PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)
@PrivatEquityGuy • 58,360 subscribers
Host of Buyers & Builders podcast | Investing in profitable businesses. Tweets about the process.
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Nathan rolled up 11 tiny (<$1M EBITDA) HVAC companies, paying low 3x multiples. Now PE is interested in buying the group, and Nathan is already planning to do it all over again. “I see a lot of opportunity in taking these really small mom-and-pop shops and building them up to the lower end of what a PE firm would be interested in acquiring. You can pick them up at 3x, sell them at 10x and repeat that process over and over.” 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 actually compounds. Give it a listen. I hope you appreciate Nathan Lindley extreme transparency on everything, even him sharing how he overcame daily stress through drinking and how, to this day, he is still paying down his SBA note of $8,500 a month… Year six of 10 years on that. It’s very hard out there. Timestamps: 0:00 Nathan's 11 acquisitions and $16M run-rate HVAC platform 0:25 From the first deal in 2020 to acquisition #11 1:24 From book publishing to buying HVAC businesses 3:55 Selling real estate to fund the first acquisition 4:33 Buying a one-technician HVAC company—and the costly assumptions that followed 7:58 Losing 40% of revenue almost immediately after closing 10:26 Acquisition #2 makes every problem much bigger 11:20 Running out of cash—twice 14:18 The decision to put everyone on commission 15:15 Every employee quits on the same day 16:21 The Indeed hire who changed the entire business 18:59 Fear, alcohol and nearly going bankrupt 23:13 One technician outperforms the rest of the company 25:52 Why Nathan waited a full year before doing acquisition #3 27:00 Acquisitions #3 and #4—and buying businesses the second time around 28:46 How his M&A due diligence completely changed 29:30 The "buying at-bats" framework for acquisitions 33:08 Why Lindley spends almost nothing on marketing 34:15 Turning acquired customer databases into new revenue 36:27 Hiring exceptional technicians and building repeatable systems 37:35 The company today: 50 employees across three markets 39:13 How Lindley integrates acquired businesses 42:38 Teaching acquired technicians to double their income 43:17 The acquisitions that didn't work—and why 46:47 Planning an exit and doing it all over again 49:04 Where to connect with Nathan
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)136,799 views • 25 days ago
Ramsey Sahyoun is the Co-Founder of Evergreen, one of America’s most interesting acquisition machines. He and Jeff Totten started the firm when they were 25 and 27 years old. Today, they’ve acquired over 160 companies and completed 47 acquisitions in 2025 alone. The portfolio does $1.5 billion in sales and $250 million in EBITDA. We discuss: - Why they chose MSPs - The lessons from their first acquisition - What went wrong with an early roll-up attempt - How they built a proprietary sourcing engine - Why 80% of their deals are proprietary - How talent, goal setting, and value creation became central to Evergreen’s operating system Enjoy! 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 First acquisition and current portfolio 10:23 Leaving Alpine and starting young 12:18 The first 6-18 months after closing 13:15 What went wrong with an early MSP roll-up 18:44 Building Evergreen’s sourcing engine 23:07 The value of having a large acquisition database 26:09 How to build trust with business owners 34:02 Evergreen’s M&A, talent, and playbook flywheel 41:54 Lessons from 160 acquisition post-mortems 44:22 Setting big goals and planning backward 47:16 One-page plan and quarterly renewals 48:53 What Evergreen learned from Alpine and Graham Weaver 51:27 How Ramsey and Jeff’s roles changed as Evergreen scaled 54:21 What people misunderstand about Evergreen 56:48 Closing thoughts from Ramsey
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)214,514 views • 2 months ago
. Vic Keller has built, bought, and scaled 17 companies, completed 9 exits (3 of them to Berkshire Hathaway). He also scaled the largest manufacturer in the car wash industry. Today, he manages it all with just 9 people on the team. I hope you enjoy listening and learn a lot. Show notes: 0:00 Deal-by-deal vs fund life 3:48 Operator Mindset in the lower middle market 8:10 Buffett lessons 18:36 Car wash playbook 23:46 Holdco structure 27:50 Recruiting A-players 32:17 Co-invest partners 36:22 Bigger deals 39:28 Debt vs equity 42:06 Founders: recap vs sell to PE 48:04 ETA/Search funds: post-close risk 55:10 People and investing in yourself
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)336,552 views • 5 months ago
He’s back! He’s 30 now and, since our last conversation, has gone from being semi-retired to now retired, as his investments are doing well. He worked for a NY-based hedge fund/family office. We discussed how he and his boss analyzed over 60 industries, the companies he looked at, and the investments he made. The best part about this conversation is that it shows how he thinks and analyzes companies and industries. (A very clear thinker, for sure!) To sum up, the game of investing and buying high-quality businesses is simple when you focus on the basics. Enjoy. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro 1:43 Defining retirement: cost of living vs net worth 3:04 Immigrant upbringing & discovering value investing 4:40 From NYU to Wall Street & joining a family office 7:58 Learning to analyze businesses & six key questions 10:33 Carvana deep dive: customer experience, lending & unit economics 17:03 Filtering noise, short reports & thinking in 10-year terms 22:21 Studying great long-term hedge funds & idea sourcing via 13F filings 25:17 Sponsor: CapitalPad - a marketplace for small business deals 26:19 What really matters: returns, time horizon & simple return math 36:16 When to sell: being wrong, better opportunities & thesis playing out 43:21 Leaving Wall Street for Buddhism 48:41 Enlightenment, meditation & inner transformation 55:21 Blending investing with spirituality
