Search Party

Bob Boniface, an entrepreneur through acquisition, shares his journey in acquiring TransTech, a CDL training business. Joined by Anthony Walker, an ETA strategy expert, and Ryan Turbes from Boulay, they dive into the vital nature of quality of earnings during acquisitions. They discuss common misconceptions and the emotional dynamics of negotiations. The conversation reveals how crucial this process is in assessing true company value and managing seller relationships while educating clients on the complexities of financial metrics. A must-listen for future entrepreneurs!

In this engaging discussion, guests Anthony Walker and Dustin Sellers from Next Coast Legacy, along with Conor Tidgwell from Avidbank, dive into the intricacies of lower-middle-market transactions. They highlight how businesses acquired at single-digit multiples can be flipped for double digits through operational improvements. The conversation covers the growing demand for outsourcing in commercial services, the importance of customer retention, and the appeal of niche software investments. The trio shares insights on market trends and the critical nature of EBITDA in evaluating potential deals.

Women are making gains toward substantial representation in the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) community, and supporting each other along the way. In fact, 17% of ETA searchers in the market are now women. In a fascinating conversation, three ETA leaders compare notes about the appeal of the ETA search-fund career, the advantages women can have connecting with fellow entrepreneurs, and the challenges and misperceptions women confront in a male-dominated industry. This episode of Search Party includes Audrey Kohout, CEO of ETA company Luggage Forward, Tatiana Gaspar, Director at ETA private equity firm Next Coast Legacy and Katie Walker, a Principal at lower-middle-market capital provider Plexus Capital. Kohout tells the story of how her and co-searcher/co-CEO Jessica Palfrey looked all over the country for a lower-middle-market business to acquire and run before settling on a logistics company in Boston, owned by two men. A deal was struck due in part to shared values of hard work and humility that transcended gender. The experts also discussed the often-difficult balancing act of growing a business while also maintaining a personal life and, for women and men alike, growing a family. As Kohout puts it: "We're building our lives at the same time that we're building a company." Near the end of the conversation, the three compared stories of awkward moments that women can face when men assume they are not in positions of leadership.   Women's Search Network: https://www.womenssearchnetwork.com/   Search Party Lead Sponsor: Next Coast Legacy https://lnkd.in/eSAuRW5p Search Party Sponsors: Avidbank https://www.avidbank.com/ Boulay - Contact Boulay's Search Fund Team: https://lnkd.in/eFF88SVf Mayer Brown https://lnkd.in/gU7sPPSg Plexus Capital https://plexuscap.com/   Search Party website: https://lnkd.in/efJEa6GV

A career move to the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) search-fund market may result in any combination of bewilderment, disappointment, wealth creation and self-actualization, according to A. J. Wasserstein, a Senior Lecturer at the Yale School of Management. Wasserstein, himself the builder of two successful businesses, has made entrepreneurship and the search fund community the subject of his teaching and academic work. As Search Party learned in a fascinating conversation, Wasserstein has developed frameworks not only about the potential of an ETA career to pave a way to self-determination and wealth, but to personal fulfillment, what psychologist Abraham Maslow calls self-actualization. Wasserstein, together with Next Coast Legacy Managing Partners Dustin Sellers and Anthony Walker, discusses the growing awareness of the ETA career path among MBA students, the attributes necessary to embark on a high-risk professional journey. Making sure the entrepreneurial path dovetails with personal values and goals is important, says Wasserstein, because he doesn't want his students to end up "the richest divorced people, or the richest people estranged from their kids." At the center of the self-actualization possible for CEOs of lower-middle-market businesses is the ability to directly and positively impact the lives of employees and other stakeholders, to create an entity bigger than the personal ambitions of the ETA searcher.   Select works from A. J. Wasserstein: Exploring Search Fund Entrepreneur Economics https://yale.app.box.com/s/0mo483h9lmfd04bl1om9dkc7oz4xm2s6 Exploring Search Fund Entrepreneurship Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a Framework https://yale.app.box.com/s/gz48z3i3t55oxdzqbxk1ny32v6oq775o Including Employees in a Search Fund Waterfall https://yale.app.box.com/s/6ouw7vhe9eq6a24y63dy29mjz166o8ht   Search Party Lead Sponsor: Next Coast Legacy https://www.nextcoastlegacy.com/   Search Party Sponsors: Avidbank https://www.avidbank.com/ Boulay - Contact Boulay's Search Fund Team: https://lnkd.in/eFF88SVf Mayer Brown https://www.mayerbrown.com/en Plexus Capital https://plexuscap.com/

Dustin Sellers and Anthony Walker, Managing Partners at leading Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) investment firm, Next Coast Legacy, share their personal career journeys through the finance industry to become leading practitioners of the ETA strategy, and comment on the exciting growth of the asset class, the attributes necessary for successful searchers, and the rigors of acquiring and running small- and medium-sized businesses. Dustin, who specializes in mentoring searchers and first-time CEOs, shares the attributes necessary for ETA success, including a willingness to "chew off your own arm" to avoid losing money. He describes the challenge of identifying the right acquisition target as akin to climbing Everest without oxygen, and the challenge of being a first-time CEO as akin to managing while underwater in a scuba suit. Anthony, a due diligence expert who became "disillusioned" making short-term investments at large hedge funds, talks about his light-bulb moment when he learned about the ETA opportunity for hands-on value creation at small- to medium-sized businesses.   About Search Party Search Party is a video-podcast created to elevate knowledge about the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) strategy. On a regular basis, the podcast will convene expert conversations about the best practices and opportunities in ETA, a model for business growth, career development and wealth creation that is becoming increasingly popular. Search Party is hosted by David Snow and produced by Elatromme.   Search Party Lead Sponsor Next Coast Legacy https://www.nextcoastlegacy.com/ Search Party Sponsors Avidbank https://www.avidbank.com/ Boulay - Contact Boulay's Search Fund Team: https://lnkd.in/eFF88SVf Mayer Brown https://www.mayerbrown.com/en Plexus Capital https://plexuscap.com/   Search Party podcast homepage: https://searchpartypodcast.com/  

Financial journalist David Snow explains the impetus for the launch of Search Party, a new video-podcast featuring Next Coast Legacy Managing Partners Dustin Sellers, Anthony Walker and a rotating roster of expert guests. On a regular basis, Search Party will delve into topics designed to elevate knowledge of the entrepreneurship-through-acquisition (ETA) strategy, a form of investing, value- and wealth-creation that is increasingly popular, especially across business-school networks. Search Party topics will include models for the alignment of economic interests, deal-sourcing techniques, due diligence, methods for operational value-creation and financing strategies, among many others.   About Search Party Search Party is a video-podcast created to elevate knowledge about the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) strategy. On a regular basis, the podcast will convene expert conversations about the best practices and opportunities in ETA, a model for business growth, career development and wealth creation that is becoming increasingly popular. Search Party is hosted by David Snow and produced by Elatromme.   Search Party Lead Sponsor Next Coast Legacy https://www.nextcoastlegacy.com/ Search Party Sponsors Avidbank https://www.avidbank.com/ Boulay https://boulaygroup.com/ Mayer Brown https://www.mayerbrown.com/en Plexus Capital https://plexuscap.com/ Search Party podcast homepage: https://searchpartypodcast.com/