When Alan Turkus found a business with a mission, he knew he'd found the right fit for the final chapter of his career.

Topics in Alan’s interview:

• Background in book publishing
• Post-MBA career in tech
• Taking a career break to raise his son
• From co-op cashier to co-CEO
• Seeking security through business ownership
• Acquiring a home health and hospice franchise
• Raising equity from search investors
• Retaining a little over 50% ownership
• Structuring with 2 forgivable seller notes
• The advantage of buying a bigger business

References and how to contact Alan:

• LinkedIn
• Interim Healthcare of Twin Cities
• Elliott Edge on Acquiring Minds: 1 Business vs Many: Deciding to Roll Up
• Grant Hensel of Entrepreneurial Capital
• Jacob Hall of Kando Capital
• PROX Capital Group

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 and produced by Pam Cameron

Brendan Burdette and Ryan Conner have launched personal guarantee insurance to enable more — and stronger — SBA buyers.

Register for the webinar:

• Score It or Skip It: A Framework for Fast Deal Evaluation - Thu, Jun 11 - https://bit.ly/3Q1D9qM

Topics in Brendan & Ryan’s interview:

• Psychological weight of the personal guarantee
• Building a personal guarantee insurance product
• Taking the risk from a 10 to a 5
• Sequence of events after default
• Targeting mid to late career operators
• Premiums decrease over time
• Balancing risk between unequal partners
• Solving the seller rollover conflict
• Philosophy of “skin in the game”
• How they hope this affects ETA ecosystem

References and how to contact Brendan & Ryan:

• Brendan Burdette’s LinkedIn
• Ryan Conner’s LinkedIn
• Personal Guarantee Insurance

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

The ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:

• 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 and produced by Pam Cameron

Greg Shapiro & Zach Cooper-Vastola are building a long-term, compounding business they see as the anti-PE of the trades.

Register for the webinar:
Franchising for the ETA Buyer: Resales, Roll-Ups, and Real Deals - TODAY - https://bit.ly/49sKF4H

Topics in Greg and Zach’s interview:

• Founders combined technical and financial expertise
• Shifted from SaaS to long-term ownership
• Acquired century-old Manhattan HVAC company
• High cost and complexities of New York market
• Avoided SBA limits to scale acquisitions
• What “Anti-PE” means to them
• Digitization takes longer than you think
• Living lean on low salaries
• Predicting HVAC roll-up market shakeout ahead
• Influence and investment from Will Thorndike

References and how to contact Greg and Zach:

• Hickory
• Greg Shapiro LinkedIn
• Zach Cooper-Vastola LinkedIn
• Will Thorndike
• Steve Carroll on Acquiring Minds: ETA Unicorn: $1 Billion in Revenue in 5 Years

Get a complimentary IT audit for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.

• Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.

The ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:

• The Acquisition Lab

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 and produced by Pam Cameron

The first business Joe Wechsler bought had $280k of SDE. Seven years later, he runs a fund with $50m of buying power.

Register for the webinar:

• Franchising for the ETA Buyer: Resales, Roll-Ups, and Real Deals - Thu, June 4 - https://bit.ly/4vnGP5u

Topics in Joe’s interview:

• Background in management consulting
• Inspired by Rich Dad Poor Dad to own assets
• Joining an early cohort of the Acquisition Lab
• Searching is more fun with a partner
• First deal died 10 days before closing
• Discovering employees had never been paid overtime
• Total office staff turnover in first 4 months
• Acquiring 4 diverse businesses
• Launching a $25M equity fund with 5 partners
• It’s all about the people

References and how to contact Joe:

• LinkedIn
• Blueline Ventures
• Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Richard T. Kiyosaki

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 jenny@aspenhr.com

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 and produced by Pam Cameron

As a South African in the US, Justus Luttig had to get creative to search then buy 2 trades businesses at the same time.

Register for the webinar:

• New $10m Limit for SBA Loans: What You Need to Know - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4v3zKXh

Topics in Justus’s interview:

• Growing up on a cattle ranch in South Africa
• Disillusioned with the venture capital bubble
• Perception of white collar work as “the dream”
• Meeting successful owners of blue-collar businesses
• Big deal failure on his birthday
• Structuring a deal without the SBA
• Challenges of searching on an H1B visa
• Merging an HVAC with a plumbing business
• The magic happens when you leave your desk
• Acquiring during the slow season

References and how to contact Justus:

• LinkedIn
• Copeland Home Services

The ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:

• The Acquisition Lab

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

• Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team

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

• From this page or contact jenny@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 and produced by Pam Cameron

David Graf went after a business that had sat on the market, acquiring $750k of EBITDA for 2.7x. It's going well.

Register for the webinars:

• Negotiating Working Capital in SMB Acquisitions - TOMORROW!! - https://bit.ly/4a2ozGe
• New $10m Limit for SBA Loans: What You Need to Know - Thu, May 28 - https://bit.ly/49j3V4t

Topics in David’s interview:

• Drive to earn money as a kid
• Choosing to skip business school
• Advantages of acquiring in Texas
• Preparing his case to convince his wife
• Working full time while searching
• Growth is often underpriced
• Wholesaling real estate he didn’t want
• How to decide whether to keep an employee
• Joining a group for manufacturing owners
• Near-crisis days before closing

References and how to contact David:

• LinkedIn
• Danhard
• Rand Larsen
• Scalepath
• Get a Grip by Mike Paton

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

• Pioneer Capital Advisory

Get a complimentary IT audit for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.

• Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.

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 and produced by Pam Cameron

Truc Nguyen has acquired 2 nail salons, an overlooked but fragmented industry where businesses trade at low multiples.

Register for the webinar:

• Negotiating Working Capital in SMB Acquisitions - Tue, May 26 - https://bit.ly/4eQfCTR

Topics in Truc’s interview:

• Why she chose the nail salon industry
• Her vision for a rollup
• Analyzing a current nail salon business listing
• Low multiples in the nail space
• Bargaining power of good nail techs
• Square footage and number of chairs matters
• Documenting SOPs for her first salon
• Staffing a 7-day-a-week business
• Creating a great company culture
• The changing face of nail salons

References and how to contact Truc:

• LinkedIn
• Sarah Romer on Acquiring Minds: How to Buy a Salon as an Industry Outsider (and Survive)

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

The ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:

• 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 and produced by Pam Cameron

Gant Elmore and Matt Moldenhauer each bought $2m businesses they built over years. Today their holdco does over $200m.

Register for the webinar:

• Revenue Recognition & Quality of Revenue in SMB Deals - TOMORROW!! - https://bit.ly/4dMvx4w

Topics in Matt & Gant’s interview:

• 3 generations of acquisition entrepreneurs
• Matt started as operator, became partner
• Bain mentors warned Matt not to do ETA
• Goal of owning 50 companies by 2050
• Being the Ferrari in a price-competitive industry
• Why they prefer holding to exiting
• Challenge of giving control to an operator
• Gant and his dad teach ETA together
• War stories from small business operations
• Demand exceeds supply of great businesses

References and how to contact Matt & Gant:

• Elmore Companies
• matt.moldenhauer@elmorecompanies.com
• Matt’s LinkedIn
• Gant’s LinkedIn

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

• From this page or contact jenny@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 for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.

• Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.

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 and produced by Pam Cameron