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Buyers and Builders

PrivateEquityGuy

The Buyers and Builders podcast with PrivateEquityGuy is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about holding companies, buying and building businesses, entrepreneurship, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

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Thursday · 57 min
The Roll-Up Playbook: From Zero to $100M Revenue | Felix Jander Interview
My guest today is Felix Jander, co-founder of Arsipa, a buy-and-build company focused on occupational health and safety. Felix and Stefan began exploring the idea during COVID, studying roughly 60 niche industries before choosing a fragmented market with significant room for consolidation. Arsipa went on to complete more than 40 acquisitions, grow to over 1,100 employees across 60+ locations, and surpass $100 million in annual revenue. In 2024, the company partnered with Warburg Pincus, with Felix remaining invested in the business. We discuss how they chose their market, built proprietary deal flow, and used highly personalized outreach to generate reply rates as high as 80%. Felix explains why the first acquisition matters so much, how Arsipa financed its early deals, and the operational playbook behind recruiting, finance, pricing, integration and culture. He also shares the story of splitting with his original co-founder, finding his next partner, and transitioning from operator to investor. This is a practical conversation about acquisitions, capital allocation and building an institution from a collection of small businesses. Please enjoy my conversation with Felix Jander. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 From zero to 40+ acquisitions and $100M+ in revenue 3:33 Why boring businesses beat venture-backed hypergrowth 5:08 How they chose one market from 60 niche industries 7:40 The 1% conversion math behind proprietary deal flow 11:08 Raising the first pool of acquisition capital 18:00 Buying businesses without brokers 20:41 The first acquisition changes everything 23:04 Equity first, debt later 24:58 Turning acquisitions into an operating company 28:13 Losing a co-founder in the middle of fundraising 32:27 Selling to Warburg Pincus and rolling equity 40:08 The roll-up integration and value-creation playbook 44:32 The economics of scaling a roll-up 48:06 What changes after a major private equity investment 51:24 Felix’s advice for aspiring buy-and-build founders 54:18 From operator to investor 56:12 Final lessons from building Arsipa This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
August 25 · 43 min
The Anti-Private Equity Playbook: Buy Great Businesses and Don’t Change Them | Justin Escajeda
My guest today is Justin Escajeda, an entrepreneur who owns 12 trade businesses around Pittsburgh, employing roughly 250 people and generating more than $50 million in annual revenue. What makes Justin’s story interesting is that he never set out to become an acquisition entrepreneur. He started in masonry, construction and real estate before buying his first roofing company which did $600k in SDE in 2018 for $846k. That acquisition changed how he thought about building businesses. Today, Justin owns companies across masonry, roofing, insurance, material supply, general contracting, property management and luxury remodeling. His approach is unusually simple: buy businesses that already work, preserve what made them successful, put great operators in charge and resist the temptation to change things simply because you can. We also explore how he manages 12 businesses without micromanaging them, the four KPIs he watches every day and why he stopped taking cash from portfolio companies to fund new acquisitions. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Building a $50M portfolio of trade businesses 1:24 The first acquisition that changed everything 4:34 Buying a roofing company for under $1M with an SBA loan 6:21 Why Justin never wants to start another company 8:15 Why he avoids changing businesses after buying them 12:24 Inside a portfolio of 12 trade businesses 15:00 The acquisition Justin overpaid for 16:49 SBA loans, cash, and why he prefers seller financing 22:25 Solving key-person risk after an acquisition 27:14 Growing companies without micromanaging operators 31:05 Why Justin went an entire year without buying anything 34:38 The four numbers he watches every day 37:42 A $300K mistake, liquidity, and why ownership isn’t passive This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
