Buy Grow Sell: Recent Episodes
Simon Bedard
BUY GROW SELL is the podcast for entrepreneurs looking to ACQUIRE, GROW, or EXIT a business. Each week, we interview a business owner who has bought, grown, or sold a business, and in some cases, has completed all three steps and started all over again. Our goal is to share the stories of entrepreneurs who have travelled at least part of this cycle, so that we can all learn from their experience. Whether it’s the dizzying heights of success or the hard lessons learned through adversity, we get to the heart of what drives success, and how to apply these lessons on your journey. BUY GROW SELL features the best insights, interviews, and inside information on how to buy, grow, and sell a business – straight from business owners who have lived and breathed it. If you’ve ever wanted to know the formula on how to grow a business and exit big, this podcast has all the answers. www.buygrowsell.com
From growing her business to $1M then spending it all on a lawsuit, seeing her business fall apart on 9/11, having her father die six weeks later, and losing her house on the very same day as the funeral, Beate Chelette has faced her fair share of adversity. But she turned it around, rebuilding her business from scratch, and eventually selling it off to Bill Gates for 5x gross earnings.
In this episode, she unveils her path from a single parent drowning in debt to a multimillion-dollar deal with Bill Gates. Overcoming lawsuits, personal tragedies, and financial turmoil, Beate’s story proves that adversity fuels future success.
Get ready to be inspired as we explore Beate’s rollercoaster journey from rock bottom to remarkable triumphs.
Connect with Beate Chelette Website: https://beatechelette.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beatechelette Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beate.chelette Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeateChelette
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srhbedard/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
If you’re an entrepreneur eyeing the outsourcing realm, then you’re in for a treat.
Learn how Nathan Hirsch’s journey shifted from dollars to value, from e-commerce to building an empire of virtual assistants, to exiting and finding contentment in the freedom he gained after growing the business to eight figures.
His journey spans from street smarts to business brilliance, as Nathan shares his experiences and wisdom that’s more than just numbers – it’s about crafting a life on your terms.
Connect with Nathan Hirsch
Personal Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhirsch/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathan.hirsch/
Business Social Media: EcomBalance Website: https://www.ecombalance.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecombalance/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecombalance/
AccountsBalance Website: https://accountsbalance.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accountsbalance Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accountsbalance1 Outsource School Website: https://www.outsourceschool.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/outsourceschool/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/outsourceschool1
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
As one of Australia’s most successful businesspeople, Radek Sali blends over a decade in the service industry with a lifetime of health and wellness knowledge, and pairs it with a conscious business philosophy that puts people first.
Under his helm, he transformed Swisse Wellness Group into one of the largest wellness brands in the country before negotiating a $1.7B acquisition deal with a Hong Kong-based company.
He used the proceeds to continue on his path of bringing light to the world through several other business endeavours aimed at social and environmental causes.
Connect with Radek Sali Website: https://lightwarrior.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/radeksali/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Hampus Jakobsson co-founded the company at the age of 21 with his university friends and sold it eight years later for $150 million to Blackberry. Over coffee.
While usually a 9-figure exit takes more than a year to complete, this acquisition took place in less than six weeks.
Why?
Because Hampus and his co-founders spent those eight years building the perfect product for the market, making it irresistible for Blackberry, and in turn securing an offer the team couldn’t say no to.
Connect with Hampus Jakobsson Website: https://paleblue.vc/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hampusjakobsson/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hajak Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/ Website: https://buygrowsellsummit.com/
As a self-described scaler, Kurt Uhlir has helped start and run businesses from start-up to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, been a part of over 60 transactions, and built teams across almost every continent.
He came onto the Buy Grow Sell Podcast to share some of his stories about scaling, how to recruit the right people to grow fast and effectively, what he looks for in strategic acquisitions, and how he embeds his values into everything he does.
From starting a web hosting platform in college to leading almost a billion dollar IPO and participating in dozens of acquisitions, Kurt’s a wealth of resources for any organisation looking to grow.
Connect with Kurt Uhlir Website: https://kurtuhlir.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtuhlir/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kurt.uhlir Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kurtuhlir/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kurtuhlir YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KurtUhlir
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Sophie Howard, Founder of Aspiring Entrepreneurs, has started, scaled, and sold six and seven-figure online businesses. Sophie started online with an Amazon business in 2013, which she sold for over $1 million USD in 2015.
As well as launching over 1,000 products, she has built educational programs teaching thousands of students how to sell online. She is now focusing her efforts on buying other online businesses and teaching others how to build a portfolio of income-generating assets.
Learn her secrets on buying, growing, and selling e-commerce businesses in this episode.
Connect with Sophie Howard Website: https://www.aspiringentrepreneurs.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiehowardnz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV7xz4RSPa8_pxDcXDJ83uQ
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Imagine growth so fast, you needed to double your headcount every 120 days. How do you build a sustainable business this way? More importantly, how do you exit?
In the latest episode of the Buy Grow Sell podcast, Sunny Vanderbeck, a successful entrepreneur and investor, walks us through the start, rapid growth, then exit of his business Data Return. Over three years, it grew a staggering 40% every quarter before reaching a $3 billion market capitalisation. Sunny operated at the helm throughout this unique journey and shares his roadmap for business leaders who are looking to sell.
Connect with Sunny Vanderbeck Get a copy of Sunny’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Selling-Without-Out-Sell-Business-ebook/dp/B07YLYR78F Website: https://www.satoricapital.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnyv/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/satori_capital
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Getting tips from a computer about how to act more human seems a little counterintuitive. But Shruti Kapoor’s software, Wingman, takes that role very seriously.
The application allows salespeople to get real time feedback on mannerisms, and when to pick up on social cues. The trio of founders include Shruti Kapoor, who speaks about how they developed the product, approached seeking capital, and how they went on to quickly sell to an enterprise software company.
Proof that a Wingman, is still your biggest asset no matter if you’re at the club, or behind the screen.
Connect with Shruti Kapoor Website: https://www.trywingman.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutikapoor/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wingmanforsales/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wingman_hq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/wingmanforsales YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6qVJt1k_icicaK3tX-N-oA
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Nicky Senyard never ran a tech company before, had no experience generating new markets, and didn’t know how she would fare as a CEO. Yet she sold her house in Australia, moved to Canada, bootstrapped her affiliate marketing company, Income Access, and broke even in just 9 months.
From then, she grew her business from 3 employees to 90 over 14 years, servicing over 25,000 affiliates, and then secured a $40M exit in 2016.
Her story is an authentic look at what it takes to be a leader and how to succeed in a market, even if you might not enter it as the leader.
Connect with Nicky Senyard Website: https://www.fintelconnect.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickysenyard/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fintelconnect Twitter: https://twitter.com/FintelConnect
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
JL Needham has bought, grown, and sold multiple businesses over the past few years with most of his career spent in big tech with Adobe, Google, and Amazon. From helping brands grow in Amazon’s marketplace ecosystem to renovating businesses he acquired to pass over to the next long-term owners, JL operates with a growth mindset.
His journey has taken him from one side of the negotiation table to the other as he grew and sold his business venture, Valence, then shifted over to acquiring, flipping, and selling others. Now, he implements his learnings throughout the transaction process to help him craft win-win situations for both buyer and seller.
Tune in for expert knowledge on how to get the deal done.
Connect with JL Needham Website: https://www.ascendantbrands.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlneedham1/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFBEfnJrEVnsaRT11AUf3Dw
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Anson Sowby’s hard work and business acumen had created a successful creative agency that was churning out award-winning work for some of the biggest brands in the world.
But the business hit a limit. He and his co-founder realised that in order to scale up to the next level and take on bigger clients with bigger budgets, they would need to access external capital.
