Alan Pentz @apentz Twitter profile

Last Seen Profiles

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

11 months

@atnissel Hate to hear that but how awesome is it that he chased the guy down! Mic drop!

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

11 months

@ShaanVP Looking to hire an AI tutor for $250/hr to teach me how to teach someone to use AI tools.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

@seanpatward It doesn’t exist. Risk free returns are treasuries. You can get 5.5% for a few more months or 4% for 5 years or whatever it is today. If you don’t like what they offer, you accept risk & usually get more return. There are about 1 million academic papers outlining those

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

5 months

One of the major trends that SMB’s need to jump on is “Digital Ops”. It’s a combination of offshore talent, automation, and AI. And it’s going to change the world of business:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

8 months

Selling a profitable company for less than 10x almost never makes sense. Do the math: If you sell a $1m net profit company for $5m you will net either: $3.8m or $3m depending if it’s a stock or asset sale. Ok $3.8m is nothing to shake a stick at but think about if you could

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 years

Germany's industrial base is in danger. @DoombergT showing how natgas sits at teh beating heart of Germany industry:

Moribund Verbund

By handing over its energy cards to Russia’s Putin, Europe has made him the chip stack leader in the BASF Casino.

newsletter.doomberg.com

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 years

"Those deals don't exist anymore," is the frustrated cry of the modern investor. Just 10 years ago the world was our oyster: multifamily real estate, SaaS software, HVAC businesses. They were all cheap! It was a good time to be a buyer...

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 years

@michaelbatnick They spent $19.4 billion on share buybacks? Burn it to the ground.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 years

@mattyglesias Put a screen in your window, kick back with a glass of ice water and wait for your dryer cycle to conclude. America

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

8 months

$10m is the sweet spot of a lifestyle business. You can make $1.5-$2m a year in profit. You can afford a couple of really good managers to help run it for you. And it’s enough to sustain some losses if things go badly. But it’s small enough to resist someone of the

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

Being a business owner is hard. You have to find and hire the right people. But you also have to let go of the people who aren’t the right fit.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

9 months

Here’s exactly how I grew a company to $25m. It only took 20 years! Step one: pick an industry and work in it for 3-4 years as a W-2. Step two: when that company gets bought start your own Step three: struggle for 5-7 years while you learn how to run a business Step four:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

Anyone who’s in business knows that cash is king. More accurately, cash FLOW is king:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 years

@FreightAlley Can we convert these all to multi family rentals?

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@enlightenedcoop Own a cash flowing biz

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

9 months

@JeppsenJonny Jonny, who cares about the dinner. Let’s talk about how you eat that and remain alive?

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

9 months

@huntercoldcalls @MatznerJon was telling me he’s so tired of walking on the beach and can’t wait to walk on the thin sidewalk of an impressively built 8 lane highway.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

We hit a revenue black hole at $15m: - Needed a new team - Needed new processes What would you do first in this situation? 1. Implement EOS 2. Training existing people 3. Hire new people

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

5 months

Successful business people have one thing in common: They’re lifelong students. Always learning. Here’s why being a student maximizes growth and success in business:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

@TripleNetInvest DC is pretty screwed. Very few people go to offices there. We sublet our office in DuPont for 60 cents on the $ & were lucky to get that. Building sold for a 1/3 of its previous value. The feds can’t get their people back & now we are losing the 2 sports teams to Alexandria.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@ChrisJBakke @chamath Your speaking gig at All In 2024 just got cancelled.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 months

Growing a business isn't about feel-good decisions. It's about doing what's necessary:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

Life as a business owner is not easy. It demands that you constantly learn new things. Otherwise, your business will plateau:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

I have an MBA but had no idea how to run a business when I graduated. I didn’t even know how to get into my business bank account.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 months

Business leaders have three essential jobs. Most of what you hear beyond this is just noise from those who've never led or leaders trying to virtue signal. Over 20 years, I've learned these lessons and bear the scars to prove it.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