August 18 · 51 min
Masters of Private Equity: Warren Hellman, Tully Friedman and Joseph Rice
In 2010, Robert Finkel wrote the book The Masters of Private Equity and Venture Capital: Management Lessons from the Pioneers of Private Investing In this episode, I explore the ideas, decisions, successes, and failures of two people who helped define modern private equity: Joseph Rice, co-founder of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and Warren Hellman, co-founder of Hellman & Friedman. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 The Masters of Private Equity 2:15 Private equity is more than buying and selling companies 5:42 What separates the best private equity investors 7:14 Joseph Rice: Building Clayton, Dubilier & Rice 10:13 Jack Welch’s advice during the 2008 crisis: “Hammer them” 15:23 The failed deal that changed how Rice invested forever 19:28 Lexmark: Turning an IBM division into an entrepreneurial company 22:06 Kinko’s, a total loss, and the danger of believing you can do anything 26:20 Joseph Rice’s five lessons from 40+ years in private equity 31:03 Warren Hellman: Building Hellman & Friedman 32:23 “This time is different” — the investing lesson Hellman never forgot 36:35 Every investment is guilty until proven innocent 39:51 Think like an owner, not an employee 42:38 Levi Strauss and the deal that put Hellman & Friedman on the map 45:34 Why a great security can still be a terrible investment 49:08 Warren Hellman’s five rules for investing This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
August 12 · 56 min
How Two First-Time CEOs Bought a $5M EBITDA Business | Greg Geronemus Interview
Greg Geronemus bought a ~$5M EBITDA business with no operating experience, financed half the purchase price with a seller note, and spent his first year doing something most new owners struggle to do: almost nothing. Four years later, the business was larger, professionally managed, dramatically delevered, and sold at roughly 9x EBITDA—producing just under a 5x net return and ~50% net IRR for investors. Greg breaks down the entire journey: finding the deal, negotiating the structure, taking over from a deeply embedded founder, deciding what not to change, discovering the growth channels that actually worked, and ultimately selling the company. Above all, this is an episode about buying well. Because you can change your team, strategy, marketing, systems, and operations after closing. You cannot change the price you paid or the structure you agreed to. For anyone searching for, buying, financing, or operating a business, this is a case study worth studying. Timestamps: 0:00 From Private Equity to Buying a Business 5:12 The High-Volume Strategy for Finding Deals 7:42 The Unlikely Chain of Introductions That Found smarTours 10:01 The Deal: ~5x EBITDA and 50% Seller Financing 13:50 From First Meeting to a $29M Acquisition 17:18 What Made This Business So Attractive 23:14 How the $29M Acquisition Was Financed 25:21 The First 100 Days: Don’t Screw It Up 31:35 Why Great Buyers Go Slow Before They Go Fast 35:23 Modernizing the Business—and What Didn’t Work 39:39 The Growth Breakthrough Nobody Expected 44:12 Selling the Business, ~5x Returns This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
August 5 · 1 hr 1 min
Inside a Public 14-Acquisition Compounder | Eric Tan and Patrick Grove
Eric Tan and Patrick Grove are building one of Southeast Asia's most interesting serial acquirers. As CEO of Catcha Digital, they've completed 14 acquisitions while creating a permanent home for market-leading businesses across digital media, B2B exhibitions, and vertical software. In this conversation, Eric shares why his failed startup became the foundation for Catcha Digital, how they evaluate hundreds of acquisition opportunities, why culture matters more than spreadsheets, and what he's learned from studying companies like Constellation Software, Danaher, Roper and Europe's leading compounders. We also dive deep into capital allocation, decentralized operations, buy-and-build strategies, and why live events may become even more valuable in the AI era. Timestamps: 0:00 Building Southeast Asia's serial acquirer 1:00 From failed startup to Catcha Digital 8:20 How Catcha Digital operates a decentralized holding company 13:05 Why 99 out of 100 acquisition opportunities get rejected 15:25 Lessons from Sweden's best serial acquirers 24:00 Why B2B trade exhibitions are exceptional businesses 28:40 The software acquisition strategy inspired by Constellation Software 30:15 The buy-and-build playbook behind Catcha Digital's growth 39:00 Learning from Danaher, Roper, Constellation & other compounders 43:50 Why live events become more valuable in an AI world 47:00 Working with Patrick Grove & building an acquisition machine 51:00 Capital allocation, going public & balancing long-term thinking with quarterly results This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