When they started working with the right advisors who helped them position the business for investment and introduced a CFO, the business really accelerated. That process took over 12 months and for Anson, there were lots of learnings along the way, which he shares in detail in this latest episode of the Buy Grow Sell podcast.
Connect with Anson Sowby Website: https://www.batteryagency.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ansonsowby/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
A successful business doesn’t always have to be the flashiest one. Take Jean-Eric’s farm clean-up business, which nailed the simple need that farmers had in the Prairies of Canada.
They wanted scrap farm equipment off their property and Jean-Eric’s team was able to recycle it at scale. A true win-win for all parties involved.
But as the business grew, new challenges arose, including a partnership breakdown. The latest episode of the Buy Grow Sell podcast provides some fascinating insight into how a real-world serial entrepreneur came to realise that bringing in his business partner was a mistake – and one that was going to cost him.
Connect with Jean-Eric Plamondon Website: https://growthstrategy.ca/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-eric-plamondon/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Everyone will exit their business someday. While most business owners are looking to understand how to get the highest valuation and how to position themselves to get the best deal structure with the right buyer, Thomas Kereszti spent most of his career on the other side of those discussions, figuring out whether your business was worth the investment in the first place.
Hear directly from a corporate M&A buyer on what he looks for in acquisitions, how he structures deals, and what a strategic acquirer may find important that you might overlook. Tom talks through several business acquisitions, including his own where he shares his learnings from both ends of the table.
Connect with Thomas Kereszti Website: https://www.leadershipdisciples.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaskereszti/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-R-Kereszti/100010386214692/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tom_Kereszti YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0fQk8ge__WLTOjGJsAN_NQ Get a copy of Tom’s book, ‘C-Suite and Beyond’: https://www.leadershipdisciples.com/purchase-book/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
There are two options for growth – organic or through business acquisition. Each one comes with its own set of challenges, but for Wendy Pease, growth through acquisition made more sense. She didn’t have a ‘business-worthy’ idea and instead, bought a small, zero-employee translation service that turned over around $100K in revenue.
Eighteen years later, Wendy grew Rapport International to a global translation and marketing company that has $5M in revenue and around 10-15 employees.
This episode is great for potential business owners who want to enter the market by either starting or acquiring their first business rather than growing it from scratch.
Connect with Wendy Pease Website: https://www.rapporttranslations.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypease/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RapportInternational/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RapportIntl YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Nfd_jjzeNI8pzsSPMr0dg Linktree: https://linktr.ee/wendypease Get a copy of Wendy’s book, ‘The Language of Global Marketing’: https://www.rapporttranslations.com/the-language-of-global-marketing-sample
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
After leaving successful, high-paying jobs in the corporate world, Michael Spinosa decided to strike out on his own by founding Unleashed Technologies, a digital marketing agency that specialised in application development. However, there was one problem: No one in his life thought he had what it took.
While he bootstrapped his business from the ground up, it was not all sunshine and lollipops. Michael struggled financially, and he also struggled to find his market fit to truly grow the business. This led him on a journey of self-discovery about what it takes to be an entrepreneur.
After several key shifts in the business, a lightbulb seemed to go off with the company scaling rapidly. Michael never even thought about an exit until he received a Letter of Intent that he just couldn’t ignore.
Connect with Michael Spinosa Website: https://shield7.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikespinosa/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shield7Consulting Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSpinosa
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Gabriela Isturiz did the impossible. She built a high-growth SaaS company and sold it to a Fortune 500 company for a huge multiple…twice!
Her legal tech business, Bellefield Systems, grew to 45 employees over 7 years. Not to mention enjoyed 99% recurring revenue, 93% gross profit margins, an EBITDA margin of 38% as well as a whopping retention rate of 102%.
All that is to say is that Gaby built a very successful software company, and she lays out not just how she did it, but how you can too.
Connect with Gabriela Isturiz Website: https://thefund.vc/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielaisturiz/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabrielaisturiz
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Nick Gray didn’t like museums.
That dislike spurned the birth of ‘Museum Hack.’ A new way of touring museums led by scientists, actors, and comedians in an engaging and interactive way. Starting the business predominantly for his friends, Nick was able to grow ‘Museum Hack’ to a $3 million a year business.
From a young age, he had the entrepreneurial drive after helping the family business in the avionics industry. That entrepreneurial nature helped him to create an extremely successful business where he eventually exited through a unique shared equity model and retained 15% of the company.
Nowadays, Nick is busily creating a blueprint for hosting the perfect cocktail party and helping others expand their networks through casual events.
Connect with Nick Gray Website: https://nickgray.net/ Website: https://tripeak.com/ Website: https://party.pro/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickgraynews/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newfriend Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickgraynews/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickgraynews YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/nickgray Join Nick’s Friends Newsletter: https://nickgray.net/signup-for-email-updates/ Get a copy of Nick’s book: https://party.pro/book/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Your business is your baby, so what happens when you must let someone else make the decisions?
Whether you have a business partner or a range of investors, there is always going to be someone with a different opinion on what you should do with the business. The problem lies when you don’t hold enough clout and their opinions are what go ahead.
This is the trap of a minority shareholder, and something Erik Rind can speak in-depth about. Having been building software since before the dawn of the internet, Erik has found himself a few times in a minority shareholder role – once being forced to sell a company to another company he didn’t want to, and once being forced to step down as president.
While these were some harsh lessons, it gave Erik clarity on how to approach business sales as a majority shareholder and come up with a number (and an ethical outlook) that takes care of his other partners.
Connect with Erik Rind Website: https://imaginebc.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-rind-0aa415b/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imaginebcapp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imaginebcapp/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/imaginebcapp
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Businesses with purpose can create much bigger opportunities.
This episode centres around an entrepreneur who managed to put community first, carve out a significant market differentiator, and because of this, grew his real estate business to $1B in annual turnover before selling to newer, younger agents for almost $10M dollars.
Mark Deutschmann is a real estate entrepreneur who operated in a scant one-mile radius in Nashville, Tennessee. His business, Village Real Estate could have gone national, but instead, they funnelled money back into the community and created a thriving place to live that attracted more people (and agents) to the area, which then fuelled more growth for the company.
It was a win for Mark, a win for the community, and a win for the city that saw new life breathed into it over the two plus decades he was in operation.
Connect with Mark Deutschmann Website: https://www.villagerealestate.com/ Website: https://corenashville.com/ Website: https://nashvillecityliving.com/ Website: https://onemileradius.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-deutschmann-b999a027/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mark_deutschmann/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
For Ryan Tansom, his professional life started at 19 when the family business came knocking. He put on a suit and hit the pavement to start selling, starting his 18-year journey of growing and eventually selling the business.
After navigating tricky situations in dealing with his father in the family business, Ryan grew the company to new levels before his father decided that he wanted out.
Selling the business to a competitor meant gutting all of things he had helped to implement, but it was a formative experience that provided Ryan with crucial know-how. This experience is what he now calls upon when coaching and mentoring other entrepreneurs looking to sell.
Tune in to hear what lessons Ryan has learned from his successful and entrepreneurial career thus far and how they could help save you time, money, and effort if you’re looking to sell.
Connect with Ryan Tansom Website: https://arkona.io/ International Growth Financial Statement: https://arkona.io/intentional-growth-financial-assessment/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-tansom-4a440710/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanTansom
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Landscaping is a tough, not-so-glamourous business, but it’s one that Tom Farinacci cracked early on with his entrepreneurial drive and penchant for hard work.
After selling his first business, Tom completed a college degree, worked at national landscaping business with the sole purpose of learning their trade secrets, and then returned to what he does best. Building his own business and propelling its growth forward.
Focusing solely on strategic acquisitions from competitors in his area, Tom grew the business to achieve comfortable EBITDA margins of 15% a year.