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)491,082 views • 8 months ago
My conversation with David Flickinger on how business owners, private equity professionals, and CEOs can move beyond using Claude and ChatGPT as simple productivity tools and begin building AI infrastructure that creates real enterprise value. “This $6.5M project estimate took AI 23 minutes to generate vs. one of our estimators over a week...the difference was $400. More proposals sent and more jobs won without hiring additional staff.” I told David that I expected this episode to be so practical on AI that everyone who listens and has a desire to double their $1-10M EBITDA business would immediately forward it to their co-founder, portco operator or CEO. I hope you enjoy it, learn a lot and most importantly, implement asap. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction: Why Most Business Owners Use AI Wrong 1:20 David Flickinger's Journey from Marine Officer to AI Operator 6:48 ChatGPT/Claude vs Real AI Infrastructure 0:24 The Roofing Company AI Case Study 6:17 How AI Learns Decades of Business Experience 20:39 Human Oversight, Trust & AI Decision-Making 25:30 What Happens to Junior Employees in an AI World? 28:07 How AI Doubled Revenue Without Hiring More Staff 32:17 AI, Key-Man Risk & Higher Business Valuations 39:02 The Biggest Risks of Implementing AI 45:05 The First AI Project Every Business Owner Should Start
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)59,331 views • 1 month ago
Why private equity talent is quietly fleeing to smaller firms, search funds, and holdcos I talked to six-seven folks actively working at PE firms and a few who have left. Few takeaways: "Carry is stretched further across larger teams." “I didn’t join PE to be an operator” "Funds are taking twice as long to return capital." "Exits are unpredictable." “I was losing confidence that my carry would ever materialize.” TIMESTAMPS You will discover: 0:00 The quiet exodus inside private equity 1:45 Carry that never materializes 2:56 “I didn’t join PE to be an operator” 3:38 No real path to ownership 5:27 Where PE talent is going next
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)218,828 views • 7 months ago
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. My conversation with Brett Kelly, the founder and CEO of Kelly Partners Group. Enjoy. Timestamps: 0:00 Brett'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 vision 13:22 Inspired by Disney, McDonald's, Ritz-Carlton & Berkshire Hathaway 17:10 Choosing the right clients and creating a business system 18:36 The 204-step operating system 19:01 The acquisition strategy: becoming #1 or #2 in local markets 24:05 Winning clients through a differentiated value proposition 28:27 Lessons learned from 95 acquisitions 29:06 Why the 51/49 ownership model works 31:39 What types of firms Kelly Partners acquires 32:59 Capital allocation and building a capital-efficient roll-up 34:30 Doubling profits after acquisitions: the biggest lever 36:28 Permanent capital vs. traditional private equity 37:20 The biggest challenge today: financing growth 37:53 Kelly Partners' 17-step hiring process 38:28 Building a global accounting platform 39:45 Focus, systems and operating at world-class standards 43:05 How accountants can genuinely improve people's lives 44:24 Final thoughts on leadership, culture, and making a difference 45:32 30% revenue CAGR, 35% book value growth & 90+ acquisitions
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)55,835 views • 1 month ago
So, this is one very great video for entrepreneurs, business builders, investors… and I think about it often. In 2012, Deadmau5 (the world famous DJ) listened to a random vocal that someone did on his track. He decided to give it a listen. 10 seconds in, the moment that changed the folk's life. Deadmau5 couldn’t keep his excitement in… “Motherf%cker…It is so good…I am impressed right here.” “It's got the theme and everything...he f%cking nailed it.” He has a big smile on his face and almost starts to cry. He listens another 2-3 times… “Let’s do it. I'm about to begin this man's whole career" “I’ll give you writing. I give you everything. Give your number. Dude let’s do it. That just made the track. That is amazing. It is really good.” He listens once again. “Done, let’s make it a track. My management listens to this — they're gonna sh%t themselves.” They then released the track and it blew up. Many say it’s Deadmau5’s best song. The beautiful moment in music history. This story I find so cool because it inspires other entrepreneurs to share what they build. We all can all connect with the fear of showing our work. It ain't easy. And to have unique skills like the artist on the video. Easy to copy, harder to have something unique. Don't waste hours on packaging. Spend time living an interesting life, so that you have something interesting to say. My point of sharing this video: Be proudly yourself and share your journey publicly. A LOT of people are interested in what you do. So you can become famous within your bubble. And a closed mouth doesn't get fed anyway. Once you share all your - wins / losses / learnings / lessons - you'll magically notice that the more content you create, the luckier you get. Your fans will know what articles to send you. What deals to invite you into. What event tickets to give you. What investor introductions to make. Only good things happen. So go for it.