July 24 · 49 min
Why Buy-and-Build Is One of the Best Investment Opportunities | Frederik Brandis Interview
Frederik Brandis was one of the key minds behind Arsipa, a buy-and-build platform focused on acquiring occupational medicine and workplace safety consultancies. As one of the earliest investors and strategic partners, he helped scale the business through dozens of acquisitions before it achieved an exit to Warburg Pincus just three years after its founding. Today, he is the Founder & General Partner of Aven Capital Partners, where he backs exceptional entrepreneurs before they even own a business—helping them acquire, integrate, and scale small companies into market-leading platforms. In this conversation, we discuss what separates AAA entrepreneurs from everyone else, why emotional intelligence matters more than pedigree, how Frederik evaluates founders before they've built anything, why buy-and-build remains one of the most attractive opportunities in investing, and the biggest lessons from building one of Europe's most successful acquisition platforms. We also explore: • What makes an exceptional buy-and-build entrepreneur • How to evaluate people before they've built a track record • Why relationships outperform spreadsheets in acquisitions • The biggest misconceptions about roll-ups and ETA • When to sell—and why leaving value for the next owner matters • The future of buy-and-build investing Whether you're interested in private equity, entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), search funds, capital allocation, or building businesses through acquisitions, I believe this episode is packed with practical insights. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The gap in private equity that led to Aven Capital Partners 06:04 What makes a true "AAA Entrepreneur" 09:00 How Frederik evaluates founders before they've built anything 13:34 Is now still the best time for buy-and-build? 16:43 The Arsipa story: from first investment to major exit 20:20 Why Frederik chose investing over becoming a searcher 27:00 Holding periods, exits & leaving upside for the next owner 32:50 Designing businesses that private equity actually wants to buy 37:16 How young entrepreneurs earn credibility without pedigree 43:25 Why many searchers and roll-up founders fail 46:06 Frederik vision for building Europe's operating system for buy-and-build This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
July 16 · 55 min
Search Funds, Buy-and-Builds & the Future of ETA | Greg Geronemus Interview
Greg Geronemus is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Footbridge Partners, where he backs entrepreneurs pursuing search funds and other forms of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA). Before becoming an investor, Greg lived the search fund journey himself. In 2013, Greg and his partner David acquired a tour operator generating roughly $5 million of EBITDA. Over the next four years, they grew EBITDA by approximately 50%, paid down most of the company's $20 million debt load, and ultimately exited the business at approximately 9x EBITDA—around four turns higher than their acquisition multiple. In this episode, Greg and I explore how the search fund ecosystem has evolved from a tiny, relatively unknown corner of entrepreneurship into a rapidly growing asset class and career path. We discuss why buying a great small business has become more competitive, the differences between traditional and self-funded search, and why owning a larger percentage of a smaller company doesn't necessarily create greater economic upside. Timestamps: 0:00 Greg's acquisition story and introduction to ETA 1:03 How search funds have changed since 2010 6:40 Raising equity and debt when almost nobody understood search 10:40 Is buying businesses actually harder today? 17:30 The Harvard ETA course that changed the industry 24:42 The mindset required to survive a two-year search 27:16 Traditional search vs. self-funded search explained 35:33 The biggest misconception about ownership and wealth 40:22 Why committed capital vehicles are exploding 48:38 What Greg looks for when backing acquisition entrepreneurs 50:24 If you had $500k today—which path would you choose? 53:08 Greg's advice for future searchers This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
