Buyers and Builders

"There is an ultimate way to build a group of software companies without having to follow the typical VC growth playbook." Philippe Willi is building a SaaS holding company TrekkSoft in Switzerland. He buys SaaS companies all day but never sells them. Philippe's story is different: He started a VC-backed SaaS, but wasn't able to grow it fast enough… Then he pitched investors no...

Jeremy has bought and sold over 100 businesses, but never uses a broker. Treat a company like a product. You buy one and then you sell it Again, never use brokers! Buy right and you’re gonna win Do more of what works Joint ventures and the beauty of it Great story with Jeremy building a holding company in Dubai while the team is based in Singapore. Important note: he does all that while traveling...

Swedish serial acquirers have cracked the code on how to compound their wealth (at a staggering rate!) Their holding companies trade at 12-29 times EBITDA. Here is the story from their founder and CEO Fredrik Karlsson who got so unhappy with his boss so he decided to leave… Start the exact same business. Following the exact same strategy. Today, ONLY 6 years later, he and his team has done 26 acqu...

Dream for 1,000s of software investors: Build a portfolio of profitable B2B SaaS companies The northstar being Constellation Software (which trades at a P/E ratio of 104 and has a market cap of $90B) Reality: It’s hard, extremely hard! Despite this, there are few people who actually go and try to do that… Take Colin Keeley, co-founder of Verne, where they buy and build mission-critical B2B SaaS bu...

Imagine this... First acquisition March 2023 Today a portfolio of 10 companies $7.5M in EBITDA Average acquisition multiple so far 2.5x (!!!) Last deal: $550k EBITDA business acquired for $850k Craziest part, doing all that with ZERO personal investment and still making 50% of the carry Show me a better salesman! When asked how you did it? “There are no rules. Literally.” This conversation with Ni...

Imagine this… You help grow the home care and hospice company from $20 million to $150 million and then they fire you. Then you think whether you should start your own thing or not, “I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur but I wasn’t ready for it…” Voila… You still decide to do it… Today, at 38, Nikolas runs a diversified portfolio of 5 companies. ("A small portfolio of a few companies...

Even when every 3rd and 4th person in finance dreams of starting their own private equity fund… Only 0.01% give it a chance and far fewer succeed…Here is my conversation with John Caple of Hidden Harbor Capital Partners who just went and did all that... $260m fund I $465m fund II $800m fund III (just announced fundraising) They invest in lower middle market industrial and business services compani...

My research of Chris Rolls, the founder of PieLAB Capital, who went through the journey of building and selling his business, then starting a private equity fund, and then starting a permanent holding company. Their most successful portfolio company, Detector Inspector, have grown from $6.5 million in revenue to $84 million. Chris is a big fan of acquisition led compounders and serial acquirers. W...

My conversation with Eugen Benedikt Russ. A gentleman in his 30s who runs a $200 million a year holding company. Since starting in 2018, they have achieved an IRR of 39% over the past 6 years. A portfolio of 10+ companies (all majority owned) They specialize in acquiring, managing, and operating profitable niche businesses in Online Marketplaces, Consumer Apps and SaaS The smallest portco earns ab...

My conversation with Kashyap Chanchani, managing partner of The Rainmaker Group, an Indian firm that works with traditional family businesses and VC-backed companies. "I started the Rainmaker Group because I didn't want to sleepwalk through life." Kashyap runs a growth equity advisory firm which does $500 to 700 million worth of transactions annually. We discuss: – 30 of India'...

My conversation with Daniel Priestley about how to become a "key person of influence" in the world of private equity, investing or small business acquisition. Being known in your own little world makes three things possible: - Finding better deals - Attract more capital on better terms - Have more talent wanting to partner with your companies Daniel manages a portfolio of internet compan...

“Don’t stop trying…” Eran used to work as an airport security to pay the bills. Today, VerDiesel Group does $1 billion in revenue… Turns out that KFC and McDonald's used cooking oil can be VERY big business. Add biodiesel, biogas, feedstock… it gets HUGE. Everything we touched in the first 2-3 years failed. Everything. We tried to touch everything but we had no experience. Every time I did no...

If you are ever considering buying or investing in a profitable small business… Or you want to build a holding company where each company is run by a CEO... Here's my talk with Xavier Helgesen (co-founder of Enduring Ventures), where he shares everything he knows about buying businesses after 20+ acquisitions and looking at 1000s - Currently 17 companies in the portfolio - Revenue $100 millio...