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)204,555 views • 7 months ago
One of the most active roll-ups? Since leaving McKinsey, Luis and his team have done over 30 acquisitions (seven last December) by consolidating fire safety businesses. They do $8M+ in EBITDA, with the goal to double it over the next 12-18 months. Snow notes: 0:00 From rural Mexico to more than 30 acquisitions 4:00 Buy-and-build thesis 6:45 Funding the first deals 11:55 The 100-day integration playbook 19:00 Using AI to scale operations and service quality 32:05 Deal sourcing at scale without spam 37:05 Managing risk, customer concentration, and diligence 44:35 Takeaways for other buyers 53:00 Hold vs sell and capital discipline
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)83,112 views • 6 months ago
Imagine being in your early 30s, starting a private equity fund and raising $450 million as your first fund. All this with no prior track record and without your rich father or uncle. Years later, you own 90 companies, have $147 billion in AUM, your EBITDA is growing at 15% year-over-year, and only Thoma Bravo has outperformed you… 1. "Stock and bonds are boring, so we went into private equity." 2. "The concept of thematic research helps us find the best companies with the strongest tailwinds (returns could 6-7 times invested capital)." 3. "Step-by-step on we they took a $38M EBITDA business to $110M in EBITDA in 4 years." Here is my full research on a true king of private equity Mr. Urs Wietlisbach: 00:00 - Intro 01:05 - “Stock and bonds are boring, so we went into PE” 03:09 - When should one leave their job to start their business? 04:10 - Being scammed by a crazy German $120,000 in the early days 09:21 - Doing due diligence 582 days before the company is even for sale 14:03 - Better returns than Blackstone, Apollo, only Thoma Bravo have done better 15:24 - Thematic research allows them to find deals where they make 6-7 times their money 20:01 - CEOs are tied with shares and sometimes make triple-digit millions ($100m+ from a single investment)
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)265,595 views • 2 years ago
Millen Rastogi walked away from a career at Deutsche Bank to take over his mother’s struggling home care business in New York & Connecticut. A paper-based, compliance-heavy business that was barely surviving. He breaks down how he fixed the initial company and then executed 5 add-on acquisitions in 24 months, often at extremely attractive multiples, using a scrappy capital stack and heavy seller financing. All with the goal to (maybe) sell the platform at an 8-12x multiple to middle-market private equity. Show notes: 0:00 Millen Rastogi 1:05 From Deutsche Bank to home care 4:30 Walking into a mess 13:26 Funding the early years 19:54 Growth numbers + COVID hit 23:02 Margins and revenue 25:50 Building the platform 27:17 First acquisition 30:56 Seller financing playbook 36:35 The “silver tsunami” sellers 41:50 Second acquisition 51:48 70% seller-financed deal example 1:09:09 Learning M&A with AI + X
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)64,531 views • 5 months ago
Special situations in the $1-15M EBITDA market. Timeless acquisition lessons after learning from Jeremy Giffon, who’s been part of at least 20 lower middle market acquisitions 1. Think beyond numbers. We once offerened $25 million and a Ferrari 488. 2. Best companies are getting paid an absurd amount of money for their words alone. 3. I want to buy from forced sellers, not willing sellers. 4. The best assets in the world are unloved, orphaned, and misunderstood. 5. If you’re doing deals just to stay busy, you’re going to underperform someone who waits for the fat pitch. 6. Leverage isn’t just financial. It can be social as well. 7. You don’t need to be a genius to win in investing. You just need to see the game differently than everyone else. (I kindly asked him to come on the podcast, and he said he is not doing these at the moment. I did the second-best thing and over the years listened to all his podcasts and researched his X account.) Show notes: 0:00 Special situations in the lower middle market 6:18 The perfect business is getting paid for your words and gaining access 9:44 Coordination problems and forced sellers create the best deals 11:44 Ghost ship companies and orphaned assets that VCs misunderstand 15:28 Patience and selectivity outperform constant deal activity 18:42 Negotiation and the $25m LOI with a Ferrari 488 21:19 Six unconventional truths about making better business decisions