July 6 · 49 min
How to Build a Roll-Up to 8-Figure Revenue | Nathan Lindley Interview
Nathan Lindley is the CEO of Lindley Home Services, an HVAC platform that has completed 11 acquisitions across Texas. But this story almost ended before it began... After acquiring his first two companies with an SBA loan, Nathan watched revenue collapse, burned through his cash, nearly lost his father's retirement savings and came dangerously close to bankruptcy. The turning point was a complete rethink of incentives, compensation, and how to build an acquisition platform that actually compounds. In this conversation, Nathan shares the brutal reality behind his first acquisitions, the lessons that reshaped his operating philosophy, and why he now believes buying a business is really about buying opportunities—not revenue. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction: Nathan's 11 acquisitions and $16M run-rate HVAC platform 00:25 The acquisition timeline: from the first deal in 2020 to acquisition #11 01:24 From Christian book publishing to buying HVAC businesses 03:55 Selling real estate to fund the first acquisition 04:33 Buying a one-technician HVAC company—and the costly assumptions that followed 07:58 Losing 40% of revenue almost immediately after closing 10:26 Acquisition #2 makes every problem much bigger 11:20 Running out of cash—twice 14:18 The decision to put everyone on commission 15:15 Every employee quits on the same day 16:21 The Indeed hire who changed the entire business 18:59 The emotional toll: fear, alcohol, and nearly going bankrupt 23:13 One technician outperforms the rest of the company 25:52 Why Nathan waited a full year before doing acquisition #3 27:00 Acquisitions #3 and #4—and buying businesses the second time around 28:46 How his M&A due diligence completely changed 29:30 The "buying at-bats" framework for acquisitions 33:08 Why Lindley spends almost nothing on marketing 34:15 Turning acquired customer databases into new revenue 36:27 Hiring exceptional technicians and building repeatable systems 37:35 The company today: 50 employees across three markets 39:13 How Lindley integrates acquired businesses 42:38 Teaching acquired technicians to double their income 43:17 The acquisitions that didn't work—and why 46:47 Planning an exit and doing it all over again 49:04 Where to connect with Nathan This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
June 24 · 48 min
13 Acquisitions and Why Permanent Capital Beats Private Equity | Chris Rolls of PieLab Capital
Chris Rolls is the founder of PieLAB Capital, a holding company with nine portfolio companies built through 13 acquisitions. After building and selling multiple businesses, Chris entered private equity to learn the investing side of the game. But he eventually became convinced that the traditional PE model forces investors to sell their best businesses too early. That realization led him to build a permanent capital holding company inspired by Berkshire Hathaway, Constellation Software, TransDigm and the Swedish serial acquirers. In this conversation, Chris explains how PieLAB sources deals, why private markets offer advantages over public markets, how he evaluates recurring revenue businesses, lessons from growing Detector Inspector, and the three primary levers he uses to create value after an acquisition. Timestamps: 0:00 From Entrepreneur to Investor 3:03 Trading Operational Help for Private Equity Experience 5:01 Why Chris Abandoned the Traditional PE Model 5:25 Discovering Constellation Software & Serial Acquirers 8:43 Why Private Markets Beat Public Markets 13:05 Building Australia's First Serial Acquirer 14:59 The Challenge of Permanent Capital & Investor Liquidity 16:24 How Detector Inspector Grew Into an Industry Leader 17:08 Why Chris Loves Compliance Businesses 20:41 The Three Levers of Value Creation 23:00 The Pricing Power Playbook 25:27 Using AI to Reduce Costs & Improve Operations 33:03 Why Every HoldCo Needs an AI Champion 41:07 Bolt-On Acquisitions vs Platform Acquisitions 43:38 Building a HoldCo for the Next 30 Years 46:06 Work-Life Balance, Curiosity & Long-Term Success This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
June 15 · 50 min
A $6.5M Estimate in 23 Minutes: How AI Is Rewiring SMBs | David Flickinger Interview