I hear people talk alot about entrepreneurship, but so many would be better starting with “intrapreneurship”. The best way to build skills is to work for someone else first.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

5 months

Harsh truth: Companies grow faster than people do. Every time you 2-3x the business, you’ll need to replace 50-75% of the leadership. It’s brutal but crucial to understand if you are scaling. So, how do you know when to transition your current leadership? Read this:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

The skills that got you to $5m won’t get you to $25m. You have to level up your team and yourself Very few companies make it past $1m, not to mention $5-10m

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

5 months

8 short rules that every business owner needs to hear:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 months

The best part about owning a small business: The never-ending opportunity to learn new things. The market is always evolving, and so should you:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

5 months

Learning is the most important skill for entrepreneurs. (execution being a CLOSE second) I have made a habit of reading every single day — here are a few newsletters that I read regularly to keep myself up to date and sharp:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

Owning a small business isn't just about financial models and strategy - it's about hands-on management. So what does that mean?

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

5 months

“Build the dream, not the prison”. This quote is what business ownership is all about. It’s tragic to me how many business owners are trapped by their own companies though. Here’s why it happens, and how to break out of it:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 years

Mission accomplished at re-convene. I was officially unblocked by @sweatystartup . The sun is shining in LA!

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@StevenGlinert @razibkhan They’ve unleashed Sunak the Destroyer!

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

9 months

@Camp4 Oh come on. That’s a bit judgy. You spend a lot of quiet time with your baby and wanting to watch a movie isn’t some terrible thing.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

6 months

Looking back, I should have fired faster. Holding on to the wrong team members can inhibit the business more than you realize. I spent too much time trying to develop people into something they weren’t. My advice? Listen to your gut and get rid of the bad apples.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

5 months

I was a slacker my entire life. Now, I own a business that will do $35m in revenue this year. I was a smart kid, but never one to do well in school. Here’s how I turned my life around:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

One of the biggest challenges for small businesses is breaking through revenue barriers. Many get stuck at $1M, $5M, or $10-15M. So how do you avoid these all-too-common plateaus?

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

7 months

I decided to start running my own business at 34. Not for the money. But for independence. Thank God I decided to do this at 34. I don't think I would have the stomach for it in my 50s.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

11 months

👉Business: Corner Alliance 👉Revenue Barrier: $10m 👉Learning: “You don’t know everything but others might” SBBH #2 was just sent to 633 small business legends... sign up here 👇

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

Business partnerships are a tough subject. I tend to think they do well when the roles of the partners are clear and there’s a clear exit timeline and strategy. Open ended partnerships don’t do as well. Circumstances and people change

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

@mhp_guy @BillAckman The fact that MIT and BI took this on shows how out of touch they are. I think Bill will get them back in touch or bankrupt. One of the two.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

If you are the owner, the bottleneck is always you. You either hired, created, or allow the issues causing the bottleneck. This chart shows what happens when the leader isn’t able to grow faster than the company:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 month

"Just because you don't take an interest in politics, doesn't mean politics isn't interested in you." This quote from Pericles is as relevant today as it was 2,400 years ago.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 years

@SievaKozinsky Good primer on the limitations here:

Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) – A Primer | Bridge Law LLP | Best Law Firm

What is qualified small business stock and why is it important? Learn more about qualified small businesses and QSBS types, advantages, and disadvantages.

www.bridgelawllp.com

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 months

In business, honesty is paramount. When I say "Don't bullshit me," I mean it. It’s about not deluding yourself and seeing the world clearly.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 months

The richer you are, the worse your investment options get. Most people think getting access to private investments and alternatives is great.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 years

@EllliotttB What’s the panic about? I’m converting Class A CBD office space into pet grooming salons. We are killing it!