PrivateEquityGuy (Mike Markus)36,865 views • 6 months ago
Dear investor, If 30%+ IRR is your dream…stop everything and listen to this. Here's the secret to success from Uni of Wharton: „If I could come back (after death) I probably come back as a roll up specialist. Because some of the wealthiest people in the world did roll ups.“
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)95,351 views • 1 year ago
My conversation with Jeremy Yamaguchi on how he acquired 10 companies in 18 months. Jeremy has previously built, scaled, and exited three home services businesses: 1. Golden Shine (housekeeping) - bootstrapped, sold to a private equity firm in his early 20s 2. Lawn Love (lawn care) - scaled to 120 cities / 40 states, ca 7,000 field techs, sold after 8 years 3. Now Cabana - building the first national pool services brand, blending M&A + software + local ops I hope you enjoy, and learn a lot. 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 12:41 Why home services are still wildly fragmented and why most founders misunderstand the space 17:36 Game selection 27:23 Cabana thesis 34:48 10 deals in 18 months, 4x YoY growth 59:45 Only buy from good-faith sellers
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)35,685 views • 6 months ago
You’ve built something very valuable for a private equity group to acquire. You’ve either started a company from scratch or acquired one; you then operated and scaled it. After 5-10+ years, you sold a majority to a PE firm (cash and rolled minority equity); then several more years later you receive the “second bite of the apple”, larger than the first cash payment. A major liquidity and wealth milestone for you and your family, maybe beyond your dreams. But here’s the question no one asks: Now that you have wealth…how do you keep it? Two scenarios: A gentleman sold his construction company for $20 million. Within a year, half was gone. He had “diversified” into venture capital, luxury condos, and private crypto funds. He was chasing shiny objects. Contrast that with another entrepreneur who sold his HVAC business for the same amount. He put 60% into municipal bonds and short-term Treasuries, then took his time deciding what to do with the rest. The lesson: You don’t need to swing hard after you’ve already hit the home run. Build the wealth, then preserve and compound for today, tomorrow and future generations. In this episode, I break down the two-bucket philosophy: - Capital Preservation - Balanced and Compounded Growth I hope it gets you thinking about how to preserve and compound your wealth...starting today. Timestamps: 0:00 The hidden question after success: what do you do with the money? 1:30 Builders vs. stewards: different skill sets, same discipline 2:00 How legacy families preserve wealth for generations 2:30 "From rice field to rice field" 4:00 The simple fundamentals wealthy families follow 4:20 Why complexity sells, but simplicity endures 5:45 The two-bucket philosophy: preservation and compounding 6:01 Pillar #1: Conservative fixed income (your stability base) 6:40 Story: The entrepreneur who lost half his fortune chasing returns 7:22 Sponsor: CapitalBad - the marketplace for long-term investors 8:16 Pillar #2: High income strategy (living off cash flow) 9:12 Example: The Midwestern family that compounds quietly 9:15 Pillar #3: Long-term growth (own great companies for decades) 10:05 Compounding only works if you let it 10:59 Consumption vs. compounding: every generation’s choice 11:45 Structure, simplicity, and temperament in wealth management 12:00 Can you manage yourself as well as you managed your company?