In this episode, David Flickinger, founder of Vellm.ai, joins Mikk Markus to explain how his journey from Marine Corps officer to AI implementation shaped his perspective on technology, and how business owners, private equity professionals, search fund operators, and CEOs can move beyond using Claude and ChatGPT as a simple productivity tool and begin building AI infrastructure that creates real enterprise value. Drawing on years of experience deploying AI solutions inside operating companies, David shares how AI agents can be connected directly into CRMs, ERPs, financial systems, proposal databases, and operating workflows to capture institutional knowledge, reduce key-man risk, improve decision-making, and dramatically increase productivity. One of the most fascinating examples comes from a commercial roofing company where an AI system analyzed 47 building plans and produced a $6.5 million estimate in 23 minutes—nearly identical to the estimate produced by a senior estimator after two weeks of work. We discuss: 0:00 Introduction: Why Most Business Owners Use AI Wrong 1:20 David Flickinger's Journey from Marine Officer to AI Operator 6:48 ChatGPT vs Real AI Infrastructure 0:24 The Roofing Company AI Case Study 6:17 How AI Learns Decades of Business Experience 20:39 Human Oversight, Trust & AI Decision-Making 25:30 What Happens to Junior Employees in an AI World? 28:07 How AI Doubled Revenue Without Hiring More Staff 32:17 AI, Key-Man Risk & Higher Business Valuations 39:02 The Biggest Risks of Implementing AI 45:05 The First AI Project Every Business Owner Should Start David on X: https://x.com/DWFlickinger David's firm - AI agents for the workflows that run your business: https://vellm.ai/
June 7 · 46 min
90+ Acquisitions, 30% Revenue CAGR, 35% Book Value Growth | Brett Kelly Interview
Brett Kelly is the founder and CEO of Kelly Partners Group. Since founding the firm in 2006, Brett has completed more than 90 acquisitions, compounded revenue at over 30% annually and built a business expected to generate roughly $50 million in EBITA in 2026. Timestamps: 0:00 Brett Kelly's early years and losing his job at 22 3:57 Writing to 80 successful Australians while unemployed 9:13 The moment Brett decided to start his own firm 12:24 Launching Kelly Partners with a clear long-term vision 13:22 Inspired by Disney, McDonald's, Ritz-Carlton & Berkshire Hathaway 17:10 Choosing the right clients and creating a business system 18:36 The 204-step operating system behind Kelly Partners 19:01 The acquisition strategy: becoming #1 or #2 in local markets 24:05 Winning clients through a differentiated value proposition 28:27 Lessons learned from 95 acquisitions 29:06 Why the 51/49 ownership model works 31:39 What types of firms Kelly Partners acquires 32:59 Capital allocation and building a capital-efficient roll-up 34:30 Doubling profits after acquisitions: the biggest lever 35:18 AI, accounting, and the future of professional services 36:28 Permanent capital vs. traditional private equity 37:20 Brett's biggest challenge today: financing growth 37:53 Kelly Partners' 17-step hiring process 38:28 The future: building a global accounting platform 39:45 Focus, systems, and operating at world-class standards 41:17 Why passion and meaning matter in business 43:05 How accountants can genuinely improve people's lives 44:24 Final thoughts on leadership, culture, and making a difference 45:32 30% revenue CAGR, 35% book value growth & 90+ acquisitions This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
May 22 · 50 min
How We Bought 14 Businesses and Built a $120M HoldCo | Andrea Allegrini of Lindbergh
Andrea Allegrini is one of the key operators behind one of Europe’s most fascinating small-cap acquisition stories. Lindbergh is building what could become the country’s first national HVAC maintenance platform through a disciplined roll-up strategy focused on fragmented, family-owned businesses. In this conversation, Andrea explains how Lindbergh evolved from a logistics operator into a serial acquirer, why Italy’s HVAC market is such an attractive hunting ground, how the company structures acquisitions, and why technician retention matters more than financial engineering. Timestamps: 0:00 Lindbergh’s evolution from logistics to HVAC roll-up 2:51 Building a pan-European logistics platform 6:03 Why Lindbergh exited France and pivoted to HVAC 11:47 The massive opportunity in Italy’s fragmented HVAC market 13:17 Inside Lindbergh’s acquisition strategy and deal structures 18:29 Cross-selling, technician sharing, and operational synergies 20:05 How word-of-mouth became Lindbergh’s sourcing engine 23:22 Acquisition multiples, seller financing, and capital allocation 30:23 “More plumbers, less managers” 31:40 Retaining technicians and building an internal academy 35:24 How Lindbergh attracted long-term U.S. investors This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