Imagine being in your early 30s, starting a private equity fund and raising $450 million as your first fund. All this with no prior track record and without your rich father or uncle. Years later, you own 90 companies, have $152 billion in AUM, your EBITDA is growing at 15% year-over-year, and only Thoma Bravo has outperformed you… True story, all the way from Switzerland… 1. "Stock and bonds...

Imagine raising millions for your startup… A team of 50 and significant revenue… Then getting FIRED from the same company you started… Then starting a boring traditional company that generates significant cash flow, so you could buy another company… And not just one, but 4 companies!!! And THEN, growing these businesses an average of 65% in the first year post-acquisition. All this in four short y...

There's a gentleman who manages a $115 million AUM fund with annualized returns of 35% (before fees) since inception. And he wrote a 3,150-word letter for those who dream of compounding their money at 20-25% per year over the course of their careers. 1. Your chance of becoming a great investor is 1/50 of 1% or something. If not less… You have almost no chance of being a great investor.” 2. Go...

Ever considered acquiring a profitable, sub $1-5M EBITDA niche business? So you could spend summers on Lake Como, winters in Aspen, and Saturdays in Las Vegas at the Wynn listening to David Guetta… Or so you could retire your parents, send your lovely kids to a private school, and buy your wife the BMW convertible she always wanted… I don't know your exact dream, but owning a business like th...

What would be your potential reward for mastering the fundamentals? Whether it's small business acquisitions, private equity investing, or the financial media and newsletter business… In Matt’s case the reward is approximately $14,000,000 in net profit in 2024 All this with a team of 16 people. We discuss: — How to grow a business (Growing 86% in 2020; 77% in 2021) — Email is still massively...

Imagine being so unhappy with your boss that you leave… - Start the exact same business - Following the exact same strategy Today, ONLY 5 yrs later do $500m in revenue and $100m in EBITDA Here is my full research on a true M&A and buy-and-build pioneer Mr. Fredrik Karlsson: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:52 - 24 portfolio companies (15 B2B; 9 B2C) 00:03:51 - The type of businesses they acquire 00:07:0...

Here is the dream story of many entrepreneurs: Owning a business that generates so much free cash flow that you can invest in/acquire 8 businesses. I’d even call him Andrew Wilkinson Jr… Capital allocation at its best… Started in 2017… Today there are 8 companies in his portfolio. All while being 32, traveling & living in 20 countries, having Tim Ferriss as an inspiration and driving a Range R...

One great acquisition can change the life of you and your children. Forever. As the smartest private market deal makers have said: "The goal is to acquire $10 bills for $3 ... and again, that's only possible in the private markets." My top 5 lessons on actively looking for exeptional $2-10 million revenue companies. (Pre-acquisition) 1. Being street smart will take you further than...

The day has come! SME people, whatever you are doing, stop it. Here is a masterclass: How to grow ANY traditional and “boring” business 50-200% annually. From $2.2M to $3.1M… From $7.6M to $11.2M… From $1.2M to $1.8M… And why do so many boring niche businesses suck at marketing? Masterclass notes: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:56 - Why should we listen to Priit in the first place? 00:01:25 - Customers ar...

Spent 7 hours researching a true master of small cap private equity: - 586 transactions - Acquire $1 million to $10 million EBITDA companies - Average deal $12 million - 72% IRR - 7x cash on cash returns He had two rare public appearances on Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s and Harry Stebbings' 20VC podcast. His name is Justin Ishbia and he is the founder of Shore Capital Partners. 00:00:00 - Intro 00...

Very first acquisition in November 2016 As of March 2024, they manage a portfolio of 12 companies. All done with their own capital. (Except the one they did in late 2023) 95% of acquisitions have been owner succession & retirement driven buy-outs. Cub Investments with Nick Haschka makes long term buy & hold equity investments in growth-oriented field services companies. Most importantly, a...

What if you can't code and you're not good at tech? You go and start a business that makes $1.7 million per year. This is what Ben Wolff did with little money and reasonably short period of time. Today, he manages more than $65 million worth of real estate. "With our properties, we achieve industry-leading margins of, say, 52-55% NOI." We discuss: — Opening first property — Sta...