Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks to Jeremy Yamaguchi ( https://x.com/jeremyyamaguchi ) about how he acquired 10 companies in 18 months.

Show notes:
0:00 How Jeremy built and exited 3 home services businesses
5:48 Why “boring” home services were a massive tech opportunity
8:11 Why he chose venture for Lawn Love + the YC story
12:41 Why home services are still wildly fragmented and why most founders misunderstand the space
13:59 Sponsor: CapitalPad (backing searchers + proprietary deal access)
17:36 Game selection
27:23 Cabana thesis: national pool brand via M&A + ops + vertical software
28:45 Sponsor: SpaceBar Studios (35,000 newsletter subs in 90 days guarantee)
34:48 10 deals in 18 months, 4x YoY growth
59:45 Only buy from good-faith sellers

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

This one hire is something all profitable, cash-flowing traditional businesses can do. Yes, it can be a significant investment -- great specialists aren’t cheap -- but in the right setup, it can completely change the trajectory of a company.

I share two real-world examples of owner-operated, non-glamorous businesses that hired a Chief Investment Officer to professionally manage excess cash. In both cases, capital allocation quietly became the dominant profit engine, generating the majority of group earnings while the core operations remained stable and conservative.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 The hidden problem of excess cash in profitable businesses
1:55 When reinvestment, M&A, and dividends all stop making sense
2:00 Hiring a Chief Investment Officer
3:10 Case study: a fruit importer that turned cash into its main profit engine
4:40 Case study: a family manufacturer where capital allocation drove 80% of profits
6:45 Why capital allocation becomes the real growth engine over time

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

Follow Mikk/PrivateEquityGuy on Twitter: ⁠⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

In this episode, Todd Saunders shares how one small group of customers with much better retention changed the direction of his entire business. Instead of chasing trends or going broader, he went deep into a simple, overlooked niche -- independent flooring retailers -- and ended up building the core software used across the industry.

Todd explains why brand and community mattered more than features, how Facebook groups and events became his main growth drivers, and how that approach helped him roll up 8 niche software companies, grow past $30M in revenue, and exit for $100M+.

Show notes:
0:00 From Google to flooring software
5:19 The retention data that changed everything
7:44 The bold pivot (and why revenue collapsed first)
8:37 8 acquisitions lead to a platform build
13:35 Sponsor: CapitalPad
15:40 51% brand, 49% product (the real moat)
18:58 The Facebook group engine
25:05 FloorCon: turning community into a movement
28:12 Sponsor: Spacebar Studios
31:09 The “great idea” that nearly blew up the business
40:07 Buying niche software: relationships vs outreach
44:03 Integration: the stuff nobody tells you
57:47 His founder filter: “I know in 5 minutes”
59:22 Hospitality vs service (the lesson that explains everything)

Sponsors:
https://capitalpad.com/
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquire

Follow Mikk/PrivateEquityGuy on Twitter: ⁠⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.