May 13 · 58 min
How We Bought 160 Businesses and Built a $1.5B HoldCo at 33 and 35 | Ramsey Sahyoun of Evergreen
Ramsey Sahyoun shares how Evergreen grew from a Berkshire-inspired idea into a $1.5B revenue, $250M EBITDA HoldCo with 160 acquisitions. We discuss proprietary sourcing, decentralization, talent, value creation, MSPs, and the lessons behind building one of America’s most interesting acquisition machines. Timestamps: 0:00 Evergreen’s scale and long-term hold model 2:06 Discovering private equity and buying private companies 4:14 Meeting Jeff Totten at Alpine Investors 5:53 Evergreen’s first acquisition and current portfolio 8:14 How Berkshire Hathaway inspired Evergreen 10:23 Leaving Alpine and starting young 12:18 The first 6-18 months after closing 13:15 What went wrong with an early MSP roll-up 15:25 Why centralization hurt customer intimacy 18:44 Building Evergreen’s sourcing engine 22:27 Why Ramsey still talks to business owners himself 23:07 The value of having a large acquisition database 26:09 How to build trust with business owners 29:18 Why finding great deals is still the most important part of M&A 32:09 Higher valuations, higher rates, and value creation 34:02 Evergreen’s M&A, talent, and playbook flywheel 37:43 Why talent drives investing outcomes 39:17 Motivating founders vs. hired CEOs 41:54 Lessons from 160 acquisition post-mortems 44:22 Setting big goals and planning backward 47:16 Evergreen’s one-page plan and quarterly renewals 48:53 What Evergreen learned from Alpine and Graham Weaver 51:27 How Ramsey and Jeff’s roles changed as Evergreen scaled 54:21 What people misunderstand about Evergreen 55:07 How Ramsey’s view on managing people changed 56:48 Closing thoughts from Ramsey This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
May 7 · 1 hr 6 min
35+ Acquisitions, $1.3B Exit and Backing 80+ Searchers | Mark Sinatra of ETA Equity
Mark Sinatra has lived the full search fund journey: discovering ETA at Wharton, acquiring Staff One HR, surviving the 2008 crisis, scaling the business, selling to Oasis Outsourcing, and later helping build ETA Equity. In this episode, Mark shares what he learned from nearly a decade as a search CEO, why talent unlocked the business, how he survived the hardest years, and what he now looks for after backing 80+ searchers and 35+ acquisitions. Timestamps: 0:00 Mark Sinatra’s journey from searcher to ETA investor 1:21 Discovering search funds at Wharton 7:53 Raising a search fund and finding Staff One HR 13:17 How underwriting search deals has changed 18:34 Buying a business right before the financial crisis 21:14 When Mark finally felt like a real CEO 24:19 Hiring the right people and upgrading the team 31:38 Surviving the emotionally hardest years as CEO 37:30 Rebuilding Staff One and selling to Oasis 42:14 Starting ETA Equity 45:20 What Mark looks for in searchers today 51:20 Lessons from deals that did not go well 58:30 Jockey, horse, and barn: what really matters in ETA 1:01:50 How the search fund market has changed This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
April 27 · 51 min
What 137 Acquisitions Taught Me About Operational Excellence | Robert Irving Interview
In this episode, Robert Irving of Buffalo Growth Partners shares what he learned from building a fire protection business from zero to $20M in revenue, selling it to private equity, rolling equity, and then helping execute a 137-company rollup. Timestamps: 0:00 Why PE value creation is harder than it sounds 1:52 From fire protection operator to $20M in revenue 4:09 The three sales roles that drive B2B growth 6:25 Building hospitals, data centers, and complex fire systems 8:07 Selling the company and rolling equity into the platform 9:33 Going from one business to 12 offices and 800 people 11:21 The hidden pattern behind great acquisitions 13:53 Why integrations usually fail because of people 15:49 What 100+ acquisitions teach you that one or two never could 18:13 How to diligence small businesses without overcomplicating it 19:30 The danger of fast rollups and pure multiple arbitrage 23:39 Retaining owners and creating alignment after the deal 25:15 The real craft of off-market sourcing 31:00 Buffalo Growth Partners and the “guys in trucks” thesis 37:39 Reimagining private equity through operations 40:12 Small consistent improvements that compound into big results 42:06 Constraint-based growth and finding the real bottleneck 45:05 Meeting operators where they are with technology 48:51 Where to find Robert Irving and Buffalo Growth Partners This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
