Will Smith @whentheresawill Twitter profile

Last Seen Profiles

@raineechu

@bokeplokalmalam

@mathisweberx

@Globku

@cksph_

@ap0bangpo

@Nach_211

@ilovealice29829

@busne1dh

@rayacrumbs

@Dan_Wyke

@Joana_Secrets

@HochmanGuy

@BrianSpanner1

@Mellizard

@penyukastw21

@SeeDaviGo

@ifschord

@hzly192

@risa_91_7

@AlkhmysMmhwnt

@MonkiiPP

@steve_tadelis

@speedwaydigest

@yohanlo

@fernand90820397

@bit_matrix

@ssi_ykm

@peachpienew

@stw_pdg

@LucyNsfw01

@duduschka

@Rino_Rin_ISSUE

@1213asuma

@t0xic_creator

@BrooklinWR

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@WilsonCompanies You think YOU’RE annoyed??

13

6

319

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

From the $120k purchase of a tiny business... ...to a multimillion dollar exit to PE. One of my favorite buy-then-build stories yet:

8

12

157

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

You buy a business. Ice delivery. Strong cash flow (~$850k). Great. Then, on Day 1 of ownership you discover that the seller was running the business from the cab of the truck because he was doing deliveries all day himself. Uh-oh...

15

10

124

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

i feel you @willsmithwriter @will_smith30 @Willcsmithjr @WillSmith_2 @WillSmithFOX @barelywill @willsmith . stay strong.

4

3

75

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

"I'm an investor looking to purchase small businesses. Have you considered the valuation of your business, and are you open to a conversation around that valuation?" George Vallone used this messaging in his cold outreach to 400 biz owners, and got 75-100 conversations from it

7

3

75

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

How big a business should you buy? @jdklein33 has thoughts. He was in the "buy small" camp when he bought his business for $100k. Having learned the hard way, he now calls sub-$1M service businesses "death zone businesses." Here's why:

6

67

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

When buying a business, my fav argument for "buying small" is: Gets you in the game. In many Acquiring Minds interviews, guests who bought small found that doors quickly opened once they became owners. Primarily because?

6

3

60

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

Just came back from 2 weeks in Chile, obsessed with an SMB idea that we found. Think of it like... WeWork for Daycare (minus the megalo founder) So the place is called LaCasaJuego, and you drop off your kid on an as-needed basis, pay hourly. Use cases:

21

6

55

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

Fantasy of many SMB buyers is a holdco. (Including mine.) @JustinNicholasT is doing it, with 4 acquisitions & counting:

2

49

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

2 types of Acquiring Minds guests: 1. Operations chops, no M&A experience 2. M&A experience, no operations chops Type 1 envious of type 2 and vice versa. (This week's guest @signthefronts was type 1.) For a first SMB acquisition, which type has the more valuable experience?

20

1

44

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Today SIG published their study on self-funded search. Meant as an answer to the Stanford Study on the traditional search fund side. Some much-needed visibility into self-funded search — which is most searchers after all. Fascinating data. A few favorite findings:

5

3

42

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@MattBidstrup @ShaanVP Need more info, but yes potentially. Many of these boomer business owners sell in the open market because the kid doesn't want the biz. So kid is in best position to buy — the seller's first choice. So yeah, as son, you might be first-in-line to an amazing off-market deal.

0

39

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

What the searcher wants: Buy a business that operates without you But what if you did that AND the biz was across the country? ...AND it was your first SMB acquisition?? @chrisxmunn did it. What he acquired & the numbers 👇

6

38

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@awilkinson God is the glue. A secular church by definition lacks the moral piece — but this piece isn't merely a detail, or inconvenience. It's what makes the whole thing hang together. Going to church is a "should" for many. They wouldn't go if they didn't feel they should.