Tune in to hear why he prioritised strategic acquisitions over organic growth, how he knew the time was right to sell, and what his motivations were for exiting the industry. Connect with Tom Farinacci II LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-farinacci/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
As most marketers will tell you, Search Engine Optimisation is a long game. It requires hard work, patience, and most of all, a keen eye for the changes in the industry. In fact, SEO is much like owning a business.
These parallels culminated in the journey of Eric Enge, a 20+ year veteran in Search Engine Marketing and a savvy business owner. Eric was the founder of the award-winning SEO agency, Stone Temple Consulting, and by 2018, the marketing services business had almost 70 employees, $9 million in annual revenue, and counted fifteen Fortune 500 level among its client base.
However, just like in SEO, there exists a ceiling, and it was around this time that Eric decided it was time to exit. See how it ranks here.
Connect with Eric Enge Website: https://www.pilotholding.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericenge/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stonetemple
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Everyone can start a business, but few can make it a successful one. And even fewer entrepreneurs know when it’s time to step aside to bring in the big guns. Tina Youngblood is that big gun.
With a PhD in accounting and over 20 years of experience in executive strategic leadership and results-oriented operational administration, Tina has developed a strategic approach to turning around businesses that has seen her succeed in various ventures across accounting, health, and SaaS.
If you’re a flagging founder who can’t seem to get to the next stage of growth, tune into this episode and learn Tina’s rules for sustainable growth.
Connect with Tina Youngblood Website: https://techaccel.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-youngblood-13262264/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tech_Accel YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4gck7vLHtIlVRzIAE9gbLw
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
For an accidental entrepreneur, Jonathan Claydon did everything right in his affiliate marketing company, Streamline.
Jon grew the business for 7 years from 1 employee to five to 35, servicing big names like Expedia, T-Mobile, and Microsoft right from the get-go. His industry expertise and market niche saw a client retention rate of 95%. This skyrocketed streamline to leaders in the industry, with Jon assessing over 20 Letters of Intent before finally accepting an offer from “frenemy” company, Acceleration Partners (who he now works for).
His top advice for entrepreneurs: Find the right buyer and everything else will fall into place.
Connect with Jonathan Claydon Website: https://www.accelerationpartners.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonclaydon/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jon.claydon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AccelerationPartners/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accelerationpar/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jon_claydon Twitter: https://twitter.com/accelerationpar
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
From theory to application and beyond, marketing professor Peter Fader did what most academics fail to do: create a successful commercial business based on what you’re doing in the classroom.
His work on consumer decision making led him to start Zodiac, a company that looked at consumer buying data to accurately predict future purchasing decisions. His data was a gold mine for entrepreneurs, but the challenge was getting business owners to see the value and trust the forecasting.
After three years of side-of desk growth, Peter and his team were working hard on scaling and bringing in new and innovative ideas, when along came an acquisition offer they couldn’t refuse from a retailer you might’ve heard of before: Nike.
Peter’s answer to the offer? Just do it.
Connect with Peter Fader Website: https://thetaclv.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterfader/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/faderp Get a copy of Peter’s new book, The Customer-Base Audit: https://whr.tn/Customer
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Whether it’s eCommerce or Influencer Marketing, David Perry has advice for all businesses on how to best acquire, engage, and retain customers.
A veteran of the gaming industry, he’s taking the lessons he learned creating #1 selling video and computer games, and translating them into successful business ventures.
David has built and sold businesses acquired by Sony, Disney, and Atari. Now, he’s shifted to eCommerce, blurring the lines between gaming and reality.
Connect with David Perry Website: https://dperry.com/ Website: https://getcarro.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dperry/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getcarro/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dperry
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Successful entrepreneur, technologist, speaker, podcast host, and pilot, James Benham is a man of many talents, but one of his greatest gifts is his ability to build bootstrapped businesses.
James took three years to develop enough cash flow to invest in building products he wanted to build, but the payoff was worth the wait. SmartBid, his construction bid management software, was first-to-market on most technology trends, staying well ahead of its venture-funded competitors. But after 12 years of funnelling all profits into the business, James came to a crossroad: He needed to scale, raise, or exit.
Learn how he built to scale, including his top takeaway tips for growing a self-funded company.
Connect with James Benham Website: https://jamesbenham.com/ Website: https://jbknowledge.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbenham/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JBKnowledge Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesmbenham/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesMBenham Twitter: https://twitter.com/jbknowledge
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
After growing her bootstrapped and self-funded alternative camping SaaS business to $100,000 in Annual Recurring Revenue, Anna Maste received a very respectable offer of 3.9 times ARR.
Rather than accepting, Anna decided to focus on exponentially growing Boondockers Welcome, capitalising on a favourable market at the time.
Two years, 2,800 hosts and 12,000 annual guest members later, she more than quadrupled their revenue before accepting a mid-seven figure offer.
Connect with Anna Maste Website: https://www.subscribesense.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-maste-9aab6315/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/skulegirl
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
After Sandy Hansen-Wolff’s husband suddenly died, she was thrust into running their regional agriculture business. Rather than balking at the task, she grew the company to $8M before selling 18 years later.
Sandy overcame a lot of challenges in this time period. From navigating her grief, to navigating being a woman in a male-dominated industry. She made a lot of mistakes along the way, but in the end, created a great business and secured a great exit.
Now, Sandy integrates these key insights as the platform for her work with high-level business leaders and entrepreneurs so that they too are empowered to move from struggling to success and profitability.
Connect with Sandy Hansen-Wolff Website: https://sandyhansenwolff.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-hansen-wolff-5568b910/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandyHansenWolff/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sandyehansen
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Three-time start-up entrepreneur, Melissa Kwan has one piece of advice for those who want to start a tech company: Don’t!
But jokes aside, Melissa’s advice is invaluable when it comes to the mindset you need to build a SaaS product, and she isn’t shy about sharing the cold hard truth.
Her real estate software, Spacio grew to the industry’s #1 open house sign-in solution by applying data analytics to open houses and helping agents automate lead capture and follow-up. When she sold to HomeSpotter in 2019, the deal terms were undisclosed, but were in the mid-seven figures.
Yet to get there, Melissa spent three years skipping meals and paycheques, and not knowing whether she mentally had what it took to get her business off the ground. But once she found the momentum, her success skyrocketed.
This is her story.
Connect with Melissa Kwan Website: https://ewebinar.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissakwan/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ewebinar Twitter: https://twitter.com/msskwan
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Shannon Susko started, scaled, and sold two high-growth technology companies in the financial services industry just six years apart.
This self-described ski bum from Whistler, Canada built a repeatable playbook that both she and her acquirers have used, as well as over 100 businesses worldwide.
In her second business, it resulted in a 60x top line sale.
If you’re looking to inject more predictable profit into your business, then tune in and learn from best-selling author, entrepreneur, and business coach, Shannon Susko.
Connect with Shannon Susko Website: https://www.metronomeunited.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonbyrnesusko/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/metronomeglobal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metronome_united/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShanByrneSusko YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtfKz1miyfoNlX9RYvtQx-A
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Are you looking to scale your business?
From team development to infrastructure to founder mindset, to just straight luck, there are so many components required to rapidly grow a business.
Our guest, Greg Alexander unlocks many of the mysteries surrounding how to take your business to the next level. And he should know.
Greg successfully built his sales consultancy firm, SBI, over 11 years, generating $30M in annual revenue and $16M in EBITDA with only 30 employees. This allowed him to sell to a private equity firm for $162M without an earn-out.
Tune in and learn not just how he did it, but also how you can take his framework and apply it in your professional services business.