April 18 · 59 min
Buying Three Founder-Led SMEs: Lessons from the Trenches | Simon Plummer Interview
Simon Plummer is the co-founder of Arbor Permanent Owners, a holding company built for long-term ownership. In this episode, Simon drawing on his experience acquiring and operating three founder-led SMEs, he shares a practical playbook for the first year of ownership: - how to settle a team, - build trust, - create momentum, - improve sales, - think about pricing, - and know when to invest for growth. We also discuss why investor alignment matters so much in small business, what makes founder-led companies different, and why simple strategy plus relentless execution usually beats sophistication. Timestamps: 0:00 Simon on buying and building founder-led SMEs 1:19 Why Arbor chose 44 small-business-owner investors 3:32 Simon’s background: IPO journey, acquisitions, and operating experience 7:21 Small businesses are “loosely functioning disasters” 9:42 What Simon looks for before making an acquisition 13:21 What founder-led manufacturing businesses usually look like 15:25 Why the wrong investors can hurt a small business 19:11 The first 90 days: listen, communicate, and settle the business 22:42 Q2: deep dive into operations and build the sales platform 27:58 Q3: sell, review, improve - creating momentum with customers 31:48 What not to do: why “just implement AI” is bad post-acquisition advice 33:28 Q4: invest and scale once conviction is earned 35:27 Sales in small business: the hardest lever in value creation 47:29 Managing the board, reading recommendations, and final lessons on resilience This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
April 12 · 25 min
The Buffett-Munger Introduction That Changed Everything
Why networks are one of the most underrated advantages in the lower middle market, and how to build them. We explore how trust, introductions, persistence, and long-term generosity can create better deal flow, stronger relationships, and a real competitive edge for buyers, builders, and investors. This episode is heavily inspired by the wisdom of Alix Pasquet, a Managing Partner at Prime Macaya Capital Management. Timestamps: 0:00 Why Networks Matter More in a Crowded Lower Middle Market 1:09 Your Network as a Moat and an Alarm System 3:19 The Hidden Edge Behind Great Investors 6:00 The Private Whisper Network and Why Access Compounds 7:29 How Trust Scales Through Introductions 8:45 Building a Great Network Takes Years, Not Weeks 9:25 The Power of the Triad 10:25 The Buffett-Munger Introduction That Changed Everything 13:47 How to Build a Network Even If You Feel Unimportant 16:10 Shared Missions, Small Acts of Leverage, and Earning Attention 18:48 Persistence, Preparation, and Closing Thoughts on Playing the Long Game This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
April 5 · 1 hr 13 min
From Management Buyout to Fund of Funds | P. V. Ramanathan (Ram) Interview
In this episode, I sit down with P.V. Ramanathan, or Ram, to unpack the story of how he helped lead a management buyout of a struggling cathodic protection business in 2003 and turned it into Corrosion Technology Services ( https://ctscp.com/ ). Himself local to Dubai, Ram's company, CTS, includes 10 companies operating across 8 countries and 3 regions. The free cash flow generation gave Ram the ability to build Neeti Fund, a fund-of-funds built around a simple but highly selective strategy: backing a small group of high-quality long-only and long-short equity managers with aligned incentives, understandable philosophies, and meaningful personal capital invested alongside clients. Timestamps: 0:00 Why Ram calls his life “dull, boring, and unsexy” 5:09 Leaving India for Dubai with no passport 8:46 The accounting lessons that shaped his whole career 11:05 Learning the oilfield business from the rig floor 13:29 The turnaround opportunity that changed everything 16:07 Buying CTS through a leveraged management buyout 19:19 What Ram focused on after taking over the business 26:45 Why CTS refuses leverage and aggressive accounting 31:31 The case for a cash-heavy balance sheet 36:40 How Neeti Fund was born 43:16 Ram’s framework for picking elite fund managers 49:50 Red flags he’ll never ignore in an allocator 57:33 The story behind ValueX Middle East 1:08:52 Why money is an enabler, not the goal 1:11:05 Great allocators vs. average allocators This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
