The Circle of Competence Podcast The Circle of Competence Podcast

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with A.J. Wasserstein, Professor at Yale School of Management where he teaches courses on SMB leadership, acquisitions, and entrepreneurship. In our conversation, we covered:

- What is a programmatic acquisition strategy and why it matters

- How AJ implemented this strategy while leading ArchivesOne, forming the third largest records management business in the US

- Lessons learned from 17 years buying small businesses at ArchivesOne

- What factors to look for when determining whether this strategy is right for a business

- How NOT to implement a programmatic acquisition strategy


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This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Mark Valdez, founder of Eads Bridge Holdings. Mark has a deep background in tech, previously serving as the chief of staff for Marc Andreessen before jumping ship to build a tech-enabled small business holding company. In our conversation, we covered:


The thesis behind Eads Bridge Holdings

EBH’s 4 step digital strategy

How Mark is building a tech-enabled platform for small businesses

How to implement new software systems in a small business

Mark’s experience as Marc Andreessen’s chief of staff



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This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Jeff Sands, founding partner of Dorset Partners, a firm specializing distressed business turnarounds. Jeff is also the author of "Corporate Turnaround Artistry: Fix a Business in 100 Days." In our conversation, we covered:

- What strategies Jeff uses in the first 100 days of a business turnaround

- How to negotiate with creditors

- A balance sheet turnaround vs. an income statement turnaround

- How to run a business during lean times 


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-circle-of-competence/support

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Quinn Miller, founder of Blue Agave Vending and Fairway Coffee. Quinn has built a vending machine empire and is rolling his capital into new endeavors. In our conversation, we covered:

- How to get started in the vending business

- What makes a vending location great

- Cold calling tactics

- How to bootstrap an e-commerce direct to consumer biz


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-circle-of-competence/support

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Twitter personality Bauncey Chillups. Mr. Chillups currently works for a large family office and focuses purely on the public markets.

In our conversation, we covered:


The point guard analogy for public markets investing

His investment playbook for the public markets

How he underwrites the long-term earnings potential of a business

How he sources ideas and performs due diligence



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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-circle-of-competence/support

This week, Victor and Benton spoke with Nick Haschka, Founder of Cub Investments, a holding company for small businesses, as well as CEO of The Wright Gardner, a commercial landscaping and plant management business.

In our conversation, we covered:
- Why Cub Investments focuses on continuous improvement rather than goal setting
- Nick's post-close playbook
- His framework for acquiring bolt-on organizations
- Nick's methodology for hiring and retaining employees in service businesses


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-circle-of-competence/support