4 deals, $30m revenue and fund-raising being the 'hardest thing I’ve ever done'

Dear friend, I have a few things to say:

1. Thanks for reading

2. This weekly email, which I’ve been writing every week for the past two years, has changed my life and business 10x for the better. Seriously! (I hope yours has got a little better after reading it too.)

3. Although… If you want to improve your life & business EVEN more, you should also share your ideas and the things that you’re building with others…

4. But if you’re too busy with everything, keep reading:

I partnered with Spacebar Studios because that is exactly what they do:

They build and scale B2B newsletters—and they do it damn well and fast.

Their founders Brandon and David said they took a compliance newsletter from zero to 115k subscribers in 14 months.

Then grew a hospitality list to 35k+ engaged operators with 5%+ average CTRs;

And helped multiple SaaS and services brands turn newsletter-first audiences into seven-figure pipelines and ARR.

They are being generous to the readers of this newsletter, saying they will create a completely new newsletter for free.

They offer it to six companies that book a strategy call right now (click on this sentence).

(Brandon shared the sign-up list; well, some serious heavy-hitters have already signed up.)

If you run a company doing $1M–$50M in revenue and want a growth channel that compounds every time you hit “send,” I’d book a call by clicking here or the image below ASAP while slots are still open.

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Yesterday I had a 1.5 hour conversation with a gentleman on this image.

He sold his SaaS for over $100m.

Then spent 3 years in retirement traveling the world, never staying in one place for more than 10 days.

("Yes, I'm a bit contrarian".)

Today he is helping founders reach $100m exits to PE firms.

The number one thing he asks his clients when they start a partnership:

"Go for a vacation for a week without your phone. If you can, good, if not, your company is not ready to be sold. There's lots of work to do."

Great person and extremely generous with the details of his journey. The ups and downs of building the business, etc.

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The more I do such calls the more I realize I want to have more contrarian people around me (I see them building great firms and more importantly living awesome – and not sh*tty – lives.)

That being said, this is where today’s sponsor, Scalepath comes in…

They’ve built a network of over 2,000 business owners across the U.S. and Europe—and when you book a free call with their founder Rand today, he’ll personally introduce you to up to 3 entrepreneurs and operators in your area.

A fellow reader Nathan Niehuus said: “Men will literally join Rand’s group instead of going to therapy”

To get to know 3 vetted operators in your area:

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Because in this world, relationships with contrarians will be your edge—and sometimes your therapy, too.

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One of the readers, Joel Roberts described private equity as Pain Endured…

He said it after reading this post:

Had a partner of an European PE fund on the pod

A gentleman in mid 40s

It took them 19-20 months to raise the fund I

“Hardest thing I’ve ever done”

Today deploying capital from fund II and already working on the fundraising for fund III

What a man, what a story, what a life!

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“Wife changing money”, as one of the readers said.

Sad tho. But here is the story:

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7-8 years ago, a local entrepreneur was on the cover of a magazine as "Entrepreneur of the Year".

A few days later I saw him in the gym, approaching him asking for his email.  He brought his business card.

I then emailed him saying that I was this young man in his early twenties who was building his first small business. I would like to "pick your brain". I remember getting an immediate response from him - "Monday at 2pm at this restaurant".

We had a 30 minute conversation, during which I learned a lot.

One thing was how important it is to have a good relationship with your wife. Your wife is your rock, who keeps things in order at home, with the kids, the food and everything.

Since then, we haven't met but I have emailed him a few updates on how my life has been since then, and that I will always remember that meeting with him.

Last week I saw him in the old town. We spoke briefly, but he said he had to go... he was not alone and not with her wife, but with a girl my age. I would say 30, 31. Definitely not older.

I was happy to meet him and exchange a few words, but I still felt weird because my goal was always to have a wife who I could describe the way he described his wife 7-8 years ago.

He is still THE man and I respect him, but felt a bit weird seeing him with this young girl.

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I was chatting on WhatsApp with a guy who was working on the biggest deal of his life — a company with $25M in sales and about $5.5million in EBITDA.

Then they sent him a no-explanation withdrawal letter through their lawyer and blocked him... 2 days before saying there was nothing to worry about and they wanted to end the process "with him"...

A relationship that lasted almost a year is over just like this, for no reason at all.

I then asked what's next for you, he said:

"I think there is more capital available for bigger deals. I’ll keep an open mind with the market opportunities. There’s so much out there"

1. What an attitude

2. It's great to meet with people who have such ambition at the beginning of our careers

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Many M&A professionals aspire to become small business acquirers. Some even have the goal of acquiring more than one company. To build a holdco.

In 99% of cases it is not about finding an acquisition target or putting together a deal, it’s more about being willing to quit your job to actually do it.

That’s why one of my favorite topics when talking to people who have made the leap is always the origin story and the thinking shift. Especially the thinking shift part. Because that’s the key differentiator between those who build the life of their dreams and those who don’t even try.

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Last week I had a conversation with a gentleman who said he literally left THIS in Switzerland to pay 2.5-3 times for a "boring" HVAC company with $350,000 in EBITDA.

His story:

• Left the job in 2020.

• Bought the 1st company in  2021

• 2/3rd in 2022

• 4th in 2024

He said he completely screwed up the first deal so doing the 2nd and 3rd deal fast saved him.

Today, the portfolio does more than $30m in revenue.

It's possible!

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A great lesson I learned this week:

When thinking about what industry to pursue and what company to acquire:

Consider taking the next 30-60 days to visit as many industries and businesses as possible, asking yourself:

• What makes one business grow 20% a year while another flatlines?

• Why do some have a strong culture, and others can’t keep employees?

• What tech tools matter?

• What KPIs do the best operators track?

• How do they price? Staff? Finance repairs?

It will give tons of information about industry, businesses and everything in between. Most importantly, 99% of folks will never do it.

This will provide a crazy amount of data and information about the industry, the companies, and everything else.

Most importantly, 99% of folks never do this.

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How has been the week in the small holding company world?

Traditional company

Received a call from the broker of the heavy-equipment company deal.

Four local banks gave the green light and next Tuesday I will be having a meeting with their CEO.

I’ll keep you posted.

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This week’s podcast:

After 6 years in investment banking and an INSEAD MBA ahead, Luca hiked through Bolivia's Amboro National Park with a question:

"Do I go back to the safe path… or build something of my own?"

We can say that trip changed everything.

Luca left investment banking to find and acquire one great SME in Switzerland or Southern Germany.

But no playbook existed.

So he built his own:

• 50+ ETA interviews

• Solo fundraising

• Industry by industry deep dives

• Long-term vision

A masterclass in ETA from someone in the trenches.

Enjoy.

Here are the links to Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

That’s all for today.

Thanks a lot for reading and I’ll share a few updates again next week.

Take care,

PrivateEquityGuy / Mikk Markus