March 28 · 34 min
9 Add-Ons in 24 Months | Dan Lifshits of Dwelly Interview
Dan Lifshits, co-founder of Dwelly, explains how he is building an AI-enabled roll-up in the UK lettings market by acquiring independent agencies and modernizing them with software. Dwelly has completed 9 acquisitions in just 24 months, combining a buy-and-build strategy with a technology-first operating model designed to improve service for landlords and tenants while making agency operations far more efficient. In this episode, we go deep on why lettings is such an attractive category for consolidation, why organic growth is limited in this market, and why Dan believes acquisitions are the fastest way to build a modern property management platform. We cover: • Why lettings agencies are such attractive recurring-revenue businesses • Why organic growth is structurally difficult in property management • How Dwelly uses acquisitions to scale faster than traditional operators • Why the business was hard for investors to categorize as either VC or private equity • What actually changes after Dwelly acquires an agency • How software and AI can improve visibility, communication, and efficiency • What makes an ideal acquisition target in the lettings market • Lessons from raising capital for a new kind of roll-up Dan also shares the real story of Dwelly’s fundraising journey, including why so many investors passed at first and what it takes to keep going when the vision is unconventional. If you are interested in roll-ups, vertical software, AI, private equity, or building a modern services business through acquisition, this episode is full of insight. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro: Dan Lifshits and Dwelly’s AI-enabled lettings rollup 1:34 The real fundraising story 2:02 Why the founders chose lettings after Uber and operational marketplace experience 5:06 Why acquisitions beat organic growth in property management 7:00 Why Dwelly was hard for investors to categorize as VC or private equity 10:01 How the founders evaluate industries and opportunities 11:45 Buying customers vs winning customers organically 16:26 Where rollups fail and why AI rollups are even harder 18:40 What actually happens after an acquisition and how integration works 25:34 Dwelly’s ideal acquisition target: size, recurring lettings revenue, and succession 32:18 Dan’s advice for founders struggling to raise capital Sponsor: https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
March 24 · 20 min
How We Built IDUN Industrier: 20 Acquisitions and 60x+ P/E Ratio
In this episode, we break down IDUN Industrier, a Swedish serial acquirer that has completed 20 acquisitions to date and now trades at roughly a 65x P/E multiple — an extraordinary valuation for an industrial holding company. What makes IDUN so interesting is that it is not simply buying businesses for scale. It is building a portfolio of niche leaders: small, often overlooked companies with high market share, strong customer dependence, and positions that are difficult to replicate. We explore how IDUN creates value through disciplined acquisitions, decentralized operations, co-ownership, and long-term capital allocation — and why investors may be willing to pay such a premium for that model. Timestamps: 0:00 Why IDUN Industrier deserves attention 1:19 The power of dominating tiny niche markets 3:13 Why the market gives IDUN a premium valuation 4:32 Buy relevance, not scale 5:54 Meet the niche leaders inside IDUN’s portfolio 7:44 How IDUN actually creates value 9:42 Why portfolio design matters 10:40 M&A discipline over deal volume 12:20 Why IDUN resembles the best serial acquirers 13:44 Lessons for investors, buyers, and operators 15:32 The biggest risks in the model 17:45 Final takeaway: a blueprint for durable compounding Sponsor: https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. #IDUNIndustrier #SerialAcquirer #HoldCo #PrivateEquity #CapitalAllocation #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #LongTermInvesting #BusinessAcquisition #MandA #Compounders

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