Connect with Greg Alexander Website: https://www.collective54.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gpalexander/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collective54 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collective_54/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/collective_54
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
What started as a family business in Australia’s local pub scene turned into a multi-branded private equity firm with 250+ employees and a 7-venue portfolio. Stephen Hunt is the founder of Hunt Hospitality, and buying, flipping and selling pubs is his passion.
Tune in and learn how he started with a $400K investment and turned that into $50M through a strategy of innovation and acquisition, including executing multimillion-dollar deals, all the while still fostering deep roots in the communities in which he operated.
His structured approach to acquisitions is transferrable across every industry, and you will leave with a thirst for more.
Connect with Stephen Hunt Website: http://www.stephen-hunt.com.au/ Website: https://www.hunthospitality.com.au/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunthospitality/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Stephen-Hunt-111789404289990 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenhuntofficial/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenhunthosp
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Mindset is an often underrated and under-analysed component to starting a successful business. But this episode moves away from the traditional path of a business exit, and onto the one less travelled.
Dave Gold is a lawyer, author, entrepreneur, transformational mentor, and energy master who helps entrepreneurs develop healthy mindsets towards starting, scaling, and exiting businesses.
Tune in and learn how to build an authentic business model that aligns with your values, unlocking the door for a more enriching entrepreneurial experience.
Connect with Dave Gold Website: https://davegold.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-gold-6a5602b/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
From corporate slave to 7x EBITDA, James Prebble’s entrepreneurial journey was just as impressive as the businesses he helped grow.
Palladium Digital found its niche in the market by delivering digital transformation for Private Equity backed businesses. By helping unlock value drivers using technology, James was able to drive a higher multiple while also scaling up his own business to over one million pounds in annual turnover quickly.
When it came time for his own due diligence, James imparted several impactful lessons. Listen in and learn.
Connect with James Prebble Website: https://palladiumdigital.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesprebble/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PalladiumDG
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Jodie Cook capitalised on the dawn of social media, starting her digital agency, JC Social Media, in 2011. With a stable base of recurring revenue and a growing team of passionate staff, Jodie was well on her way to developing a healthy business model.
But after realising she was the bottleneck in her business, Jodie started to see how her future could look if she made herself redundant. While initially doing it so she could take a vacation, Jodie quickly learned this was the golden ticket for an entrepreneur, so when it came time to sell, she had more flexibility to create an exit on her terms.
Learn how she effectively built herself out of the business while managing to travel extensively and still turn a profit.
Connect with Jodie Cook Website: https://www.jodiecook.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cookjodie/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cookiewhirls
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
From picking up industrial waste in a truck to creating a mini bidding war for his business that resulted in a $51.5 million acquisition deal, Mike Malatesta has had quite the Cinderella story.
His journey through surviving, scaling, acquiring for growth, before finally exiting involves a lot of knowing the market, understanding realistic timeframes, and most importantly, what you want out of the deal.
His key tip to entrepreneurs: If you’re selfish and know exactly what you want, you’ll be able build the right team to deliver on it.
Learn how Mike did just that while still managing to take care of his 150 employees in the process in the latest episode of the Buy Grow Sell podcast.
Connect with Mike Malatesta Website: https://mikemalatesta.com/ Get a copy of Mike’s book: https://mikemalatesta.com/owner-shift-book-by-mike-malatesta/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemalatesta/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeMalatesta YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1nMJV0LaxvRmJkGp20raUg
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
When Jon Morris came second for his business idea in a competition, he took that $10,000 investment and decided to run with it. That is how his digital marketing agency, Rise Interactive, was born.
While the beginnings might have been humble, under Jon’s leadership, he helped Rise grow exponentially year-over-year, starting at $12,000 in sales in 2004 and ending in $24M+ before exiting in 2018.
Jon’s framework for growth is the foundation of this episode and is applicable across a variety of verticals to help business owners scale their companies.
Connect with Jon Morris Website: https://ramsayinnovations.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmorrisramsayinnovations/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RamsayInnovations/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JonBMorris YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFs3tDqN3AA8tKM2PN1Lxmg
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
From struggling to get a job out of university, to running multiple businesses across the world, Tim Burgess is an entrepreneur with a passion for people.
This passion led him and his business partner to open Shield GEO, an established global Employer of Record (EoR) provider based in Hong Kong with entities in the U.K. and Australia, and a global remote team.
After growing the company to service thousands of international workers, Tim was approached by Velocity Global, the biggest player in the industry. While the terms of this deal were undisclosed, in this episode, Tim walks you through the relationship-building elements that landed him an 8-figure deal.
Connect with Tim Burgess Website: https://shieldgeo.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgesstim/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/shieldgeo
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
From knocking on doors trying to sell his food delivery service in 2004, to having his own employees knock on his door to buy the business in 2017, Cesar Quintero’s journey from a scrappy startup to a people-led, profitable business is one a lot of entrepreneurs will relate to.
After eight years, the team surpassed $1M in revenue and quickly grew to $3 million with a 12% profit. That’s when Quintero decided to sell half of his business, valued at 4x EBITDA.
Finding his passion in people and development and pairing that with his (numerous) learnings from the first-time round, Cesar was able to grow both his second and third business to $1M in revenue in under a year.
This episode is a healthy dish of lessons for young entrepreneurs looking to grow.
Connect with Cesar Quintero Website: https://theprofitrecipe.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cesarquintero/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cesarequintero Twitter: https://twitter.com/cesarequintero
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
What do a $2 billion dollar technology company, a $400 million dollar appliances company, and a rapid-growth courier service all have in common?
One entrepreneur by the name of Jim Estill.
A serial business starter, Jim has bought, grown, and exited numerous businesses, invested, advised, and sat on boards for hundreds more, and is not looking to slow down any time soon.
Follow along on Jim’s journey from idea to execution, and from scaling to successfully exiting. It doesn’t matter what sector the business is in; Jim’s recipe is tried and true.
Connect with Jim Estill Website: https://www.danby.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimestill/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanbyAppliances Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danbyappliances/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanbyAppliance YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DanbyProducts
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
From start up, to rapid growth. Building a company that stays ahead of the bell curve is a challenge in any sector, but especially in a market that is saturated with competitors. Being a reseller on Amazon means you’re a dime a dozen, but Eytan Wiener and his business partner built a unicorn.
The two scaled Quantum Networks from $100,000 in one year, to $3M in the following, to $30M 18 months later. How? By finding a differentiator and pulling their value levers.
Tune in to learn how Eytan increased revenue by 4,566% and what tips he offers for other e-commerce businesses looking to stand out from the crowd.
Connect with Eytan Wiener Website: https://getida.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eytanwiener/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eytan.wiener/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/eytanwiener
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Before Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, there was teleconferencing.
Frank Cianciulli saw an opportunity to do teleconferencing and do it well, offering a vastly different way of doing things from his competitors.
Focusing strongly on the organisational culture of Enunciate Teleconferencing and the employees that made up the company, Frank grew the business to a $14.5 million revenue generation machine in just five years.
Tune in to hear how Frank deployed some unique strategies to grow the business quickly and how he managed his exit when another company showed interest in an acquisition.
Connect with Frank Cianciulli Website: https://wishgroup.ca/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankiewish/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wish-Group-343031396097623 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wishgroupofficial/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/frankcianciulli
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/ Register Free: https://www.buygrowsellsummit.com/a/2147503613/ZHga2cPk
Low tech, low innovation, and low capital are all terms associated with the non-profit sector. Yet with non-profits spending more than $800B a year in the United States, Cheryl Contee saw an opportunity to service those making a difference.
Her SaaS company, Attentive.ly provided social listening services for non-profits. While the tool was a success in the sector, the business was thirsty for cash, prompting Cheryl and her business partner to exit, ultimately selling to Blackbaud. Attentive.ly was the first tech startup with a black female founder in history to be acquired by a NASDAQ-traded company.
