Undeterred by self doubt, Danyelle Nys bought a $400k SDE business at a fantastic price. She's grown it 25% in year one.

Topics in Danyelle’s interview:

• Working in her family’s asphalt business
• Learning about ETA from a masterclass
• Hiring a coach for the search process
• Buying a business for the price of inventory + working capital
• The seller was running it remotely
• Raising prices and salaries after acquisition
• Dealing with an obstinate commercial landlord
• Moving 14,000 sq ft of inventory to a new warehouse
• Hiring her mom as the bookkeeper
• “F*** your mood. Follow the plan.”

References and how to contact Danyelle:

• LinkedIn
• Decorus Home Staging
• Kyle Boyden & Jake Furfaro on Acquiring Minds: Stacking Small Acquisitions to $5m in Revenue

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

When his deal died the first time, Kyle Poll was devastated. But then it came back around, larger and more interesting.

Topics in Kyle’s interview:

• Skills he learned on his 2-year Mormon mission
• Growing Gympass from $10m to $100m
• Aiming for happiness at work and home
• Earning the respect of brokers
• Watching his deals die and being outbid
• Q of E that drastically lowered the business value
• Emotional rollercoaster of full-time search
• Completing his acquisition as CEO with equity
• Finding investors who would bet on growth
• Merging 2 rival companies

References and how to contact Kyle:

• LinkedIn
• GetOutPass
• The Mormon Way of Doing Business by Jeff Benedict

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Brian Seeling sought a blue-collar business with a good manager in place. He found exactly that — with $2.6m in revenue.

Register for the webinar:

• Tactical EQ to Win Over Sellers and Brokers - TODAY! - https://bit.ly/46MlUhC

Topics in Brian’s interview:

• Being an entrepreneurial kid
• Moving from IT to blue-collar
• Getting value from SMBootcamp
• “Riches are in the niches”
• Satisfaction of developing people
• Not all SBA lending is the same
• “Billionaires do business with billionaires”
• Tactfully bringing about change
• Continuing the commission-based compensation model
• Replacing old tech in the business

References and how to contact Brian:

• LinkedIn
• PGM Service

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Nick Keegan owned a struggling software business doing just €1m/yr until an acquisition put it on the path to 9 figures.

Register for the webinars:

• How PACT Simplifies Investor Deals Using SBA - TOMORROW! - https://bit.ly/42jGpB2
• Tactical EQ to Win Over Sellers and Brokers - Thu Oct 9th - https://bit.ly/48wqcMP

Topics in Nick’s interview:

• 10 years in the Irish Defense Forces
• His app idea that ultimately failed
• Pivoting his failed business into Mail Metrics
• Successfully competing against larger print companies
• 7 years of slow growth
• Acquiring 2 large companies simultaneously
• Hiring a tutor to teach him basic finance
• Buying one business in Ireland and one in the UK
• Borrowing at a very high interest rate
• Increasing revenue by $12m in one year

References and how to contact Nick:

• LinkedIn
• Mail Metrics

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Onu Okebie and Brian Boland wanted to retain 100% ownership when they began, so they used an SBA loan. It has paid off.

Register for the webinars:

• The ABCs of Franchise M&A: Deal Sourcing, Diligence, and Integration - TODAY! - https://bit.ly/481yThO
• How PACT Simplifies Investor Deals Using SBA - Tue Oct 7th - https://bit.ly/48FjAvq

Topics in Brian and Onu’s interview:

• Forming a partnership in business school
• Searching for 2.5 years
• Closing on their first business while still in school
• Bootstrapping their first acquisition
• Sacrifice and long commute the first year
• Willingness to “be bad at something”
• Complexity of niche/time-sensitive freight
• Athletic grit carried them through acquisition challenges
• Learning to pitch to investors
• 5 acquisitions in less than 5 years

References and how to contact Brian and Onu:

• Brian LinkedIn
• Onu LinkedIn
• HTL Freight
• Webinar: Use an SBA Loan to Start a Roll-Up

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Aizik Zimerman bought a home services business to build a consumer brand into his life's work. It seems to be working.

Register for the webinar:

• The ABCs of Franchise M&A: Deal Sourcing, Diligence, and Integration - Thu Oct 2nd - https://bit.ly/46E2uv8

Topics in Aizik’s interview:

• There is endless opportunity in home services
• His goal of $1 billion in revenue
• Advantage of his youthful energy
• Going all-in on digital advertising
• Small business = big problems
• Founder Mode theory
• Organic growth over acquisitions
• Your must earn your right to diversify
• Winning on Google with reviews
• Hiring overseas for auditing and marketing

References and how to contact Aizik:

• LinkedIn
• John Wilson on Acquiring Minds: Buying Small, Growing Big: From $1m to $26m

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

James Bohannon of family office Belzberg & Co. explains the FO world and its untapped potential for searchers & sponsors.

Topics in James’s interview:

• What is a family office?
• Family office capital sustains private markets
• You may wear jeans, but there are tradeoffs
• Private, insular nature of family offices
• How to network with family offices
• When it makes sense to exit to a family office
• Long-term holds are a good fit
• Playing defense and offense within family offices
• Family offices do not need to raise capital
• Family offices may be friendlier to smaller deals

References and how to contact James:

• LinkedIn

Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

• Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds

Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

• The Acquisition Lab

Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter

Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Register for the webinar:

• Liquidity Options for Search Investors - Wed Sep 24th - https://bit.ly/48lptOc

Jack Saville was asked if owning a small business was underutilizing his talents. The question prompted a big decision.

Topics in Jack and Sam’s interview:

• Jack’s motivation to own something and take a risk
• You are always buying a job
• Linking up with Sam Rosati through SMBootcamp
• Buying a business far from his family
• Realizing that he didn’t want to operate a lifestyle business
• Difficulties of growing in a tourist town
• Selling the business to Perimeter Solutions Group
• Joining the leadership of Perimeter Solutions Group
• Continuously question your why
• Getting in the game unlocks opportunities

References and how to contact Jack and Sam:

• Sam Rosati LinkedIn
• Jack Saville LinkedIn
• Perimeter Solutions Group
• Sam Rosati on Acquiring Minds: How to Shorten Your Search: Big 3, Little 2
• Sarah Chiles and Matthew Ferguson on Acquiring Minds: Geography as Moat: Building a Hometown Holdco

Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

• Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you’re a searcher

Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

• From this page or contact mark@aspenhr.com

Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

Connect with Acquiring Minds:

• See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
• Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
• Follow Will on Twitter