This week, Victor and Benton spoke with A.J. Wasserstein, Professor at Yale School of Management where he teaches courses on SMB leadership, acquisitions, and entrepreneurship. In our conversation, we covered:

- What is a programmatic acquisition strategy and why it matters

- How AJ implemented this strategy while leading ArchivesOne, forming the third largest records management business in the US

- Lessons learned from 17 years buying small businesses at ArchivesOne

- What factors to look for when determining whether this strategy is right for a business

- How NOT to implement a programmatic acquisition strategy

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Mark Valdez, founder of Eads Bridge Holdings. Mark has a deep background in tech, previously serving as the chief of staff for Marc Andreessen before jumping ship to build a tech-enabled small business holding company. In our conversation, we covered:

• The thesis behind Eads Bridge Holdings
  
• EBH’s 4 step digital strategy
  
• How Mark is building a tech-enabled platform for small businesses
  
• How to implement new software systems in a small business
  
• Mark’s experience as Marc Andreessen’s chief of staff
  

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Jeff Sands, founding partner of Dorset Partners, a firm specializing distressed business turnarounds. Jeff is also the author of "Corporate Turnaround Artistry: Fix a Business in 100 Days." In our conversation, we covered:

- What strategies Jeff uses in the first 100 days of a business turnaround

- How to negotiate with creditors

- A balance sheet turnaround vs. an income statement turnaround

- How to run a business during lean times 

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Quinn Miller, founder of Blue Agave Vending and Fairway Coffee. Quinn has built a vending machine empire and is rolling his capital into new endeavors. In our conversation, we covered:

- How to get started in the vending business

- What makes a vending location great

- Cold calling tactics

- How to bootstrap an e-commerce direct to consumer biz

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Twitter personality Bauncey Chillups. Mr. Chillups currently works for a large family office and focuses purely on the public markets.

In our conversation, we covered:

• The point guard analogy for public markets investing
  
• His investment playbook for the public markets
  
• How he underwrites the long-term earnings potential of a business
  
• How he sources ideas and performs due diligence
  

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Nick Haschka, Founder of Cub Investments, a holding company for small businesses, as well as CEO of The Wright Gardner, a commercial landscaping and plant management business.

In our conversation, we covered:
- Why Cub Investments focuses on continuous improvement rather than goal setting
- Nick's post-close playbook
- His framework for acquiring bolt-on organizations
- Nick's methodology for hiring and retaining employees in service businesses

This week, I spoke with Andrew Wilkinson, founder of Tiny, about buying, building, and operating internet businesses.

The Big Idea: Podcasting right now is where the internet was in 1999.

Favorite Quote: "As soon as I start doing something I don't enjoy, I want someone else to do it and it turns out that's a really good quality for an entrepreneur. It's what makes an entrepreneur. Very quickly when I started my business I started delegating. And If you follow that progression over decades, the ultimate form of delegation is investing and hiring others to run your businesses."

Topics Covered:

- Business models for internet companies

- How Tiny is organized as a holding company

- Structuring incentives for executives

- Why to avoid competing with venture-backed companies

- The podcasting industry

- A local news experiment in Victoria, Canada

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Chris Fredericks, founder of Empowered Ventures, a uniquely structured holding company that is employee owned. In our conversation, we covered:

• A deep dive on how ESOPs work
  
• When ESOPs make sense in a business transition
  
• How to implement an ESOP
  
• The dynamics present within an employee-owned company
  
• What types of companies are best for ESOPs