Now, the Chief Innovation Officer of The Impact Seat, which invests in women-led, and women-of-colour led innovative startups, Cheryl gives us insight into her journey as well as proves the importance of creating and running DEI companies.
Connect with Cheryl Contee Website: https://dobigthings.today/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylcontee/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherylcontee Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/we.are.dbt/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ch3ryl
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/ Register Free: https://www.buygrowsellsummit.com/a/2147503613/ZHga2cPk
Translations of business documents can make or break multi-million-dollar deals.
And that’s exactly how Michèle Hecken carved out a niche for reliable, high-quality translations between Germany and the English-speaking world. As one of Canada’s first translators for German to English services, Michèle founded ‘Alpha Translations’ and never looked back.
Focusing heavily on companies in the legal space, Michèle grew her business from the ground up, working 20-hour days before receiving an offer to sell after hitting a $5 million per year revenue figure.
Listen in to learn how she scaled up the business by making a small change, when and how she knew it was time to sell, and what her advice is to current entrepreneurs.
Connect with Michèle Hecken Website: https://www.michelehecken.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelehecken/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mhecken Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhecken
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/ Register Free: https://www.buygrowsellsummit.com/a/2147503613/ZHga2cPk
According to Kobi Simmat, business is a full contact sport.
Australian entrepreneur, investor, and a successful business advisor, Kobi is the CEO and Founder of Best Practice. He’s conducted around 20K business performance reviews, giving him unique knowledge of the workplace and the analytical skills to make sure your business scores the winning goal.
How do you get there and truly build your business? This episode strips back the big ideas and the flashy product offerings and provides listeners with small, tangible ways to increase the value of your business over time.
This methodical approach will help any new or veteran business owner identify their value levers be able to hit the field running.
Connect with Kobi Simmat Website: https://bestpractice.biz/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kobisimmat/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestpracticecertification/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestpractice.biz/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KobiSimmat YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/bestpracticetv
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/ Register Free: https://www.buygrowsellsummit.com/a/2147503613/ZHga2cPk
After dealing first-hand with how poorly digital marketing agencies were treating their customers, Wesley Mathews decided to act.
He partnered with a developer whom he had previous dealings with and hit the ground running, starting his first agency called ‘High Level Marketing’.
Beginning his entrepreneurial marketing journey in 2009, it took Wesley just over 11 years to grow ‘High Level Marketing’ from an idea to 50+ employees with revenue of over $6.5M.
That kind of rapid business scaling is something we discussed at length on this latest episode of Buy Grow Sell. Wesley’s very successful experience with growing a business at such a quick pace, ensures that he has a reputable perspective on the inner workings of growth, strategic partnerships, and all of the decisions that come with the territory.
Now as the Chief Revenue Officer of High Level Marketing after a successful strategic partnership transaction, Wesley is a natural-born entrepreneur with great advice for those who may be in a similar situation.
This episode is a must listen for any business owner or entrepreneur looking for that spark to simply start, or if you are currently thinking about partnering with a strategic stakeholder.
Connect with Wesley Matthews Website: https://www.highlevelmarketing.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleymathews/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wesley.mathews Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wesley_HLM
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Serial entrepreneur Michael Griffiths always has something on the go. Whether it’s a multi-city home tutoring business, a mineral make up brand, or a globally recognised marketing agency serving tens of thousands of clients across the world.
Having left the school system where he was a teacher for 7 years, Michael started his first business in 2009. Since then, he has built 7 businesses, and then selling 6 of them along the way.
Tune in and learn how he continuously builds successful brands regardless of the industry, and why he’s known as the leading authority worldwide on referral marketing.
Connect with Michael Griffiths Website: https://www.michaelgriffiths.com.au/ Website: http://referralmarketingguru.com.au/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/referralmarketingguru/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/michaelgriffiths Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael_referralguru/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcjsbusiness YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MichaelGriffithsreferralmarketingguru
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Andy Cabasso started his first company and sold it just three years later.
Armed with a law degree and a vision to help legal businesses have a more professional digital marketing presence, Andy started JurisPage.
After growing the business through an annual recurring revenue business model, and a reluctance to deviate from packaged offerings (including turning away potential clients who wanted bespoke and customised solutions), JurisPage was acquired by Uptime Legal just three years into their endeavour.
Andy’s unique perspective on strategic acquisitions and the transaction around this process makes for a great discussion on the latest episode of Buy Grow Sell.
Currently the founder of two more companies (Postaga & Offsprout), Andy is a born entrepreneur who provides some great advice and insight into how you can get acquired so quickly after starting out and what you should and shouldn’t be doing in order to succeed.
This episode is a must listen for any business owner or entrepreneur who may be looking to get acquired or simply looking for a spark of inspiration.
Connect with Andy Cabasso Website: https://andycabasso.com/ Website: https://postaga.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcabasso/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acabasso Twitter: https://twitter.com/andycabasso YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZXO-MznYg8cJZc1_e11Rhw
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
All roads lead to marketing. At least, they did for award-winning entrepreneur, marketer, and investor, Rachit Dayal.
As Singapore’s first Google-certified advertising and analytics professional, Rachit founded Happy Marketer in 2005 and spent his career avoiding the traditional advertising landscape to focus on the “ignored” areas of marketing, including analytics, CRMs, and SEO.
Through their proprietary approaches to digital marketing, Rachit and his team have helped more than 5,000 executives grow their business, while growing his own from $0 to $10 million in sales before a successful acquisition by Dentsu Asia.
Tune in and learn how to future-proof your business, prepare for a strategic acquisition, and navigate the emotional turmoil associated with leaving a lasting legacy.
Connect with Rachit Dayal Website: https://www.merkleinc.com/au/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachitdayal/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachit.dayal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merkle/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachitdayal
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Working with some of the biggest brands in the business, Greg Kihlstrom has authored books, started multiple businesses, and written for leading business publications like Forbes. At the age of 25, he started his first company to fill a niche in the early days of digital marketing.
Greg’s newest book, The Center of Experience (2020) talks about how customer and employee experience can be operationalised into a cohesive brand experience.
Currently the CEO and Co-Founder at CareerGig, after selling his digital experience agency, Carousel30, in 2017, Greg is well-positioned to discuss the intricacies of acquiring and selling businesses.
This episode is a must listen for any business owner, looking to learn the skills needed to sell a business and how this can affect the personal relationships of those involved in the process.
Connect with Greg Kihlstrom Website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theagile_brand Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theagilebrand/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theagile_brand YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeYwwPSwmXvmK_YePzsCCFA
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Luke Hohmann is one of the good people in tech. Instead of building companies to flip, he builds companies that make the world better. A serial entrepreneur, Luke has left the boardroom for the schoolyard, and it’s all because of a concept called Participatory Budgeting.
Participatory Budgeting is a global movement, endorsed by the UN, in which communities decide how to invest real money. His last business, Conteneo helped global organisations like BMW, Salesforce, eBay, Transamerica, and many others manage $3 billion. Now, Luke wants to take $1B and give it to children through his latest business startup, FirstRoot.
Tune in and learn more about how to make better business decisions, faster, while also uncovering Luke’s secret plan for the future of business.
Connect with Luke Hohmann Website: https://firstroot.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukehohmann/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukehohmann YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYjaSvgnhEaahIE2WLubezA
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Wally Akacha operates in absolutes. He knew from the age of five he wanted to be a civil engineer. He then entered into a civil engineering firm as Employee #1.
With no plan to exit, Wally grew through the ranks from General Manager to Managing Director, successfully stabilising cashflow and growing the business 25% yearly. Twelve years later, turning over $25M in revenue, he sold it to a listed entity.
