Think Like an Owner

Latest Episodes:

Update with Mikel Berger, Little Engine Ventures - Ep. 15 Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

I recorded this episode with Mikel Berger from Little Engine Ventures and another with Justin Turner from Traction Capital Partners to hear from investors on what's going on in their companies today. I asked Mikel what he's seeing in his portfolio companies, community, and what he's been advising his companies to do. I hope this helps you when looking at your own businesses and sheds some light on what others are experiencing. Both Mikel and Justin have been on the podcast before and if you want learn more about them I recommend listening to those as well, which are episodes 4 and 10 of the podcast respectively.

Also, I'm trying something new with this episode. If you have a follow-up question for Mikel you can ask via this Google Form I've created and they'll be answered in a later post.

Enjoy the update from Mikel.

I'm also the founder of The Operator's Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.

Michael Girdley, Dura Software - Ep. 14 Feb 22, 2020

Show notes

My guest on this episode is Michael Girdley who is chairman and head of strategy of Dura Software, a holding company that acquires small software companies based in San Antonio. Michael is also a co-founder of Geekdom Fund, a small venture firm, and a co-founder of Codeup, a coding bootcamp in San Antonio.

I've had guests from software on the show before but this episode was particularly good and I learned a ton. I've wanted to learn more about investing in software and Michael provided a fantastic overview of the space and Dura and their strategy. If you want to invest in software companies, this is an episode you'll enjoy and get a lot of value from.

Episodes of Think Like an Owner are available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Links

Will Schoeberlein, Golden Southeast - Ep. 13 Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

My guest on this episode is Will Schoeberlein. Will started his career in investment banking and private equity before taking a leap to Southeast Asia to work on startups and software. He finished his time in Asia in Japan where he met his wife and he has since developed a small company acquisition thesis on the Japanese market.

In the episode we discuss his thoughts about investing in private companies, acquiring companies in the U.S. and Japan, aging Japanese business owners and what that means for their economy, IPOing in Japan, and our shared use of Twitter.

Episodes of Think Like an Owner are available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Links

Golden Southeast

Nihon M&A Center

Teledyne

Lui Pangiarella & Akram Sabbagh, Second Squared - Ep. 12 Nov 27, 2019

Show notes

My guests on this episode are Lui Pangiarella and Akram Sabbagh from Second Squared, an emerging search fund accelerator looking to bring the search fund model to Australia for the first time. The three of us discussed educating the marketplace, the mindsets of investors and owners in Australia compared to other countries, how they view themselves compared to counterparts in the U.S., and more.

As they'll describe, Australia does not have a M&A market that is nearly as developed as the U.S. and a large part of their role is education. I had a great time learning about the challenges with introducing search concepts and acquiring companies in Australia and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Links Mentioned

Second Squared

Sam Rosati, Pursuant Capital - Ep. 11 Oct 24, 2019

Show notes

My guest on this episode is Sam Rosati who, along with his brother Joey, ran a search fund called Pursuant Capital in the Tampa area and acquired a waste management broker called Alpha Dumpsters. There are a couple pieces about Sam and Joey's story that are unique. For one, it's one of very few search funds I've seen run by two searchers instead of one. And two, they are continuing to look for further acquisitions.

In the episode we chat about Sam's experience searching for companies before and after acquiring Alpha Dumpsters, how he and his brother split roles, lessons learned, and what they want to do next with Pursuant. If you're looking to run a search fund, you're going to like this episode.

Links Mentioned

Pursuant Capital

Alpha Dumpster

The Partnership Charter

Mikel Berger, Little Engine Ventures - Ep. 10 Sep 05, 2019

Show notes

My guest, Mikel Berger, is the co-founder and partner of Little Engine Ventures, along with co-founder Daryl Starr. Little Engine Ventures is a very unique investment firm in the already unique world of small company investing. They have a strong regional focus of companies within a 2 hour drive of Lafayette, IN and are building a firm, brand, and community that resonates with small, midwest business owners. Little Engine also has a very unique partnership structure that includes a maximum investment for an LP, along with a minimum, and allows them to close deals faster than most private equity firms that raise capital by deal can do.

