Buyers and Builders

How to Build a Roll-Up to 8-Figure Revenue | Nathan Lindley Interview 06.07.2026 49min

Nathan Lindley is the CEO of Lindley Home Services, an HVAC platform that has completed 11 acquisitions across Texas. But this story almost ended before it began... After acquiring his first two companies with an SBA loan, Nathan watched revenue collapse, burned through his cash, nearly lost his father's retirement savings and came dangerously close to bankruptcy. The turning point was a complete rethink of incentives, compensation, and how to build an acquisition platform that actual...

13 Acquisitions and Why Permanent Capital Beats Private Equity | Chris Rolls of PieLab Capital 24.06.2026 48min

Chris Rolls is the founder of PieLAB Capital, a holding company with nine portfolio companies built through 13 acquisitions. After building and selling multiple businesses, Chris entered private equity to learn the investing side of the game. But he eventually became convinced that the traditional PE model forces investors to sell their best businesses too early. That realization led him to build a permanent capital holding company inspired by Berkshire Hathaway, Constellation Software, Tran...

A $6.5M Estimate in 23 Minutes: How AI Is Rewiring SMBs | David Flickinger Interview 15.06.2026 50min

In this episode, David Flickinger, founder of Vellm.ai, joins Mikk Markus to explain how his journey from Marine Corps officer to AI implementation shaped his perspective on technology, and how business owners, private equity professionals, search fund operators, and CEOs can move beyond using Claude and ChatGPT as a simple productivity tool and begin building AI infrastructure that creates real enterprise value. Drawing on years of experience deploying AI solutions inside operating companie...

90+ Acquisitions, 30% Revenue CAGR, 35% Book Value Growth | Brett Kelly Interview 07.06.2026 46min

Brett Kelly is the founder and CEO of Kelly Partners Group. Since founding the firm in 2006, Brett has completed more than 90 acquisitions, compounded revenue at over 30% annually and built a business expected to generate roughly $50 million in EBITA in 2026. Timestamps: 0:00 Brett Kelly's early years and losing his job at 22 3:57 Writing to 80 successful Australians while unemployed 9:13 The moment Brett decided to start his own firm 12:24 Launching Kelly Partners with a clear long-term vis...

How We Bought 14 Businesses and Built a $120M HoldCo | Andrea Allegrini of Lindbergh 22.05.2026 50min

Andrea Allegrini is one of the key operators behind one of Europe’s most fascinating small-cap acquisition stories. Lindbergh is building what could become the country’s first national HVAC maintenance platform through a disciplined roll-up strategy focused on fragmented, family-owned businesses. In this conversation, Andrea explains how Lindbergh evolved from a logistics operator into a serial acquirer, why Italy’s HVAC market is such an attractive hunting ground, how the company structure...

How We Bought 160 Businesses and Built a $1.5B HoldCo at 33 and 35 | Ramsey Sahyoun of Evergreen 13.05.2026 58min

Ramsey Sahyoun shares how Evergreen grew from a Berkshire-inspired idea into a $1.5B revenue, $250M EBITDA HoldCo with 160 acquisitions. We discuss proprietary sourcing, decentralization, talent, value creation, MSPs, and the lessons behind building one of America’s most interesting acquisition machines. Timestamps: 0:00 Evergreen’s scale and long-term hold model 2:06 Discovering private equity and buying private companies 4:14 Meeting Jeff Totten at Alpine Investors 5:53 Evergreen’s first ...

35+ Acquisitions, $1.3B Exit and Backing 80+ Searchers | Mark Sinatra of ETA Equity 07.05.2026 1h 6min

Mark Sinatra has lived the full search fund journey: discovering ETA at Wharton, acquiring Staff One HR, surviving the 2008 crisis, scaling the business, selling to Oasis Outsourcing, and later helping build ETA Equity. In this episode, Mark shares what he learned from nearly a decade as a search CEO, why talent unlocked the business, how he survived the hardest years, and what he now looks for after backing 80+ searchers and 35+ acquisitions. Timestamps: 0:00 Mark Sinatra’s journey from se...

What 137 Acquisitions Taught Me About Operational Excellence | Robert Irving Interview 27.04.2026 51min

In this episode, Robert Irving of Buffalo Growth Partners shares what he learned from building a fire protection business from zero to $20M in revenue, selling it to private equity, rolling equity, and then helping execute a 137-company rollup. Timestamps: 0:00 Why PE value creation is harder than it sounds 1:52 From fire protection operator to $20M in revenue 4:09 The three sales roles that drive B2B growth 6:25 Building hospitals, data centers, and complex fire systems 8:07 Selling the com...

Buying Three Founder-Led SMEs: Lessons from the Trenches | Simon Plummer Interview 18.04.2026 59min

Simon Plummer is the co-founder of Arbor Permanent Owners, a holding company built for long-term ownership. In this episode, Simon drawing on his experience acquiring and operating three founder-led SMEs, he shares a practical playbook for the first year of ownership: - how to settle a team, - build trust, - create momentum, - improve sales, - think about pricing, - and know when to invest for growth. We also discuss why investor alignment matters so much in small business, what makes found...

The Buffett-Munger Introduction That Changed Everything 12.04.2026 25min

Why networks are one of the most underrated advantages in the lower middle market, and how to build them. We explore how trust, introductions, persistence, and long-term generosity can create better deal flow, stronger relationships, and a real competitive edge for buyers, builders, and investors. This episode is heavily inspired by the wisdom of Alix Pasquet, a Managing Partner at Prime Macaya Capital Management. Timestamps: 0:00 Why Networks Matter More in a Crowded Lower Middle Market 1:...