Follow along on his journey as he honed and developed his leadership skills, figured out how to manage a team’s expectations through an acquisition process, and dive deeper into the nitty gritty details of team transitions.
This episode is a must listen for any business owner, but especially if you’re operating in the civil space.
Connect with Wally Akacha LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wally-akacha-3148ab12/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realbusinessmatters/ Website: https://realbusinessmatters.com.au/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
COVID-19 has accelerated the shift of every aspect of our lives to be online. It is the standard for business owners now, not the expectation, that you must have a strong online presence. So as a business owner, how do you evolve your services to cater to a growing digital audience?
Today’s guest is Ronnie Teja, a Canadian entrepreneur who’s deployed a successful growth via acquisition strategy to capture his fair share of the internet market. He grew his first business Branzio, an eCommerce store for watches, organically. Since then, he’s acquired 15 different businesses and online sites to build a profitable digital ecosystem.
You’ll learn about the different approaches he’s taken to acquiring new sites, as well as how he’s adapted his strategies to be future-proof through COVID-19 and beyond.
This episode is a must listen for anyone looking to start or improve their online business.
Connect with Ronnie Teja Website: https://branzio.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronniesteja/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/branziowatches/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/branziowatches/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/roaringronny YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs-rUWXFdivFQlhQHry6EOw
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
People are the heart of your business, and our guest, Dave Molenda knows this better than most. After a 30+ year career growing his business to $10M in annual sales, he exited in order to follow his passion of helping other business owners thrive.
In today’s episode, Dave dishes great tips on how to find the right people, build the right people-centric processes, and implement the right partnership strategies that will work together to grow a successful business.
Connect with Dave Molenda Website: https://www.positivepolarity.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmolenda/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Positivepolarity/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
What do elite sports, the military, and the buy, grow, sell cycle all have in common?
Structure. And structure is something our latest guest, Lee Hackett specialises in. Starting out as a professional footballer for Wigan Athletic FC, Lee pivoted to the corporate world before entering his brother’s business, CMS, where he helped grow the business 4-5x in the four years he was there.
Since then, he has successfully grown 3 companies to $10M+ in sales and engineered trade sales to FTSE200 listed corporations. From professional footballer to professional businessman, learn about Lee Hackett’s journey from setting up plays to setting up management teams, developing start-ups, and growing through acquisitions.
Connect with Lee Hackett Website: https://bluprintx.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehackett/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BluprintX Twitter: https://twitter.com/bluprint_x YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BluprintX
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Rajiv Lamba is an entrepreneur with proven track record of scaling a startup from $0 to $14M in sales. He has one successful exit, and he is now scaling his second Enterprise SaaS startup from $0 to $4.4M ARR in 3 years.
Rajiv isn’t in a hurry. He lives and breathes by the cycle of building up, scaling and selling to strategic acquirers, and he wants other business owners to slow down and adopt this mindset as well.
With one business, Kadence, grown successfully from $1.5M to $14M across multiple counties, he’s restarted that cycle with his newest startup venture: an AI-driven consumer research business that’s on the cutting edge of innovation in the sector.
Tune into this episode and learn how by repeating the same patterns Rajiv is able to grow consistently profitable, sustainable businesses, ripe for acquisition.
Connect with Rajiv Lamba Website: https://www.surveysensum.com/ Website: https://neurosensum.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajiv-lamba/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurveySensum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surveysensum/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/surveysensum YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/surveysensum
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
What do an electrical engineering degree, degree in Mandarin, law degree, and an MBA all have in common?
They all belong to our next guest, Devin Miller who’s built as many businesses as he has degrees. Devin has founded and co-founded several 7 and 8 figure companies. He has also founded his own patent and trademark law firm, Miller IP Law.
Devin is the type of entrepreneur who has 10 new ideas for breakfast, throws out 20 before dinner, and has another 10 by the time his head hits the pillow.
Learn how he vets these ideas and turns them into profitable business ventures – many worth 7, 8, and 9 figures. You’ll follow along on his journey as he ideated and built his first Diabetes Wearables business, as well as what he came up against during his merger with another business entity. This episode is jam-packed with useful tidbits on market validation, monetisation, and patents – of which he happens to be an expert.
Connect with Devin Miller Website: https://milleripl.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/millerip/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyDHIwDZ7WDNDc2H4k4uhbA
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Camilla Bowhill built, and then sold her Scandinavian wholesale, retail and online business in gifts, homewares and fashion, Nordic Fusion, in about 2018.
This business prides itself on stocking original brands, with everything sourced from Scandinavia. The store showcases brands and designers that have been around since the 1950s, as well as new labels.
The Swedish entrepreneur brought a taste of Scandinavia to Australia, successfully growing a retail, wholesale and e-commerce store. But after 15 years of slow and steady growth, and $2.5M in turnover later, Camilla decided she had enough.
Learn about the different phases of her business growth, from navigating business partners, the rise of online shopping, and of course the rigours of due diligence for SMEs.
Connect with Camilla Bowhill Website: https://www.sandcastlefinance.com.au/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilla-bowhill-37390556/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
In this episode, we meet with Mark Steadman, a pioneer of the podcast industry.
Mark’s serious about podcasts, and his passion for the industry and for his fellow podcasters took him on an incredible, decade long journey of discovery. After creating, in his words, “the world’s most technically advanced podcast that no one listened to,” Mark decided to change lanes and begin his own hosting platform.
In 2016, Mark started Podiant, a podcast hosting, analytics, and distribution company. In the spring of 2021, he sold that business to Castos.
Dive deeper into how he discovered his competitive edge in the market, as well as some of the big mistakes he made along the way. Not only will you learn the fundamentals of how to set up a great podcast for your business, but you’ll also learn how he turned a passion project into the perfect acquisition for every party involved, all within six years.
Connect with Mark Steadman Website: https://origin.fm/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarksteadman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OriginPodcasts/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amarksteadman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/amarksteadman YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVq_4L7UhOVXbi9bkv8RxuA
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Tune in for not just a story of a lifetime, but a story of two, or maybe three lifetimes.
Our latest guest, Heidi Dening’s story is one that will grab your attention. She recovered from childhood paralysis, was abducted and held at gunpoint, and even survived almost being burnt alive when petrol bombs were thrown through her windows. But one thing that pervaded these instances was her courage, and that courage followed her on her entrepreneurial journey.
She relied on it to quit her stable, teaching job to move her personal training company, Jump Start, out of her garage. Her courage allowed her to scale up to 15 trainers and support staff, become the president of her industry association, and 17 years later in 2015, sell Jump Start for the price AND the terms she asked for.
Heidi was recently chosen for the NSW Government’s Inspirational Women showcase, and has been awarded Westpac’s International Women’s Day Local Hero Award. She has also recently been named ‘Best International Keynote Speaker’ in the Asia Pacific region at the Influential Businesswoman Awards, is a best-selling author, and often appears in the media as an expert on resilience.
Connect with Heidi Dening Website: https://heididening.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heididening/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeidiDening/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heididening/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
In this episode, we sit down with Tyler Martin, a CPA by trade who has literally worked with thousands of businesses over his years. Not only did Tyler build an accounting practice, which he eventually sold, he also bought into a software engineering firm that he grew from $5M in revenue to around $25M, before selling to a multi-billion dollar acquirer.
When Tyler left a cushy job to start his own business, most of his family thought he was crazy. But after building and selling two of his own businesses, the last one for an 8-figure pay check, Tyler has developed a taste for exits.
Tyler chats through the ins and outs of that deal, as well as provides sage advice for entrepreneurs thinking of, or in the process of exiting. His golden ticket to success: making sure your business is always sellable.