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 years

@RobertN24123462 @businessbarista Execution is way more important than ideas. Most business ideas are obvious and known, it’s only the people who can put together the team and resources to execute that matter. Secrecy usually results in zip.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

Funny enough, the real reason I started my business was to buy a BlackBerry. A good one. I was working in government consulting at the time. I’d started a new job and they gave me a crappy hand me down phone. It pissed me off.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

@meetmikehiggins See you next summer. Nothing like getting a beer at the student union in Madison in August. But then I’m out. I can’t live thru that winter. Last time I was there it was snowing on Memorial Day I think.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

Very few people can sell like the owner of company. In most cases s/he needs to be the key sales person until you get to $3-5m in revenue. Agree or disagree?

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

I was several years into running my business before I really focused on the numbers. When I finally hired someone to look to focus on cash and financial projections, it wasn’t good.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

Biz owner at $500-$700,000.. You have two paths: 1/ Focus on processes for 3 months: Increase margin by 5%. 2/ Focus on selling more for 3 months: Increase top line by 25%. Which one are you choosing?

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

SMB owners: you have a unique opportunity to architect your life intentionally. Especially with all the tools and knowledge available online today:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

8 months

People are going to tell you lots of BS about servant leadership & leaders eat last, etc. in your biz career. The reality is most employees want leaders who: -Make decisions -Deal with poor performers/behavoir -Set a vision -Communicate expectations clearly -Maintain a level of

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@dollarsanddata @jasonzweigwsj That’s close to the advice a friend of mine got from the super powerful & corrupt chair of the House Transportation Committee, Bud Schuster. Never sign anything you can say yes to. Never say yes to anything you can nod to and never nod at anything you don’t have to.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

@realEstateTrent I always ask them to take a picture of my wife and I.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@BowTiedMeerkat @LynAldenContact This is the way

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@SMB_Attorney I never understood why more airlines don’t just sell overhead space like frontier or RyanAir. Makes so much more sense. Then you can board at the last minute.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

11 months

@BobEUnlimited Just block her and keep posting. You’re the best macro poster out there so the haters are going to come for you to grift some attention to themselves. Ok, you and @dampedspring are the best macro posters. Anyway, brush it off and keep fighting. The silent majority is with you.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

9 months

The more I’ve tried to grow my X followership, the more I’ve grown to hate X. It’s a tough conundrum. If this is the future of business, I don’t think I want to be part of it. The content game just gets boring after a while.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

@BillAckman @MIT Are there ways to short Ivy Plus schools? How can I express a long community college short elite college viewpoint. Can Goldman create a CDO that they only mark to market after they’ve hedged out?

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@Stimpyz1 @RepKatiePorter I’m sure she’s going to be fine

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 months

A wealth tax on unrealized gains is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. But it’s an understandable one. It’s either that or go after wages. You can get a bit more out of corporate profits but they come in at less than 1/3 of total wages in the US. There’s only so much juice to be

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@notyourCREguy @realEstateTrent The loan officer can get a new job by then.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

The ascension ladder in business looks like this: 1. Operator 2. Owner 3. Investor Here’s what each stage looks like and how to progress toward #3 (highest leverage):

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

8 months

Looking for the next gold rush? Digital Operations. Companies need help bringing in automation, AI, & global talent. I see a big market for companies doing this as a managed service.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

11 months

👉Business: Corner Alliance 👉Revenue Barrier: $15m 👉Learning: “Your knowledge needs to be in the processes, not the people” SBBH #3 was just sent to 633 small business legends... sign up here:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 years

@FinanceLancelot I’d love to hear how the ruble is going to replace the USD. I think you have no idea what you are talking about.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 years

@ATabarrok Yikes. Glad I’m not in that class

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 months

If you’re a business owner, you need to prioritize operational expertise. It’s what makes operations streamlined and effective. And ultimately, it’s what drives scalability for your company. If you want sustainable growth, you need to have it:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

6 days

Xi's vision for China's dominance through technological supremacy and overproduction is deeply concerning. It's not just about economic competition. It's a fundamental reshaping of the global order.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

