Masters in Small Business M&A Peter Lehrman

Today’s guest is Marshall Lockton. Marshall spent 15 years in sales, sales strategy and sales training roles within his family’s storied private insurance brokerage business (Lockton) before leaving to acquire his first business. In October 2023, he acquired Knight Agency, a specialized consultancy that helps organizations unlock performance by uniquely connecting a company’s purpose, story, values, people and products. 
Marshall’s journey as an acquirer is just beginning, but his prior career building sales and sales training programs inside one of the most successful private insurance brokerage companies gives him a mid-career operator’s advantage over many newly minted MBAs pursuing EtA. 
Marshall discusses his experiences in the family business, the personal considerations he had to weigh by joining the business, the value of establishing purpose before investing, and the lessons learned at Lockton around culture, autonomy, and nailing sales incentives.
The conversation concludes with Marshall getting into the details of the Knight Agency acquisition, highlighting the strategic importance of long-term vision, building relationships, and shared focus on people and purpose-driven work.
Discussion Points:

Marshall’s decision to join the family-owned insurance brokerage
Family business dynamics, honest feedback, growth, and community
Establishing your personal core and opus ~ identity, values, principles, and vision
Marshall's purpose-driven approach in starting Meraki Investments
How Private Equity misses the opportunity to unlock purpose after the acquisition
Impact of connecting culture, purpose and employees to create business success

Masters in Small Business M&A (sign up for podcast drops here) is produced by the team at Axial (www.axial.com). Axial makes it easy for small business owners to confidentially discover, research and connect with top-ranked M&A advisors and professional capital partners. In every episode, we explore the dynamic world of small business M&A, interviewing a mix of proven and emerging owners, operators, acquirers, and M&A advisors whose strategies and methods are being put to the test.
If you’d like to go deeper, head to Axial.com, where we make available the Axial member directories, downloadable tools for dealmakers, the Axial quarterly lower middle market investment banking league-table rankings, the SMB M&A pipeline report, and other useful information. If you’re a business owner, professional acquirer, or M&A advisor, you can start using Axial for free at Axial.com.
 
Resources:

Today’s guest is Rafael "Rafa" Quinn, co-founder and President of Alternative Holdings, a diversified holding company with subsidiaries in food services, retail, industrial sales, and business process outsourcing. 
Rafa’s origin story has already been covered in other podcasts, so we instead begin in 2011 with his first deal, an industrial sales distribution company in Panama. Rafa shares how that first deal helped shape his long-term philosophy on evaluating companies, including the two recent water business acquisitions.
We then proceed to cover topics such as the horizontal Holdco model, advantages of vertical integration, and playing to your strengths as an investor. We close out the conversation with Rafa emphasizing how his strong partnership with his business partner has been critical in both overcoming obstacles and sustaining his ongoing passion and dedication to a career as an investor.
 
Discussion points:

Rafael’s first deal and establishing HQ in Panama 
Adapting to market changes in energy sources
Inventory consignment vs distribution model
Horizontal holding companies vs. vertical integration
Warren Buffett’s approach to post-acquisition incentive alignment 
The practical application of zero-cost budgeting
Adding value without being needed in the day-to-day
Rafael’s philosophy on long-term growth strategies and investment 
Intangible qualities of good business brokers
Benefits of finding the right business partner

Masters in Small Business M&A (Subscribe to Masters in Small Business M&A)  is produced by the team at Axial (www.axial.com). Axial makes it easy for small business owners to confidentially discover, research and connect with top-ranked M&A advisors and professional capital partners. In every episode, we explore the dynamic world of small business M&A, interviewing a mix of proven and emerging owners, operators, acquirers, and M&A advisors whose strategies and methods are being put to the test.
If you’d like to go deeper, head to Axial.com, where we make available the Axial member directories, downloadable tools for dealmakers, the Axial quarterly lower middle market investment banking league-table rankings, the SMB M&A pipeline report, and other useful information. If you’re a busine

Today’s guest is Matt Plooster, founder and CEO of Bridgepoint, a boutique investment bank based in Omaha, Nebraska. We start the conversation with a background on private credit and its origins. From there we proceed to cover its growth, its arrival in the lower middle market, and how business owners can think about its features, risks, utility and applicability. We close out the conversation by getting into specific lower middle market transactions where private credit has been central to the outcome. 
Discussion points: 

The rise of private credit in the private market 
How non-bank financing has evolved post-2008 crisis 
Mezzanine vs. unitranche debt 
Comparing private credit to traditional bank lending 
Non-control transaction success with private capital 