15

0

34

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Interview with @LumberyardDamon dropped today 👉 Acquiring Minds in your podcast player. Damon had 3 criteria for his search: 1) B2B 2) remote 3) scalable He found all 3 in an insulation supplier. (Love these criteria myself.) 3 fav takeaways from my convo with Damon 👇

6

0

36

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

If you had to guess... Among successful self-funded searchers, how many found their deal from: a) proprietary outreach b) a broker c) professional network @LiveOakBank just surveyed 49 self-funded searcher-CEOs about their search and got an answer to this question 👇👇

5

32

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

Independent Sponsor Why is this model not more talked about in the search community? (Or have I been living under a rock?) Seems to offer what anybody fantasizing about a holdco really wants: Own lots of businesses You aren't the operator Scale What aren't more ppl doing it?

19

2

35

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

11 months

Her experience would be an asset, not a liability. 7 years of experience in 1 year of operating. Also, this is an ecosystem that understands the risk involved in buying a small business. Meanwhile, she also happens to be a sharp, hungry woman of action. So, my question...

6

3

31

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

self-funded search VS. traditional search funds I'm hosting a debate about the relative merits. Debaters are Greg Geronemus & Robert Graham. Going to be a live Acquiring Minds episode. Searchers, if you've debated this in your own mind... What should I ask?

10

0

31

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

I love how boring businesses have boring levers. James Bloom bought a small mechanical HVAC contractor. Doing about $3m, $785k purchase price. 4 years later, it's on track to do $25m. How? Providing great service, mostly. Clients beg/demand that he bid on all their jobs.

9

2

31

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Anyone needing to hair the dog that was @SMB_ash , check out the latest episode of Acquiring Minds. As a PE analyst @Adrian_Pinto2 saw these guys who built 9-figure blue collar empires and said to himself: Why not me? Fast forward. He's now the owner of a...

3

1

30

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Judd Lorson bought a business that looked great: $2m EBITDA Recurring rev His investors liked it But it didn't take long to learn he'd acquired a lemon. This isn't an SMB acquisition story that ends in $$ and glory, but a harrowing tale of survival. link to interview in bio☝️

7

0

29

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

11 months

SMB owners of Twitter: How would you look upon a former searcher who lost the business? What do her prospects for getting a job as an operator look like?

17

3

28

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Female searchers, I hope you'll check out today's episode of Acquiring Minds. I handed the mic to Chelsea Wood to moderate a panel with 3 female searchers. Each bought a business in the last 2 years. Chelsea's vision for this panel was simple:

7

1

28

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

Why should white guys have all the fun? I almost used that as the title of today's episode, in homage to the book of the same name. But instead I went with: The Life-Changing Potential of Buying a Business Because that potential is real. Yes, I've published...

7

2

27

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

This week's episode - $2.25m EBITDA roofing business as a self-funded searcher? Sure, if rare. The 2.25 grows to $3m EBITDA by the end of due diligence; seller doesn't increase purchase price. Rarer still. And rarest/best of all: Biz was sitting right there on BizBuySell.

4

0

24

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Lots of speculation about SMB multiples declining. Ecommerce is already cooling. Multiples have slipped from 2021 mania. Ecom owners are fatigued from supply chain & COVID roller coaster. Aggregators are pulling back, retrenching. What are you seeing @BillDA , @kelceylehrich ?

8

0

24

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

I'll hear it said that people who buy small businesses all have MBAs or come from PE, IB, or other finance-y backgrounds. Hopefully the countless guests on Acquiring Minds without such backgrounds prove otherwise. Case in point: @HeatherSH22 was an academic...

5

3

22

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@BrandonPAdams It's an awesome story of scrappy SMB life. Check out the full episode: "6 Months in the Truck: Buying an Ice Delivery Biz" Under the Acquiring Minds podcast in your favorite pod player. (Also, link in bio.) And give this delivery guy a follow 👉 @BrandonPAdams

0

22

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

If you've followed @Fundof1 and are curious about his journey to acquisition, he's my guest on the pod this week! Some themes: * buying solo vs. w/investors * the appeal of appliance repair * BizBuySell * why paying a bit extra can make sense * $$ numbers behind his deal

2

0

21

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Published the 100th episode of Acquiring Minds this week. Honestly, it snuck up on me — testament to how much I enjoy my interviews, and building a media brand in general. Thank you for listening 🙏 3 questions I'm asking myself for the next 100 episodes:

3

0

20

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

My takeaway from today's interview: How quickly someone can transform their life when they buy a business. In 2 years, @bibelhausen : * Raised $800k from investors that he did not already know... * To buy a business valued at almost $8 million... and...