Lots of people can bootstrap a company to mid to high $100,000s. If you’ve worked in an industry and have contacts, you can drum up enough business. But getting to $1-2m is harder. You have to change. First by upskilling yourself and then by attracting the right skills:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

8 months

$5m in revenue is when I found I could start building a real management team to take things off my shoulders. At $10m I could really start getting out of the day to day. I’m sure others can do it earlier but I had trouble affording the talent I needed below $10m.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@SievaKozinsky Or just make more money

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@CartoonsHateHer Oscar Wilde hands down. The only thing worse than having a following on X is not having one.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 years

@Hadamijo @mattyglesias They do have bugs and they just come in the room.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 years

@abakermont It is true that guys tend to “take” the kids on Mothers Day and “spend quality time” with the kids on Fathers Day. Things that make you go hmm..

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

8 months

@moseskagan I wonder if people would be honest or even know the answer.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 years

@fortworthchris What if they got the 100k on only fans?

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

11 months

@STLChrisH I’ll respectfully push back here. I’ve just been reflecting on this as I’m writing up my learnings in a newsletter/blog and I stagnated at $10m because I didn’t have the right leaders in the functions of the biz. It wasn’t about me wearing multiple hats but not having the right

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 months

A Typical SMB’s Lifecycle:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

3 months

One of the hardest truths for business owners to swallow is this: Every problem in your company is your fault. You either: - created it - hired it - let it persist

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

11 months

@PrivatEquityGuy Sure some do and some don’t. The delta is $50k and means nothing. I know multi millionaires who drive Porsches, high-end teslas, etc. I don’t understand why there is some virtue in self denial when you are a millionaire and saving $10k. What is the money for then? I mean no

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@realEstateTrent Dude, I’ve been in some Thai rivers. You do not want to eat that fish!

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

5 months

I read a quote: “You don’t fall to the top of a moutain, you climb there”. That one hits home for me. You can stumble your way to $10k/mo (if you have a skill or service), but to hit the $1M+/year mark, it doesn’t happen by accident.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

11 months

👉 Business: Corner Alliance 👉 Revenue Black Hole: $4m 👉 Learning: “If you don’t change, don’t expect your business to” SBBH #1 was just sent to 632 small business legends... sign up here:

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 years

@girdley @CoffeeToro My rule: invest in anything that involves Americans getting fatter, stupider, or lazier. I might start an ETF strategy around that. My ESG is FSL.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

I run a company that will do $35m this year. Honestly, it’s not easy to get to this point. I’ve been punched in the face more times than I can count. But each low-point came with a lesson learned.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

@erikimorton @vrexec You live thru covid in the northeast

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

25 days

Private credit is booming, with an estimated $1.5 trillion in annual transactions. This emerging asset class is attracting significant attention from investors seeking alternatives to traditional lending.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

4 months

The only way you can scale your company quickly is to get a great management team in place. They need to put in great processes and systems but start with the who, then go to the how.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

22 days

The rise of private assets in investment portfolios isn't necessarily due to better performance. Instead, it may be driven by institutional factors that don't always benefit investors.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

2 years

@JeffreyASachs Who reads the Brothers Karamozov in a week. Even Alyosha would be proud of that

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

12 days

The Wall Street Journal's recent article on China's export machine is a wake-up call. It's shocking to see such a candid assessment of China's weaponized trade policies in a publication known for championing free-market ideals.

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

10 months

@seanpatward I love the responses about hard money lending and private credit. These are of course zero risk. I’m guessing your client is comfortable taking over failing businesses/properties like a mob boss, gutting operations, and then selling for what she can get? Are these people

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

1 year

@vkhosla Or VCs for that matter

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Alan Pentz

@apentz

9 months

@SMB_Attorney The class I would teach in college: No one is coming to save you 101. 201 is building a multi family investing empire based on Tik Toks.

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