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)38,035 views • 9 months ago
If you can survive the worst you can possibly imagine - in today’s guest’s case, it was a painful divorce - what else can be as scary in this world? Turns out, really nothing… which led Steve to quit his corporate job at Illinois Tool Works (ITW) to go and acquire manufacturing companies himself. So far, he has done 5 acquisitions (churning out 200M+ parts per year). Even though we briefly cover the painful divorce being the motivator at the end, knowing the whole story, this one is very emotional. (Hey, this is still 99% of business podcast where Steve shared the financing, structure, how he finds deals, post-acquisition strategy, and everything in between. That said, I find it interesting that we simply never know what drives people who build large investment firms and companies overall.) TIMESTAMPS 0:00 From corporate manager to 5 acquisitions in manufacturing 1:06 The moment Steve knew he was done with corporate life 2:54 The “measured exit” that turned into months of uncertainty 4:59 The first deal: tiny business, bad structure, and a lucky failure 5:42 The seller starts ghosting -- and the deal unravels 7:01 Losing the deal, burning cash, and rebuilding his entire approach 8:57 Why most people shouldn’t pursue acquisitions (the “strong why” test) 9:55 Sponsor: CapitalPad -- backing real operators in overlooked markets 11:06 How to tell if a seller is actually ready to sell 14:02 The exact outreach message that landed his first acquisition 19:04 Structuring and closing the first deal + brutal first 90 days 20:57 Sponsor: Spacebar Studios -- building newsletters for HoldCos & investors 23:18 Implementing EOS: turning chaos into an operating system 39:45 80/20 thinking in manufacturing: cutting noise, expanding margins
PrivateEquityGuy (Mike Markus)24,615 views • 7 months ago
My conversation with Christa Glassburn and how she joined a search fund, acquired seven companies and helped scale revenue from $15 million to $200 million. Snow notes: 0:00 Christa’s $15M to $200M scaling story 2:30 FBI operator lessons 3:37 Jump to a search fund and move to rural Virginia 11:51 First acquisition and integration learning curve 17:28 Culture reset and global expansion via acquisitions 20:05 Post acquisition playbook 23:08 7 total acquisitions and off market sourcing 30:25 Transition to launching Harbor Capital 39:36 How to find invisible small town deals
PrivateEquityGuy (Mike Markus)20,550 views • 6 months ago
Is this the ultimate Holdco model (built by a 25 year old)? How Jack does 10+ deals per year $8m in revenue and $2.5M in EBITDA 1. Stop chasing $250k and build something that pays you $2M 2. Integration starts at LOI, not after the deal closes. 3. We give you money, show up at the board meeting, and expect results. 4. The operator is the investment. 5. We built Lighthouse with a spreadsheet, two guys, and a phone. 6. Within two weeks, we know who to bet on. 7. Never overpay. Even if your multiple rises, stay disciplined. Enjoy. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction to Jack Bennett & Lighthouse Capital 0:47 Building a ghostwriting agency for wealthy clients 4:48 Spacebar Studios 7:30 Meeting Ben Kelly and founding Lighthouse Capital 14:17 Sponsor: Scalepath 12:39 Early days of Lighthouse and first hires 15:38 Structure and the types of companies they invest in 17:25 When do they decide to advise vs. invest 19:00 Why combine M&A advisory and rollups 25:02 Uniqueness of Lighthouse’s dual strategy 29:10 Converting fees into equity and how it actually works 33:55 Deal quality, ownership, and control 37:11 Pros and cons of following the M&A and roll-up strategy at the same time 41:34 Cash for equity and “see you at the first board meeting” 45:19 Being the youngest on the founding team 48:39 Four acquisitions and ten locations 52:09 Everything post-acquisition 55:20 The importance of integration 59:53 What Jack believes earns him the best returns 01:03:29 Is this the best investment advice you’ve ever heard?
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)33,783 views • 1 year ago
. Jeremy Giffon believes the perfect businesses are old-school merchant banks such as Lazard and Allen & Co., where one gets paid an absurd amount of money for one’s words alone. "And the best part? These businesses don’t just generate cash - they give you access. If you’re in the right rooms, you’re not just advising on deals. You’re investing in them, too."
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)17,869 views • 6 months ago
Here is Jeremy Yamaguchi explaining his thesis on why he decided to acquire pool services businesses. So far, he has acquired 10 companies in a short 18 months. Jeremy has previously built, scaled, and exited three home services businesses: 1. Golden Shine (housekeeping) - bootstrapped, sold to a private equity firm in his early 20s 2. Lawn Love (lawn care) - scaled to 120 cities / 40 states, ca 7,000 field techs, sold after 8 years 3. Now Cabana - building the first national pool services brand, blending M&A + software + local ops
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus)11,074 views • 3 months ago