3

0

20

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

One of my favorite things about search: So many businesses hiding in plain sight. Like... stage curtains. Bruce Vann searched all over the US and ultimately found a business that makes stage curtains. It's a growing business, and he acquired it for...2x. 💥👏 👇

4

0

19

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Franchises. Most searchers don't want to buy one... at least when they first start. But some of you eventually open up to it. Today's interview is a perfect example. Doug Johns didn't want a franchise, but a Mr. Rooter doing $1.8m EBITDA changed his mind. (Link in bio.)

4

0

20

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Searchers complain about biz brokers. Ever wonder how brokers see searchers? If you get your dealings with brokers right, things can go well for you. If not, you'll wonder why they never respond. Finally got @ClintFiore in the hot seat to break it down for me. 3 quick favs:

1

20

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

When you hear "online" or "digital" business, you probably think ecommerce, SaaS, maybe content & affiliate websites. Well there's another category that gets overlooked:

2

4

19

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

Just published a great episode with @SMB_Attorney , covering the fundamentals of legal counsel when buying your first business. 7 takeaways:

1

0

19

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

11 months

@RegZeller Reg I'm surprised by how different our reactions are. I hear a person being self-reflective & even self-critical throughout the vast majority of the interview. She sees the deluge of issues and acknowledges that she might be the source of the problem. She is reluctant to lay

3

0

17

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

And that's it - from $120k to 8 figures. Listen to Neil tell the story in his own words on the Nov 22 episode of Acquiring Minds.

5

0

18

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@imrishit98 @ShaanVP Some key characteristics, always hard to find ALL of these in a deal though: * Business has age (9+ years) * Business is generating EBITDA of $500k or more (lots of nuance to this) * Recurring or re-occurring revenue * Seller/company culture has character

1

18

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

Now I know what the SMB owner feels like when they get a bad Google review for a trivial reason. But since we're on the topic, am I pronouncing EBITDA wrong???

10

0

18

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

Thinking about buying a business and curious about which industry? Latest episode of the pod has Casey Clark, CEO of Cultivate Advisors, talking about exactly this. Casey named 3:

3

0

16

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

And if this path is powerful for us, I daresay it's even more so for those less represented. At least @chrisxmunn & @ElliottEHolland seem to think so, 2 of the guys in today's episode. There is so much opportunity here. A big pie to share & grow. Here's to spreading the fun!

3

1

16

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Mike Loftus is my first guest who founded his company, a landscaping biz. He discovered acquisition around the $1m/yr mark & has since acquired his way to $4m. * 3 acquisitions * Each one $500-800k rev * Now he's doing $600-700k EBITDA Would he found-then-acquire over again?

2

0

16

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Easy to be bummed by our mess here in 🇺🇸 So my interview with Kinza Azmat got me. Arrived at 6 years old, speaking little English. Scared. Overwhelmed. But worked her tail off for 25 years. Now? She buys a real estate business with 200+ people. She's 31. This clip though:

1

0

15

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 months

Thinking about hosting a panel with people who bought businesses in the trades and have a goal to get to $100m in revenue. Would be fun to bring in someone who's already done it to provide feedback on their plans. Who's built a $100m business in the trades?

7

1

17

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Proprietary outreach: yes or no? Well if you want to buy a business in a certain industry, and the industry brokers won't talk to you.... it's not really a choice. This is what happened to @patrickdichter . Patrick wanted to buy a...

1

0

15

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

This week's guest on Acquiring Minds got more responses from business brokers when he started referring to himself as "independent investor" rather than what he had been saying, "searcher". Should searchers refer to themselves as "independent investors" @ClintFiore @morgantate_ ?

