Masters in Small Business M&A

Sep 26 2024 25 ep. 57 mins 14
Masters in Small Business M&A Podcast artwork

Welcome to the “Masters in Small Business Mergers and Acquisitions podcast.” I am your host, Peter Lehrman, and I’m the Founder and CEO of Axial (www.axial.net), a trusted online platform for business owners & their M&A advisors to use to safely and intelligently explore and execute capital raises, acquisitions, and exits with strategic buyers or professional financial sponsors.

  Business  Education
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


Building Garden City: Michael Arrieta on People-First Business

Sep 26 2024 60 mins  
In this episode, Peter Lehrman sits down with Michael Arrieta, founder of Garden City, to discuss his unique journey from a successful career in tech with companies like DocuSign to founding a people-first holding company focused on service-based businesses. Michael shares insights into his decision to leave tech, the principles guiding Garden City, and the impact of a values-drive

Ryan Sullivan, North Park Group -- the Ultra Long View on U.S. Manufacturing

Aug 15 2024 58 mins  
Today’s conversation is with Ryan Sullivan, Managing Director and Co-Founder at North Park Group (https://northparkgroup.com/), a Chicago-based private investment firm focused on acquiring and operating US-based manufacturing and distribution businesses for the very long-term. Ryan was a multi-chapter manufacturing operator and CEO and North Park Group reflects this operator DNA

Tom Barber on the Design of Winning Private Equity Firms

Jul 18 2024 52 mins  
Today’s conversation is with Tom Barber, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at SBJ Capital (https://www.sbjcap.com), a California-based private equity firm investing into the consumer and business services verticals. In this episode, Tom dives into how he and his team continue to build SBJ Capital, paying special attention to some of the firm’s most unconventional beliefs and org

Marshall Lockton: from family business to family office to acquisition #1

Jun 04 2024 45 mins  
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

Rafa Quinn - Building A Diversified Lower Middle Market Holding Company

May 21 2024 56 mins  
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.

Private Credit Arrives in the Lower Middle Market: A Conversation with Bridgepoint’s Matt Plooster

Apr 04 2024 60 mins  
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 th

Bob Falahee’s Founder’s Journey: 15 years Building SunPro Motorized Awnings & Screens from Day 1 to a Strategic Exit

Mar 19 2024 72 mins  
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 S

28 Years and Counting at The Top of the LMM: A Conversation with Mangrove Equity's Glenn Oken

Jan 31 2024 58 mins  
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 ch

The 4 Types of Business Brokers and How to Win Them Over: a Master Class with Clint Fiore

Jan 02 2024 76 mins  
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 approache

A hero’s journey: Mike Botkin and the OneOutdoor Holdings journey from start to exit.

Nov 07 2023 65 mins  
In this episode, Mike Botkin, founder and CEO of OneOutdoor Holdings sits down with Peter Lehrman. The conversation starts with the OneOutdoor Holdings origin story (hint: Mike was in bed at the time). Mike goes into how and where he sourced his first deal, how he structured the deal, and OneOutdoor’s strategic shift from residential to commercial landscaping businesses. From th