In this episode, we interview Bob Falahee, the recently exited founder of SunPro Motorized Awnings & Screens.  
Bob’s entrepreneurial origin story starts in Michigan, where he was a sales leader for a semi-truck trailer manufacturer. Bob and his family left behind the cold winters of Michigan for Florida, where he founded SunPro with $36,000 in seed capital. He went on to expand SunPro from a local retractable awning business to a wholesale manufacturing leader in the category. 
The conversation reviews SunPro's founding story, its strategic growth and his daughters' pivotal involvement on the finance and retail sides of the business. We also dive into the mind of the founder on the exit process.  When did Bob start thinking about exiting?  What drove his timing and thinking?  How did he start learning about what goes into a successful exit? Bob recounts the impact of cultural fit in selecting an investment banker and walk through how he thought about strategic succession planning and M&A preparation. 
Discussion points: 

Bob’s first exit from a successful Michigan semi-trailer business 
Family relocation to Florida and the search for a small business 
Turning a partnership with a local awning business into a new company

In this episode, Glenn Oken, Managing Director at Mangrove Equity Partners, sits down with host Peter Lehrman to discuss the evolution of Small Business M&A, from the late ‘80s to present day. 
The conversation starts with Glenn’s entry into the M&A scene, and the challenges and opportunities of closing transactions before the internet. Glenn shares his insights on the major changes in deal sourcing methods over his career, valuation drift, and the growth of sell-side M&A advisory in the lower middle market. The conversation wraps up with a deep dive into the operating partner model, how early Mangrove was in institutionalizing this model, and how significantly it has influenced the firm’s culture and way of partnering with business owners. 
Additional Discussion Points:

The birth of Florida Capital Partners
Closing deals in the 90s
Evolution of private equity investing
The impact of internal operating partners
The power of add-on acquisitions
Integration strategies and dual branding
Leveraging reputation in competitive transactions
Sourcing strategies
Complexities and opportunities in deals
Advice for young professionals exploring private equity

This podcast is produced by the team at Axial (www.axial.com). Axial makes it easy for small business owners to confidentially research and connect with top-ranked M&A advisors and capital partners via a trusted online platform.  In every episode, we seek to explore the vast world of small business M&A, interviewing a mix of proven and emerging owners, operators, investors, and M&A advisors whose strategies and methods are being put to the test.
If you enjoy the podcast, give us a review on Apple or Spotify. If you’d like to go deeper, head to Axial.com, where there are dozens of recorded Axial member roundtables, downloadable tools for dealmakers, quarterly lower middle market investment banking league-table rankings, and other useful information. If you’re a business owner, professional acquirer, or M&A advisor, you can start using Axial for free at Axial.com.
Resources:
Glenn Oken LinkedIn
Peter Lehrman LinkedIn
Axial X
Axial Website 

Today’s guest is Clint Fiore, a small business operator turned M&A broker and the President of Bison Business, a Texas-based business brokerage transacting in both Main Street deals and the lower middle market. 
Clint lays out his four different archetypes of business brokers, what makes them tick, and how private equity investors and SMB acquirers can best modify their approaches to successfully close deals with any of them.
Discussion points:

Why Clint decided to starting his own business brokerage
The 80/20 rule of brokers
LOI language tweaks that will resonate with owners and business brokers
Building relationships to get an angle on a broker’s deals
How to handle real estate brokers moonlighting as M&A brokers
The future of M&A brokerage
Ensuring trust, reliability, and cost-effectiveness in deals

This podcast is produced by the team at Axial (www.axial.com). Axial makes it easy for small business owners to confidentially research and connect with top-ranked M&A advisors and capital partners via a trusted online platform. I am your host, Peter Lehrman, founder and CEO of Axial. In every episode, we explore the vast world of small business M&A, interviewing a mix of proven and emerging owners, operators, investors, and M&A advisors whose strategies and methods are being put to the test.
If you enjoy the podcast, give us a review on Apple or Spotify. If you’d like to go deeper, head to Axial.com, where there are dozens of recorded Axial member roundtables, downloadable tools for dealmakers, quarterly lower middle market investment banking league-table rankings, and other useful information. If you’re a business owner, professional acquirer, or M&A advisor, you can start using Axial for free at Axial.com.
Resources: 
Clint Fiore LinkedIn
Clint Fiore X
Peter Lehrman LinkedIn
Peter Lehrman X
Axial Website