Buyers and Builders

PrivateEquityGuy
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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!

  1. 35x and 100x MOIC Outcomes: Lessons From 100 Search Fund Investments | Lacey Wismer Interview

    1 DAY AGO

    35x and 100x MOIC Outcomes: Lessons From 100 Search Fund Investments | Lacey Wismer Interview

    Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Lacey Wismer of Hunter Search Capital ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceywismer/ ) about her journey from a family business background into investing in more than 100 search funds, backing operators, and building a platform around long-term business ownership. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction: Lacey Wismer on permanent capital and long-term holds 0:30 Entrepreneurial upbringing: luck, simplicity, cash flow, and leverage 2:54 What changes when you buy to own for 30 years 5:26 Studying enduring businesses instead of trends 6:49 The anatomy of a 100x deal 8:40 Diamond Brands and the power of adjacent acquisitions 10:59 From family business buying to search fund investing 11:58 How ETA changed from 2010 to 2026 14:58 Why the entrepreneur matters more than the business 18:03 What Lacey looks for in founders 19:50 Unconsolidated niches and the “right to win” 23:21 Biggest mistakes: wrong partners, overpaying, overleverage 27:40 The upside and downside of permanent holds 30:37 Capital allocation without a planned exit 33:20 Raising permanent capital with patient investors 35:29 Finding operators for indefinite-hold businesses 39:12 What frugality looks like inside a company 42:01 U.S. vs Europe: fragmentation and entry multiples 45:13 How Hunter Search Capital wins without overpaying 51:33 Women in ETA and relationship-driven investing 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.

    58 min
  2. A Serial Acquirer Masterclass and The Story Of 47 Acquisitions Per Year

    5 DAYS AGO

    A Serial Acquirer Masterclass and The Story Of 47 Acquisitions Per Year

    Why serial acquirers remain one of the most powerful business models in the world. The best of them have acquired as many as 275 companies and traded at valuations as high as 65x earnings, yet most people still misunderstand what makes them so successful. I explore why the best acquirers often start slow, how they solve the reinvestment problem, why balance sheet strength and specialization matter, and what investors look for when studying these businesses. I also share why Evergreen Services Group may be building one of the most interesting HoldCo stories in America today. Timestamps: 0:00 Why Stockholm is the mecca of serial acquirers 2:37 The big ideas from 36 serial acquirers 3:36 Why slower can actually win early in serial acquisition 7:52 How great serial acquirers solve the reinvestment problem 13:02 The 7,500x return story 16:59 What actually drives compounding 20:01 How to truly study operators and companies 22:35 Why strong balance sheets and niche specialization matter in tough markets 25:50 Evergreen Services Group 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.

    37 min
  3. 38 Acquisitions Generating $2 Billion in Revenue | Eric Wiklendt Interview

    10 MAR

    38 Acquisitions Generating $2 Billion in Revenue | Eric Wiklendt Interview

    Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Eric Wiklendt of Speyside Equity ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericwiklendt/ ) about Eric's journey and how Speyside has built a highly operational lower-middle-market private equity firm with $937 million of assets under management, 38 total investments, 20 platform investments, operations across 19 countries, and portfolio companies generating approximately $2 billion in revenue. Timestamps: 0:00 Why Eric loves messy manufacturing deals 1:40 From Detroit operator to private equity investor 4:58 Building Speyside: Fund I, the continuation vehicle, and Fund II 7:35 How PE firms decide fund size and portfolio construction 10:24 Why Elliott backed Speyside's continuation vehicle 12:43 What LPs want now, and why PE is going through a reckoning 15:46 Operational value creation vs. financial engineering 20:03 Why sellers choose Speyside for complex situations 24:09 The red lines: positive EBITDA, size limits, and avoiding bad S-curves 33:34 The “fix and build” playbook 59:29 Independent sponsors, fund models, and the future of dealmaking 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.

    1h 11m
  4. How I Left PE and Bought 16 Companies | Kaido Veske Interview

    3 MAR

    How I Left PE and Bought 16 Companies | Kaido Veske Interview

    Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Kaido Veske of Livonia Partners ( https://www.livoniapartners.com/ ) about Kaido’s journey from working at a mid-cap private equity firm in the US to returning to Europe, raising a fund that now manages nearly $200 million, and completing 16 acquisitions to date. 0:00 Why start a fund 2:56 Wharton and early US exposure 3:39 US finance years and coming back to Europe 6:03 Livonia today: focus and deal size 7:06 Minority and majority deals 7:23 Fundraising as a first-time GP 8:25 Early deals: structuring and fund size limits 10:08 Fund 1 vs Fund 2 evolution 13:38 Sourcing engine and “kill list” 16:00 Small market, big opportunity 20:32 Post-acquisition playbook and cadence 25:55 Thermory case: build, buy, exit 35:43 Mistakes: leverage and market calls 38:28 Fund size ceiling in the Baltics 46:54 Team lessons and alignment Sponsors: https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