In this episode with Mikel, we cover his software background, how he describes Little Engine Ventures and their target business owner, how he protects investors and business owners, among other subjects. This was a fascinating conversation, and I hope you agree with me by the end of it.

Links Mentioned

Little Engine Ventures

DelMar Software

Building a Story Brand

RelaNet

Tim Ludwig, Ohana Capital - Ep. 9 Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

My guest on this episode is Tim Ludwig, managing partner of Ohana Capital in San Diego. Tim is a search fund investor through Ohana and has extensive experience, having invested in 75 deals over his career. More recently, Tim has been investing in companies directly rather than investing in searchers through a fund.

During our conversation, we cover topics like being a search fund investor vs investing directly, the history of search funds and investing in them, the search fund climate today, and Tim's exciting and sometimes dangerous study abroad experiences in Colombia and Spain. Tim was in Portland on business and was kind enough to share part of his morning with me for this podcast.

Links Mentioned:

Ohana Capital

Stanford Search Fund Study

Predictable Revenue

Nonviolent Communication

Radical Candor

Never Split the Difference

Random Lengths

Andy Ellis, Localize Capital - Ep. 8 Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

My guest on this episode is Andy Ellis, a managing partner of Localize Capital in Pittsburgh which, as the name suggests, focuses on investing in companies and entrepreneurs around the Pittsburgh area. Little known fact about me, I used to live in Pittsburgh as a young kid and was extra excited for this conversation because of that. Andy grew up in Pittsburgh, worked in Southern California, and eventually moved back to Pittsburgh to help form Localize.

Andy and I talk extensively about the structure of Localize and how they choose to invest in companies over a very long term, with a core idea being to look for owners who think not just in years, but generations.

You may have heard of the concept of finite and infinite games, a concept written about by author James Carse. A finite game has known players, a beginning and end, and set rules, whereas infinite games have known and unknown players, no end, evolving rules, and the goal is to perpetuate the game. If this concept sounds interesting, this conversation is for you as we discuss this concept in the context of private equity and entrepreneurship.

Please enjoy the episode.

Links Mentioned

Localize Capital

Bryan Materials Group

Finite and Infinite Games

Kevin Graham, Site Arrow - Ep. 7 Jun 14, 2019

Show notes

My guest today is Kevin Graham, an Australian native living in Thailand running a web hosting company called Site Arrow, which he uses as his acquisition vehicle to buy other web hosting companies. The topic of software in micro private equity has come up more and more often and has been a recent focus of mine to learn more about, and Kevin was very helpful to that goal. While a great deal of the technical side of our discussion went over my head, his thinking around using permanent capital to perform a roll-up of sorts of small web hosting companies was fascinating.

Beyond web host acquisitions, we also briefly discussed digital nomads and the life of living abroad. I hope you find our discussion as interesting as I did and if you or someone you know is in the business of acquiring small software companies, I'd love to chat as I want to continue learning about this space.

Please enjoy the episode.

David Krock, Sunset Coast Capital - Ep. 6 May 03, 2019

Show notes

This space has some of the most unique backgrounds and my guest on this episode is no exception. David Krock joined a band as their drummer coming out of high school, did not go to college, and wound up starting a recording studio which led him on a path to entrepreneurship and micro PE investing, which he does today through his firm Sunset Coast Capital. David is your quintessential outside-the-classroom learner and has a rare depth of thought and experience.

The topics of our conversation include his early years switching from music to entrepreneurship, the advantages of seasonal and cyclical businesses, lessons learned along the way, and a way he's trying to emulate Amazon. You can follow David Krock on Twitter and on through his sites DavidKrock.com and SunsetCoastCapital.com.

Please enjoy our conversation.

Links

• Scaling Up

• Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits

• DavidKrock.com

• SunsetCoastCapital.com

Show notes

1:14 Music background and switch to entrepreneurship

2:51 Parallels between music and business

7:13 Leaving the recording business behind

7:58 Advantages/disadvantages due to music background

9:36 Lessons learned by failing