5

0

15

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

JD's story is powerful — check it out. It's the latest episode on the pod. And here he is in his own words:

3

2

15

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

* Moved to North Carolina to take over the business... * Is now owner & president of this 20-year-old wholesale fabrics business that does almost $10 million a year in sales... * And is the GP in a fund to invest in search deals himself. Not bad for 2 years' work.

0

14

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

What I love about today's episode of @AcquiringMinds_ is the intersection of "make money online" and SMB acquisition. Story time! @Gundwolf hated the 9-to-5. So he decided to figure out how to make money online. (Heard that before.) Yeah but this guy was committed.

3

0

14

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

ATMs. Seem an unlikely place to build a business? Well, @mitchell_sorkin : * bought his first 3 ATMs in 2021 * has 140 machines today * is approaching high 7 figs in revenue (with great margins) * sees a path to $5m EBITDA... maybe even 10 Today on the pod.

2

1

13

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

To be clear, Kinza gets the credit here. But maybe just maybe there is still magic to celebrate here in the ol' U.S.A.

0

11

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Buy-side advisors. Didn't know much about them except they're expensive. After my interview with @Jandrews707 , I'm intrigued. Expensive, yes - $250k! But they found Jason a high 7-figure business. ...within 45 minutes of his home. ...while he kept his day job. Not bad.

6

1

14

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

Today's episode is super fun & interesting. This acquisition story is between 2 previous guests of Acquiring Minds, guests who actually connected via the podcast: @MikeBotkin_ & @Adrian_Pinto2 A teaser:

1

2

14

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

When you buy a business, you have to download the seller's brain into your own. This week's guest @signthefronts negotiated a consulting agreement to keep the seller around longer. Is there a best practice here in terms of structure (consulting agreement?) or time (6 mos)?

3

0

13

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

Since 2015: * 7 platform companies acquired * 450 employees * ~30 total acquisitions (lots of tuck-ins) Not bad for 7 years work. I'm talking about Chenmark:

1

13

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Easy to get discouraged searching for a business to buy. What happens? You loosen your criteria, lower your standards. You'll probably have to do this somewhat; the perfect business doesn't exist. But beware doing it with respect to SIZE. Searcher @SMBQuest explains why 👇

1

0

11

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Fans of the My First Million podcast: You may have heard Shaan & Sam mention their buddy Ramon. He's the guy who's sold many millions of $$ of... dog ramps! Turns out, Ramon actually BOUGHT that dog ramp business, THEN grew it like crazy...

2

0

12

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

3) The power of buying an existing business. Even though what Neil & his wife bought was a lemon, and very small, it was a foundation. It was "starting on second base" to quote Neil.

1

0

12

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

When I started in the search world waaaay back 12 months ago, Steve Ressler was the first investor name I learned. Excited to watch his next chapter unfold. And selfishly... love seeing the DC search contingent grow!

Steve Ressler

@steveressler

2 years

It’s launch day and I’m excited to launch The Brydon Group with @LeveredKnowledg and George Dutile Brydon invests in a select number of Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs) each year as well as minority stakes in traditional search A quick 🧵 on Brydon & our approach to search:

13

6

102

2

0

12

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Get in the truck yourself, of course. For 6 months! This is the story of @BrandonPAdams , the latest Acquiring Minds guest. And it was actually a blessing in disguise:

1

0

11

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Lots of listener interest in buying an established franchise business. So I've been doing more such stories on @AcquiringMinds_ AND, just had on @franchisewolf to go deep on the subject. Result? A primer on buying franchises for searchers. Awesome breakdown ~ thank you sir!

3

0

12

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

Upstairs is a workspace for the parents, with coffee/tea. So if I want to get work done while my kid plays downstairs, I just hop upstairs & do it. Don't have to go back home or to the nearest Starbucks. So... could this work in the States? Does it exist somewhere already?

5

1

11

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@BrandonPAdams 1) It showed his new employees that Brandon & his partner weren't afraid of rolling up their sleeves & doing hard work. 2) They set a new bar by doing the job even better than the other drivers. 3) And they identified issues in the business that they could then fix.