    56 min
  5. 10 Acquisitions in 24 Months, No Fund | Travis Jamison Interview

    27 FEB

    10 Acquisitions in 24 Months, No Fund | Travis Jamison Interview

    Mike Markus (⁠ https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy⁠ ) talks to Travis Jamison of CapitalPad ( https://capitalpad.com/ ) about building a deal-by-deal investing platform that’s already powered 10 acquisitions, with some deals projected to have an IRR of 25% or more. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:36 Why CapitalPad exists 3:08 Platform walkthrough 5:22 Lessons from the first 10 deals 7:16 What a typical deal looks like 9:10 Vetting sponsors/searchers 12:44 Investor improvement and portfolio construction 17:32 What top sponsors do differently 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.

    20 min
  6. Why This Operator Won’t Raise a Fund (17 Companies, 9 Exits) | Vic Keller

    22 FEB

    Why This Operator Won’t Raise a Fund (17 Companies, 9 Exits) | Vic Keller

    Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks to Vic Keller of Experience Ventures ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickeller/ ) about building 17 companies over two decades with 9 exits, having businesses acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, and his operator-first approach to building durable, people-driven companies - including a vertically integrated car wash platform spanning manufacturing, chemistry, and service/maintenance. 0:00 Deal-by-Deal vs Fund Life 3:48 Operator Mindset in the Lower Middle Market 8:10 Buffett Lessons + Durability 18:36 Car Wash Playbook 23:46 HoldCo Structure 27:50 Recruiting A-Players 32:17 Co-Invest Partners 36:22 Bigger Deals: What Changes 39:28 Debt vs Equity 42:06 Founders: Recap vs Sell to PE 48:04 ETA/Search Funds: Post-Close Risk 55:10 People and Investing in Yourself Sponsors: https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

    1h 13m
  7. Off-Market Deal Flow for $2M-$200M Founder-Led Companies

    18 FEB

    Off-Market Deal Flow for $2M-$200M Founder-Led Companies

    Operators, independent sponsors, searchers, and lower middle market investors: this episode is about building repeatable deal flow in the $2-15M EBITDA range by making opportunities, talent, and capital come to you. You’ll learn “relationship compounding” through two lenses: Larry Gagosian - the billionaire art dealer who engineers environments where influential people want to be (all in service of one goal: selling more art) - and TheRealEstateG6 ( https://x.com/TheRealEstateG6 ) on X, whose “yacht” framework shows how to stop restarting from zero and build platforms, venues, and proof that create real gravity. Show notes: 0:00 Build “inbound” deal flow in the $2-15M EBITDA range 2:58 Why most relationships don’t compound (and how to fix it) 6:44 The first upgrade: become a “regular” and let familiarity stack 10:22 Gagosian’s flywheel: one gatekeeper unlocks the next layer 13:05 Build your “market map” (CRM mindset) before it pays you 16:09 “Create your own yacht” 19:28 Deal flow as a two-sided platform: owners + capital allocators 25:07 Modern yachts: Shark Tank, media, and flipping who chases who 31:59 The 5-question test for a real yacht 38:11 The whole thesis: manufacture situations where people come to you 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.

    39 min
  8. 5 Acquisitions in 24 Months: How I Got 60-70% Seller Financing | Millen Rastogi Interview

    13 FEB

    5 Acquisitions in 24 Months: How I Got 60-70% Seller Financing | Millen Rastogi Interview

    Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks to Millen Rastogi of UniversaCare ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/millenrastogi/ ) about leaving his analyst role at Deutsche Bank to build a healthcare roll-up and acquire five companies. Show notes: 0:00 Millen Rastogi 1:05 From Deutsche Bank to home care 4:30 Walking into a mess 13:26 Funding the early years 19:54 Growth numbers + COVID hit 23:02 Margins and revenue 25:50 Building the platform to buy 27:17 First acquisition 30:56 Seller financing playbook 36:35 The “silver tsunami” sellers 41:50 Second acquisition 51:48 70% seller-financed deal example 1:09:09 Learning M&A with AI + X Sponsors: https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platform https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

    1h 22m
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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!

Information

  • Creator
    PrivateEquityGuy
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    234
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Buyers and Builders
  • Show Website
    Buyers and Builders

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