Connect with Tyler Martin Website: https://thinktyler.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinktyler/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkTyler/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/think_tyler/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/think_tyler YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn5tm5AW0f6cPAIEqt_cTow
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Pete Martin is genetically coded to be an entrepreneur. And with four businesses built, scaled, and sold under his belt, plus another two currently active, there’s no doubt today’s guest knows his way around an exit.
Today on the show, we speak to Pete about EntryPoint Consulting. He grew that business for 11 years, to 34 staff before selling to KPMG.
Traditionally, similar businesses trade for low multiples, but Pete sold for 12x EBITDA AND with no earn-out. Was this a unicorn? Or does Pete have a magic recipe for successful exits?
Tune in and find out.
Connect with Pete Martin Website: https://about.me/pete_martin Website: https://askmyboard.com/ Website: https://votem.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petegmartin/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/askmyboard/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/VotemPete YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu7ocy516GMuqVFDEZV4PRw
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
When Tyler Jefcoat’s company grew to more than 100 employees in just three to four years, he was convinced that success for him meant being the CEO of a $100M company with over 500 employees.
But after an offer came in from a private equity group for more than five times EBITDA, and things with Tyler’s business partner turned pear shaped, he learned some valuable lessons about how to set up a business partnership from the get-go.
Tyler has taken those lessons and now helps other business owners sell their companies, totalling more than $100 million per year in e-commerce sales. Tune in for lessons, laughs, and a long reaching look at the evolution of e-commerce.
Connect with Tyler Jefcoat Website: https://www.selleraccountant.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerjefcoat/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SellerAccountant Twitter: https://twitter.com/SellerAccountan YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfIH3Puf4jXhT1F1EcTIVBg
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Joining the podcast today is Terry Dry. Tune in for the delightful tale he tells of music, mayhem, and the rise of digital marketing during the late 90s and 2000s as co-founder of Fanscape, one of the very first social media marketing companies on the scene.
Yes, before Facebook. Yes, even before MySpace.
Terry and his partner, Larry, grew Fanscape from an initial $10K investment to an eight-figure acquisition by Omnicom, but not before they pivoted several times, made multiple mistakes, and finally came to his ‘a-ha’ moment that it was time to sell the business.
You’ll learn how he landed on his feet after a rather tumultuous financial period, and he’ll leave you with some healthy tips on how to navigate the complex world of earn-outs.
Connect with Terry Dry Website: https://www.futureproofadvisors.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrydry/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Terry_Dry
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Have you ever thought about going into business with a good friend? Steve Grace did, and he doesn’t recommend it. For as many times as we’ve heard a partnership success story, Steve’s experience proves that there’s always an exception to the rule.
In this episode, we’ll cover how Steve first got into business, and how he ended up partnering with a good colleague and friend. Having previously sold a company for a seven times multiple, and with shared backgrounds in recruitment and complementary leadership skills, Steve’s partnership seemed like a success. Another two years, a friendship breakdown, and barely enough communication to properly exit or sell, Steve’s advice about getting out before a full-blown breakdown needs to be heard by every entrepreneur.
Discussing the necessary agreements, negotiations, and brokers to have in place, this episode is full of lessons hard learned during the exit process.
Connect with Steve Grace Website: https://www.thenudgegroup.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegrace/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteveGraceG YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs-cXoQLn4CTrBdnxuENdPQ
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Matt Alderton is the Owner and Founder of Bx, Alderton Enterprises, and the Founder of Integrated Workforce Solutions, as well as a number of 6 and 7 figure startups.
Formerly the owner of multiple retail and hospitality businesses, as well as being a #1 best-selling author, Professional Speaker, Coach, and Small Business Expert, Matt was named Business Person of the Year in 2015, NSW Business Leader in 2016, and Finalist Australian Business Entrepreneur. BxNetworking was a Finalist in the Telstra Business Awards in 2018 and 2019, and Matt was named NSW Business Leader in the NSW Business Chamber Awards in 2019.
Great at spotting gaps in the market and finding a solution to solve the problem, Matt is the guy you want to talk to about scaling your business, accelerated growth, valuation, and how to exit the right way. Having gone into business by first trying to solve a problem for himself (that clearly caught on), Matt sold his first business for a 10 times multiple worth over $16M.
Agreeing that selling to a public company is a win-win situation for both the seller and the buyer, we chat about the ins and outs of valuing a business, the acquisition mindset, multiples, and what you can do to shape your story 1-2 years before you exit. If you’ve ever wondered how some sellers negotiate 10-20 times EBITDA when they go—and why multiples are one of the keys to selling success—this episode is for you.
Connect with Matt Alderton Website: http://mattalderton.com.au/ Website: https://bxnetworking.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattalderton22/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattAldertonBx Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattalderton/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattAlderton22
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Tina Tower started her first business at the age of 20, an enterprise that went from being a small suburban tutoring centre and educational toy store, to becoming a licence program, and then a franchise. After five years of franchising, Tina opened 35 Begin Bright centres across Australia that employed 120 staff.
After Begin Bright was acquired by an international education company in 2016, she started coaching other people on how to scale their service-based businesses.
In this episode, Tina shares her advice if you’re thinking about signing an earn-out – imagine the worst case scenario (even the things you think no one could possibly do), and the one thing she would prioritise if she were to exit all over again (hint: don’t tie your buyout or earnings to anything performance related).
Connect with Tina Tower Website: https://www.tinatower.com/ Website: http://milliondollarmicrobusiness.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-tower-b28a5136/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TinaTowerAu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tina_tower/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tina_tower YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7go9J55muB2DlKLL5XO-vg
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Scotty Schindler is a businessman and keen surfer, proudly from the town of Sawtell, in New South Wales, Australia.
Scotty was the founder and CEO of ReNet, a PropTech business focused on residential real estate. He started the business in 2000 with just one single property listing, but by the time Scotty left the business in 2017, ReNet managed 900,000+ properties and over $1 trillion in real estate across Australia and New Zealand.
In this episode, Scotty shares the one thing that was his core focus as he built his business, and all the challenges that come with selling your business to a global media giant. He talks about what steps you can take to double the value of your business, and how other companies can learn to scale.
Connect with Scotty Schindler Website: https://www.scottyschindler.com/ Website: https://www.system1357.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottyschindler/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuccessHubSawtell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottyschindler/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_YLINqZeVefJrLNrjjhHg
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Kickstarting, selling, acquiring, and merging several companies with his wife, Matt Raad has built a life for himself in the Australian countryside doing what he loves. Believing that business is the vehicle through which you can realise the life of your dreams, we talk about the importance of clearly visualising the kind of life you want, and then creating a company that supports it.
Among other topics of conversation, Matt dives into the two key things that make a great business transaction, and why he recommends asking yourself how you’re going to exit your business from day one (even if you have no plans to jump ship).
Connect with Matt Raad Website: https://ebusinessinstitute.com.au/ Website: https://mattandlizraad.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-raad/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattandLizRaad Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMattRaad YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mattandlizraad
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Craig Daley was the Founder and CEO of Comfort Medical Supply, a nationally-accredited home medical equipment company that grew to national acclaim and a 3-time recipient of the Inc 500, “Fastest Growing Privately-Held Companies in America” award. Under his guidance, the company formed with $20,000 in 2003 and grew to $12 million in 10 years.
After a successful acquisition of Comfort by a private equity group in 2011, and continuing his tenure with Comfort as Chairman and CEO, Daley resigned in early 2013.
In this episode, you will find out the ups and downs of including a holdback in a private equity sale (and why it can be such a shock for businesses with lower turnover), why it’s important to have your company ducks in a row before you go to market (even if the transaction period will take 12 months or more), what Craig recommends nailing down to help navigate your business sale negotiations, and the one (big) thing you need to clear up if you’re going to stay on and work post-sale.