2

0

11

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

For SMB searchers new to online business models, I interviewed Dom Wells on: The state of digital business acquisition in 2022 5 takeaways: 1. how to search 2. pros/cons of business models 3. buy a SaaS? 4. key weakness of digital 5. how to get in the game (for $5k) 🧵👇

1

11

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

Search/ETA ecosystem: you thinking what I’m thinking? @NickHaschka @Sam_Rosati @tsludwig @steveressler

Shaan Puri

@ShaanVP

1 year

One of the most painful parts of being a founder, is begging for intros or cold-emailing into the abyss trying to get in front of investors Especially if you're an outsider or first time investor. A few months ago, my buddy @julian had a great idea on how to fix that.

45

19

347

5

0

11

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@JustinNicholasT Acquisition #1 - Oct 2018 - Firefighting equipment distribution Acquisition #2 - Oct 2019 - E-commerce in off-roading niche Acquisition #3 - June 2021 - Paving Acquisition #4 - Aug 2021 - Mattress e-commerce/retail $30.5M of revenue acquired...

3

0

11

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

1) The Craigslist Moment. Amazing how, when you ALMOST quit at something, but don't, it strengthens your resolve.

1

0

10

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

Owner vs. CEO It's a good framework to understand buying a business as a self-funded searcher vs. as a traditional search fund. Agree? This week's interview with @AZ_SMB explores it. Derek has done both. And he shares how the 2 styles of buying a business FEELS different.

1

10

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@Whitney_Sheph @EndresenHeather Timely. This coming Monday's episode of @AcquiringMinds_ is a panel with 3 women searchers. Tune in! Moderator: Chelsea Wood of the Acquisition Lab Panelists: Anne Ristic Morli Desai Cassi Niekamp

2

1

10

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

That other women might see themselves in these 3 entrepreneurs and feel emboldened to follow suit. The result was a lively & rich conversation — for anyone, women and men alike. Also timely given last week's tweets by @ClintFiore , @EndresenHeather , and @Whitney_Sheph .

1

0

10

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

If you missed it, watch the self-funded search vs. traditional search funds debate here 👇 This was a live recording of Acquiring Minds. Covered a TON of ground on this important question. You can wait for the pod, or watch on YouTube now:

Self-Funded Search vs. Traditional Search Funds

Watch a debate about the merits of two distinct models of search: self-funded search on one side, traditional search funds on the other.The two guests, Greg ...

www.youtube.com

3

1

9

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@SMB_ash @Adrian_Pinto2 @Adrian_Pinto2 's a strong communicator. Something tells me I'll see him on stage at a future @SMB_ash . Find the episode in your favorite podcast player: "Building a Blue Collar Empire"

1

0

10

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@ShaanVP If you want to hear dozens of stories of other "acquisition entrepreneurs" on a similar path, check out the podcast Acquiring Minds

0

10

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

. @AlexGlasner interviewed 50 people before starting his search. He made sure to talk to people who had NOT acquired a business after searching. Sure enough, it was them that he learned from most. Namely, the 2 reasons he saw that searchers DON'T close:

2

0

9

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

‍Productized services. Lots to love about these service businesses. Today's guest on the pod, @KarlLHughes , bought one for podcast production.

0

1

9

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@GoodsCapital @JustinNicholasT Guest on an upcoming episode interviewed 50 people when he started searching. The ones who searched but never bought a business surfaced one of the best takeaways: They were too picky. EBITDA was $100k less than they wanted. Or recurring rev was 60% instead of 80%. Etc.

1

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

A couple photos, including the upstairs for moms & dads

4

7

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

Knife's edge. No guest on Acquiring Minds has ever said this as plainly as @signthefronts did in this week's episode: If you buy a blue collar biz, often your employees' financial life is precarious. Like, knife's edge. Powerful reminder for white collar types among us 👇

1

0

6

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

some horror stories lately. It's crucial to be real about the risks in buying a business. But after 150+ interviews with buyers of businesses, I remain dazzled by the possibilities of this path of entrepreneurship. The majority of buyers are white guys like me...

