions, how to handle having an iPad thrown at you, and involving family more in your career, among other team management topics. Enjoy.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:Tom’s BlogWhitney Wilder Family OfficeThe First 90 Days by Michael WatkinsBrent BeshoreBuy Then Build by Walker DeibelSearchfunder.comThe Effective Manager by Mark HorstmanTopics:(4:44) - Tom’s career and background(6:36) - What does IR & Train do?(7:59) - Tom’s transition into family office & different roles he’s held during his career(10:23) - What were some common themes you saw in successfully managing teams of different sizes?(11:42) - How would you define the management role as the size of the team differs?(13:44) - Are there nuances in managing teams with different missions?(16:16) - How do you think about improving as a manager and getting feedback from your team?(19:30) - How do you encourage teams to give genuine feedback?(22:07) - What have you learned about managing difficult transitions?(24:21) - What are some effective ways to build relationships with key team members early on in a new management role?(27:15) - How do you start working on the early wins to build trust with your team?(29:53) - How do you approach a team member who isn’t pulling their weight and determine whether it’s a firing vs. training solution?(32:04) - Where did you get your interest in SMB?(35:38) - How did you bring your wife into these decisions?(38:38) - Do you involve owner’s families when potentially acquiring a company?(40:45) - What college class would you teach if it could be on anything?(41:41) - What’s a strongly held belief you’ve changed your mind on?(43:41) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?

My guest on this episode is Ryan Turk. Ryan raised a traditional search fund in March 2020 and closed on Radiation Detection Company only nine months later in December 2020. Prior to searching, Ryan served in the Navy aboard nuclear submarine USS Michigan as an officer managing their onboard nuclear power system. Ryan used this experience to launch his impressively short industry focused search. Ryan and I talk about the pros and cons of being from the Navy prior to becoming a CEO, his thoughts on industry focus versus broad searches, establishing credibility and building relationships in a new team, and how his board has been helpful along with other advice to folks working with boards. Enjoy.Links:Ryan on LinkedInYour Money or Your Life by Vicki RobinRadiation Detection CompanyTopics:(5:26) - Ryan’s background and career in the Navy before RDC(9:28) - What were some key sales skills you learned working for a startup?(10:58) - How did you go about the process of developing your Cap Table?(12:50) - How did you decide your industry focus?(18:13) - Once you had a targeted industry focus, how did you reach out to different companies?(20:13) - How fast was it from Fundraise to close?(20:26) - What does RDC do?(21:57) - How did you build relationships with the most influential people on your team?(27:27) - Were there any challenges with the fact that you were taking over a 3rd generation family business?(30:18) - What have you found is most helpful in communicating that painful growth is best for the employees in the long term?(33:24) - How did your time in the military affect how you look at job progression and giving people more responsibility?(38:32) - What were some blind spots you developed while in the military?(43:44) - How have you leaned on your board?(45:43) - How did you develop your board?(48:13) - What advice would you offer to searchers looking to create a board?(52:35) - What college course would you teach if it could be on anything?(54:56) - What’s a strongly held belief you’ve changed your mind on?(57:01) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?

My guest on this episode is Preston Holland. Preston is the COO of FLYING Magazine, which was purchased in July 2021 by Craig Fuller and has been going through a broad transformation to a modern media business.Preston and I became friends over our mutual love of aviation and media, and our conversations are always wide ranging and leave me with a new idea or view of the world. I'm very excited to share today's episode on niche media and publishing.Over the course of our discussion, we talk all things print publishing, why your favorite magazines aren't what they used to be, why the print is dead narrative is misleading, FLYING’s fly in community plans, how to grow an editorial team, and aviation puns. Enjoy.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:Preston on LinkedInPreston on TwitterFlying MagazineWatch: Flying into OshkoshAlpine AirparkTopics:(5:03) - Preston’s career leading up to Flying Magazine(7:15) - Are you a pilot now?(8:51) - What’s the culture like at Flying?(14:28) - What was the process like of acquiring Flying from Bonnier?(17:45) - What were some new directions Flying needed to take to become a more modern publication?(23:31) - Why isn’t print publication dying out?(30:07) - How did you think about the different products that Flying could offer?(34:32) - Is there a plan to build more of these fly-in communities?(41:10) - How did you transform the Flying team since the acquisition?(44:34) - What have been some challenges or growing pains you’ve experienced?(46:37) - What college class would you teach if it could be about anything?(47:48) - What’s a strongly held belief you’ve changed your mind on?(49:34) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?

My guest on this episode is David Dodson. David started the second ever search fund after being a Stanford case writer, purchasing Smith Alarm Systems in 1989. Over his career, David has been the CEO or executive chairman of five companies, has and continues to invest in search funds today through his firm Futaleufu Partners, and he is a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, teaching classes about search and the management of small companies. My conversation with David starts with his time as a case writer before launching his search fund. We talk about peaks and valleys in his search career, including some very hard conversations. We dive deep into the topic of transitioning from a contributor to a leader of a small firm and important leadership skills. We also talk about how the search fund world has evolved over time and where it might continue to change in the future. Finally, we talk about the relationships searchers have with their investors and how to foster better ones. I've been really excited to have David on the podcast for quite a while, and I hope you enjoy our wide-ranging conversation.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:David on LinkedInFutaleufu PartnersTopics:(5:26) - David’s background and career(9:21) - What sticks out to you the most when thinking back on getting someone to write you a check?(12:11) - Once you had the capital, what did you do to search for companies?(13:43) - What were some of the more stressful calls you had with owner/operators?(15:03) - David’s experience acquiring & running Smith Alarm Systems(19:06) - How did you approach your first 18 months as the new owner?(23:50) - The 5 skills of Leadership(29:11) - What are some examples of early prioritization as a leader?(31:42) - How do you advise making the transition from being a contributor to one organization to being a leader of your own organization?(34:46) - What are some common struggles folks have when they become a manager of managers?(38:48) - What have been some “near-death experiences” in your career?(45:16) - Are there any exercises you try to do to put your mind at a pause when you’re making a critical decision?(47:41) - What are some ways you’ve seen the Search Fund world change throughout your career?(51:11) - Are there too many searchers?(53:00) - What advice do you have for searchers to build relationships with their investor base?(56:26) - What college course would you teach if it could be on anything? (58:22) - What’s a strongly held belief you’ve changed your mind on?(1:00:15) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?