Abhi Golhar is an entrepreneur, private equity investor, and nationally recognized speaker specializing in business leadership, innovation strategy, and private markets investing. With a track record of founding, scaling, and exiting multiple companies across healthcare, education, and technology sectors, Abhi brings a deep understanding of operational excellence, M&A, and strategic growth execution.

He is the Managing Partner at Meridian 84, an investment platform focused on lower middle market acquisitions and roll-ups across healthcare, professional services, and automotive sectors. Abhi also leads capital formation initiatives and portfolio company operations, helping business owners and operators achieve transformative growth and sustainable value creation.

A three-time nationally syndicated radio host with more than three million daily listeners, Abhi’s insights on Wall Street, private equity, and innovation have been featured in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and Huffington Post. He is a frequent keynote speaker for corporate events and industry conferences, where he equips leaders and organizations to embrace doubt, drive change, and unlock new pathways to success.

Abhi is passionate about bridging traditional industries with emerging technologies, advocating for a pragmatic approach to change management, AI adoption, and strategic reinvention. His leadership philosophy is grounded in the belief that uncertainty, when navigated skillfully, becomes a catalyst for growth and innovation.

Website links: https://www.lafayetteandoak.com

https://meridian84.com/

Lasean Smith is founder of CAGR Investments, a micro-PE firm that is part family office and part product studio.. Lasean holds a bachelor's in media and computer science from Southern Illinois University, a master's from Arizona State University, an MBA from Georgetown, and a professional screenwriting degree from UCLA. LaSean is also a veteran of the US Navy and has worked at Deloitte, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, and while doing so deployed over $450 million deployed across corporate R&D, Lasean also holds several patents and has invested in over 12 companies himself at CAGR.

In this episode, we discuss Lasean’s philosophy on what startups and SMEs can learn from corporate practices (and vice versa), how AI can help search fund acquisitions, and why he's focusing on Malaysia for his non-US investments. Lasean also shares valuable insights on attaining financial independence, diligencing culture, and building scalable processes for long-term success.

Lasean is the author of Values-Based Business Design, a book on product development for modern high growth companies: https://www.amazon.com/Values-Based-Business-Design-Development-High-Growth/dp/1623010012

Kevin Bibelhausen is an investor and business owner based in High Point, North Carolina. He frequently consults on digital strategy & operations, is a sought after conference speaker, frequent podcast guest and author. Kevin is passionate about professionalizing the "wild west" that was once SMB acquisitions.

He has helped dozens of entrepreneurs find, finance and acquire small businesses and escape corporate America. Kevin received his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Link to his substack: https://bibelhausen.substack.com/

Interview starts at 9:08.