1

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

"Just add marketing." Business brokers are notorious for saying a business just needs X to go to the moon. Marketing is a common one. Like this: "This business is poised for 🚀 growth. Today all sales are word of mouth. Owners never advertise. Just add marketing!" Thing is...

3

0

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

Year 1 - $350k (2x revenue in the first year of ownership!) Year 2 - $525k Year 3 - $505k (downtown construction project blocks foot traffic) Year 4 - $620k Year 5 - $725k Year 6 - Almost $900k Except year 3, it's all up & to the right!

2

0

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

Remember how it took them 6 years to go from $650k to $2M? In year 7, they grew to $2.8M Year 8 to $4.4M Year 9 to ~$6M.

1

0

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@acquanon @guessworkinvest @girdley @thegeneralmills @BillDA This was such a good episode. Fav part actually wasn’t about the deals, but @guessworkinvest asking @BillDA & @girdley what they think of buying multiple businesses - the acquisition entrepreneur dream. Bill: “I have thoughts.” 😂

0

2

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

@WilsonCompanies Was just talking to @SMBQuest about this. Outsized margins should be cause for skepticism, not excitement.

2

0

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@LumberyardDamon BizBuySell gets 1M+ visitors per month. How many of them actually buy those businesses they look at? You're a lone ranger!

1

0

6

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

The tweet below makes a big claim. Today's guest on the pod saw it and was like, yeah right. But it did pique his interest.. He figured, lemme just peek at BizBuySell in my area. And down the rabbit hole he fell. 6 short months later, he was the owner of a $2m/yr business.

Sieva Kozinsky

@SievaKozinsky

2 years

I used SBA to buy $2M in cashflow with only $300k down. Here’s how I did it (and how you can too):

100

299

3K

1

0

7

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@JustinNicholasT My favorite quote from Justin: "I think most people underestimate themselves, and don't think big enough on what they can accomplish." (Context was buying big vs. buying small)

1

0

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

1) Other owners reached out wanting to sell 2) Brokers sent them more deals, now seeing them as serious buyers Latest episode of @AcquiringMinds_ is a perfect example. @n8lenahan & his 2 partners bought small: $400k for a $1.2m HVAC business. Few weeks later...

2

1

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

2) The power of unlocks. Those 2 tweaks changed the whole trajectory.

1

0

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@guessworkinvest Airtable's big insight was that people use Excel as a quick & dirty database. So it made a product from the ground up that blends database & spreadsheet functionality naturally, rather than people shoehorning their databases into Excel. It's a database with spreadsheet features.

2

0

8

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@n8lenahan An argument for "buying small" or at least being open to buying small: Just getting in the game will open more doors

1

7

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

@JustinNicholasT And the businesses bought in 2018 and 2019 have grown 60% and 86%, respectively, since acquisition. Justin is this week's guest on the Acquiring Minds podcast. Find it wherever you listen to pods.

1

0

6

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

Laundromats 101. I had @GeoffOliverATX on the pod to break down the business of laundromats. He went looking to buy commercial real estate but liked the laundromat businesses he found better — and bought 2! A few highlights he shared:

2

0

6

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

3 years

Eventually there's a deal, and Neil & his wife sell the practice for 8 figures. PLUS some stock...and the PE firm goes public a few months later. "Second bite of the apple," says Neil. "That's the one you want."

1

0

7

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

1 year

@BillDA This needs to be said more. I sometimes wonder if this realization could be the antidote to our polarization. If people — both right and left — thought more about what a good thing we got, maybe they’d be less reckless about tearing it up.

0

7

Will Smith

@whentheresawill

2 years

* 68% contributed less than $200k of their own capital to fund the acquisition. * 24% contributed less than $50k! There is so much more data in this study. I interviewed the partners at SIG to dive into these and other key findings. (Link to today's episode above.)

1

0

7