Connect with Craig Daley Website: https://www.pmg-consult.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/interwealth/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/daley_craig
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
If you’ve ever thought about how you can better find your target market and close every sale, Andy Kyiet is the guy for you. Driven by informed decisions based on facts, not assumptions, Andy’s current and previous successes working for, partnering, and leading companies have given him firsthand insight into just how well his business tactics and strategies can work.
In this episode, you will find out Andy’s reflections on navigating negotiations without help the first time (and why it was a good thing that the deal fell through), and the catalyst that led to getting an advisory team on board for finally selling his first listed company to a Motorola distributor – and the initial payments, pay out, and £1 provision that was tied to the deal.
Connect with Andy Kyiet Website: https://www.demandflow.com.au/ Website: https://marketingdatafitness.com.au/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-kyiet-9796a5/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Now exited after 20 years of hard work and dedication, Peter Hooker reflects on his time as Co-Founder and CEO.
If you’ve ever considered the value of Intellectual Property and having patented assets as part of your business portfolio, this episode is for you. Believing that IP ownership is one of the single most valuable assets a seller can bring to a potential sale, Peter talks through all sides of a product-related business from securing wide profit margins, to distribution, and diversification success.
In this episode, you will also find out how Peter and his business partner used an acquisition strategy to grow their business, the key to achieving gross margin in the high 60% range, and why it makes sense to start thinking of your exit earlier when it comes to all the moving parts you need to consider.
Connect with Peter Hooker Website: https://www.yourculturestrategy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepeterhooker/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Christian Boucousis built a multimillion dollar enterprise that protected civilians and supported the post-war Afghanistan rebuild. After returning to Australia and learning the hard way on how not to exit a business, Christian sought to share his experiences with other entrepreneurs.
In this episode, you will hear about how Christian built his first business from zero to 200 million in 3.5 years, how a business partner can ruin your company, and how to rebuild after your business fails.
Connect with Christian Boucousis Website: https://afterburner.com.au/ Website: https://fewpodcast.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-boo-boucousis/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fewpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fewpodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw7TjXBTWsgApIiJR6dL__g
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Inspired by his fellow entrepreneurs building businesses, tech startups, and SaaS subscriptions worldwide, Raj Goodman Anand looks to well-known mentors and teachers before turning inward to get the job done.
With one successful exit under his belt and a growing business on the horizon, Raj shares the lessons on how to build and sell a business. Now much more well versed in traditional and innovative business models, pricing, and negotiation strategies, we talk about how his value received for his first sale could have been much higher with the right broker.
Connect with Raj Goodman Anand Website: http://www.goodmanlantern.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajanand/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RajAnand
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Mike Lander is a next level expert when it comes to buying, building, and selling multiple 7-figure businesses. Now leading other business owners through the art of successful negotiations, Mike’s experience as both a Procurement Director buying over £400m of services for clients and buying/selling a number of companies as an entrepreneur is helping other up-and-coming entrepreneurs grow their empires through acquisitions and exits.
Steadfastly believing in the importance of finding, dominating, and defending your niche, tune in to this episode to learn more about Mike’s tried, tested, and true strategy about acquiring businesses, the benefit of scale when it comes to a buy and build strategy, the magic number for EBITDA, the two critical things you need to understand when it comes to selling, and his advice on how to start gathering information if you are an entrepreneur looking to build a business to sell.
Connect with Mike Lander Website: https://piscari.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikelander/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Piscari-100545984632279 Twitter: https://twitter.com/PiscariLTD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpVQl9dJRJBXH1Tln5_cVyA
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Kerry Boulton is a serial entrepreneur having bought, built, and sold a number of her own companies. She’s had immense success, and her fair share of challenges. But what is fascinating about Kerry is how she has managed to overcome adversity at almost every stage of her life, and still achieve amazing and life changing results.
In this episode, Kerry shares the details around her first company – how she managed to get investors onboard to buy it, and then went on to drive immense growth, and finally sell the business. What was really interesting is that while she achieved fantastic results from this deal, she reflects on how she would do things differently if she had her time again, with some critical tips on how to maximise the value of your company, and how to structure a better deal.
In fact, there are so many tips and words of advice in this episode. You will have a lot to take away.
Connect with Kerry Boulton Website: http://www.theexitstrategygroup.com.au/ Book: https://freeexitstrategybook.com.au/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/businessvaluebuildermelbourne/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KerryBoultonTheExitStrategyGroup/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KerryBoulton
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Ready to scale your business in the fastest way possible? Then acquisitions should be a serious consideration in your strategy. Conversely, if you are a business owner that wants to sell one day, then you will probably want to get into the mind of a seasoned acquisitions professional.
In this episode, we meet Dean Tavener who helped his financial services firm grow from $450M in funds under management to 1.8B by acquiring 5 companies in 18 months.
If you’re interested in learning more about the financial, legal, and human resources ramifications that come with buying and integrating in such a short amount of time, this episode is for you. From full company takeovers to client books alone, Dean has seen all of the ups, downs, and challenges that can come with taking on and merging multiple businesses into one.
Connect with Dean Tavener Website: https://www.pixii.com.au/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deantavener/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pixiiau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pixiiau/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/pixiiau
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
When does exiting your business become a means to an end? Luke Brice is a former policeman turned entrepreneur. Having started and sold a gardening business, he co-founded a security company that has now diversified into a range of other services. Like most people, Luke has had his share of challenges in life, but has discovered a real passion for business.
Luke’s high spirited approach to life and business is the perfect example of recognising your best qualities and putting them to good use. If you want to hear from a business owner who realised that what set him apart in the traditional workforce is the very thing propelling him through entrepreneurship, you won’t want to miss this episode.
Connect with Luke Brice Website: https://www.bluelightgroup.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukebrice1/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueLGroup Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluelightgrp/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bluelightgrp
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Diane Prince has an amazing story of starting her first business in the back of her house, then growing it to $50M in revenue over 6 years, before selling it to a public company. Since then, she has co-founded, built, and exited another five companies.
Diane knows the rush, and the fear, of creating a business. She has scaled from zero to million-dollar weekly sales. What she has done in business allowed her to travel the world, build homes that were featured in magazines, meet tons of incredible people, and got to spend most of her 30’s retired.
If you’re interested in learning from a bonafide serial entrepreneur who can coach, consult, and teach from first-hand experience, you won’t want to miss this episode.
Connect with Diane Prince Website: https://dianeprince.co/ The Total Team Makeover Program: http://totalteammakeover.com/simon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianeprincejohnston/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedianeprince/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatswithdiane YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLNcfeJwsAL8m66K-eWEnbA
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
Fred Schebesta has to be one of Australia’s coolest and most successful entrepreneurs. Having sold his first business, Freestyle Media, for $1.3M at the ripe old age of 22, Fred and his business partner co-founded one the world’s leading comparison websites, Finder.com. The business now operates sites in over 80 countries, gets around 10 million visitors per month, and has around 500 employees. At present Finder.com is valued at over half a billion dollars.
In this episode, Fred reflects on his first ventures as we discuss where he succeeded and where things did not work out. We cover everything from how Fred got into self-employment through his first business sale. From there, we discuss how Finder achieved massive success and the growing pains that came with it.
Connect with Fred Schebesta Website: https://www.fredschebesta.com/ Website: https://www.finder.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredschebesta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fredschebesta TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fred.schebesta Clubhouse: @fredschebesta Join The Disruptors’ Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12205644/ Get a copy of Fred's book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Go-Live-principles-launch-global/dp/1922611042/
Connect with Simon Bedard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/business-sales-sydney/ Website: https://buygrowsell.com/ Website: https://exitadvisory.com.au/