From Management Buyout to Fund of Funds | P. V. Ramanathan (Ram) Interview 05.04.2026 1h 13min

In this episode, I sit down with P.V. Ramanathan, or Ram, to unpack the story of how he helped lead a management buyout of a struggling cathodic protection business in 2003 and turned it into Corrosion Technology Services ( https://ctscp.com/ ). Himself local to Dubai, Ram's company, CTS, includes 10 companies operating across 8 countries and 3 regions. The free cash flow generation gave Ram the ability to build Neeti Fund, a fund-of-funds built around a simple but highly selective strategy:...

9 Add-Ons in 24 Months | Dan Lifshits of Dwelly Interview 28.03.2026 34min

Dan Lifshits, co-founder of Dwelly, explains how he is building an AI-enabled roll-up in the UK lettings market by acquiring independent agencies and modernizing them with software. Dwelly has completed 9 acquisitions in just 24 months, combining a buy-and-build strategy with a technology-first operating model designed to improve service for landlords and tenants while making agency operations far more efficient. In this episode, we go deep on why lettings is such an attractive category for...

How We Built IDUN Industrier: 20 Acquisitions and 60x+ P/E Ratio 24.03.2026 20min

In this episode, we break down IDUN Industrier, a Swedish serial acquirer that has completed 20 acquisitions to date and now trades at roughly a 65x P/E multiple — an extraordinary valuation for an industrial holding company. What makes IDUN so interesting is that it is not simply buying businesses for scale. It is building a portfolio of niche leaders: small, often overlooked companies with high market share, strong customer dependence, and positions that are difficult to replicate. We exp...

What 100+ Investments Taught Me About Great Acquirers | Lacey Wismer Interview 21.03.2026 58min

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Lacey Wismer of Hunter Search Capital ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceywismer/ ) about her journey from a family business background into investing in more than 100 search funds, backing operators, and building a platform around long-term business ownership. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction: Lacey Wismer on permanent capital and long-term holds 0:30 Entrepreneurial upbringing: luck, simplicity, cash flow, and leverage 2:54 What changes ...

A Serial Acquirer Masterclass and The Story Of 47 Acquisitions Per Year 17.03.2026 36min

Why serial acquirers remain one of the most powerful business models in the world. The best of them have acquired as many as 275 companies and traded at valuations as high as 65x earnings, yet most people still misunderstand what makes them so successful. I explore why the best acquirers often start slow, how they solve the reinvestment problem, why balance sheet strength and specialization matter, and what investors look for when studying these businesses. I also share why Evergreen Servi...

38 Acquisitions Generating $2 Billion in Revenue | Eric Wiklendt Interview 10.03.2026 1h 11min

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Eric Wiklendt of Speyside Equity ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericwiklendt/ ) about Eric's journey and how Speyside has built a highly operational lower-middle-market private equity firm with $937 million of assets under management, 38 total investments, 20 platform investments, operations across 19 countries, and portfolio companies generating approximately $2 billion in revenue. Timestamps: 0:00 Why Eric loves messy manufacturing d...

How I Left PE and Bought 16 Companies | Kaido Veske Interview 03.03.2026 55min

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks with Kaido Veske of Livonia Partners ( https://www.livoniapartners.com/ ) about Kaido’s journey from working at a mid-cap private equity firm in the US to returning to Europe, raising a fund that now manages nearly $200 million, and completing 16 acquisitions to date. 0:00 Why start a fund 2:56 Wharton and early US exposure 3:39 US finance years and coming back to Europe 6:03 Livonia today: focus and deal size 7:06 Minority and majority de...

10 Acquisitions in 24 Months, No Fund | Travis Jamison Interview 27.02.2026 19min

Mike Markus (⁠ https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy⁠ ) talks to Travis Jamison of CapitalPad ( https://capitalpad.com/ ) about building a deal-by-deal investing platform that’s already powered 10 acquisitions, with some deals projected to have an IRR of 25% or more. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:36 Why CapitalPad exists 3:08 Platform walkthrough 5:22 Lessons from the first 10 deals 7:16 What a typical deal looks like 9:10 Vetting sponsors/searchers 12:44 Investor improvement and portfolio construction 1...

Why This Operator Won’t Raise a Fund (17 Companies, 9 Exits) | Vic Keller 22.02.2026 1h 12min

Mike Markus ( ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy ) talks to Vic Keller of Experience Ventures ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickeller/ ) about building 17 companies over two decades with 9 exits, having businesses acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, and his operator-first approach to building durable, people-driven companies - including a vertically integrated car wash platform spanning manufacturing, chemistry, and service/maintenance. 0:00 Deal-by-Deal vs Fund Life 3:48 Operator Mindset in the Low...

Off-Market Deal Flow for $2M-$200M Founder-Led Companies 18.02.2026 38min

Operators, independent sponsors, searchers, and lower middle market investors: this episode is about building repeatable deal flow in the $2-15M EBITDA range by making opportunities, talent, and capital come to you. You’ll learn “relationship compounding” through two lenses: Larry Gagosian - the billionaire art dealer who engineers environments where influential people want to be (all in service of one goal: selling more art) - and TheRealEstateG6 ( https://x.com/TheRealEstateG6 ) on X, whos...