In a fascinating conversation with Search Party, TransTech co-CEO Sulzer and his investment partner, Dustin Sellers, Managing Partner of ETA private equity firm Next Coast Legacy, share details of Haley's rapid implementation, and how the AI agent has transformed the sales function of North Carolina-based TransTech.
In a fascinating conversation with Search Party, TransTech co-CEO Sulzer and his investment partner, Dustin Sellers, Managing Partner of ETA private equity firm Next Coast Legacy, share details of Haley's rapid implementation, and how the AI agent has transformed the sales function of North Carolina-based TransTech.
In a conversation with Search Party, Megan Webster of law firm Mayer Brown, Max Artz of Peterson Partners and Anthony Walker of Next Coast Legacy share observations about the positive impact a board can have on a lower-middle-market business, and the challenges the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition community faces recruiting board members in a market where top talent is "stretched thin."
In a conversation with Search Party, Megan Webster of law firm Mayer Brown, Max Artz of Peterson Partners and Anthony Walker of Next Coast Legacy share observations about the positive impact a board can have on a lower-middle-market business, and the challenges the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition community faces recruiting board members in a market where top talent is "stretched thin."
Professionalizing the finance function of a lower-middle-market business is one of the most impactful forms of value-creation a new CEO can pursue, according to a panel of Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) market experts. To learn the importance of the finance function in ETA investments, Search Party convened a conversation between Anthony Walker, Managing Partner at Next Coast Legacy, Sam Swan, CEO of TaskRay, Eric Lougher, CFO/COO of TaskRay, Emily Young, Transaction Advisory Manager at Boulay and Jake Bitz, Consulting Controller at Boulay. TaskRay is an ETA-backed SaaS company that saw its operations transformed when it brought on board Lougher as CFO. The story of TaskRay's professionalized CFO function is at the core of this authoritative, candid and lively conversation.
Professionalizing the finance function of a lower-middle-market business is one of the most impactful forms of value-creation a new CEO can pursue, according to a panel of Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) market experts. To learn the importance of the finance function in ETA investments, Search Party convened a conversation between Anthony Walker, Managing Partner at Next Coast Legacy, Sam Swan, CEO of TaskRay, Eric Lougher, CFO/COO of TaskRay, Emily Young, Transaction Advisory Manager at Boulay and Jake Bitz, Consulting Controller at Boulay. TaskRay is an ETA-backed SaaS company that saw its operations transformed when it brought on board Lougher as CFO. The story of TaskRay's professionalized CFO function is at the core of this authoritative, candid and lively conversation.
The relationship between lender and lower-middle-market CEO is a critical factor in the success of ETA deals, say veterans of the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition strategy.This episode of Search Party is about how to get the most from your lender over the lifecycle of an ETA investment, with expert commentary from Castle Capital Managing Partner and ETA veteran Chandos Mahon, Conor Tidgwell of Avidbank and Anthony Walker of Next Coast Legacy.
The relationship between lender and lower-middle-market CEO is a critical factor in the success of ETA deals, say veterans of the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition strategy.This episode of Search Party is about how to get the most from your lender over the lifecycle of an ETA investment, with expert commentary from Castle Capital Managing Partner and ETA veteran Chandos Mahon, Conor Tidgwell of Avidbank and Anthony Walker of Next Coast Legacy.
The need for a sales plan is of particular importance to Entrepreneurs-Through-Acquisition (ETAs), who search for, acquire, and run lower-middle-market businesses, in most cases as first-time operators. These CEOs must also navigate the realities of a leveraged environment. Katie Walker, a Principal at Plexus Capital, highlights the added pressure of servicing debt while investing in growth. "Hope is not a strategy," Walker says. "The number of times that you ask a very, very qualified searcher, 'So why has this business been growing? It's been growing great, but why?' Well, you know, it just grows on its own. It's word of mouth. It's just got it and it's going to keep doing it."
The need for a sales plan is of particular importance to Entrepreneurs-Through-Acquisition (ETAs), who search for, acquire, and run lower-middle-market businesses, in most cases as first-time operators. These CEOs must also navigate the realities of a leveraged environment. Katie Walker, a Principal at Plexus Capital, highlights the added pressure of servicing debt while investing in growth. "Hope is not a strategy," Walker says. "The number of times that you ask a very, very qualified searcher, 'So why has this business been growing? It's been growing great, but why?' Well, you know, it just grows on its own. It's word of mouth. It's just got it and it's going to keep doing it."
Bob Boniface and his ETA search partner went searching for a high quality, blue-collar business in the lower middle market, and found TransTech, a commercial driver's license (CDL) training business in North Carolina. The business had predictable revenue and competed in an essential, growing market. The seller was impressed with the research that Bob and his partner had done into the niche industry.
Bob Boniface and his ETA search partner went searching for a high quality, blue-collar business in the lower middle market, and found TransTech, a commercial driver's license (CDL) training business in North Carolina. The business had predictable revenue and competed in an essential, growing market. The seller was impressed with the research that Bob and his partner had done into the niche industry.
Businesses acquired in the lower-middle-market at single-digit multiples of EBITDA can be sold for double-digit multiples, but only if the new owners improve operations and grow earnings, according to three veterans of the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) search-fund market.
Businesses acquired in the lower-middle-market at single-digit multiples of EBITDA can be sold for double-digit multiples, but only if the new owners improve operations and grow earnings, according to three veterans of the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) search-fund market.
Women are making gains toward substantial representation in the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) community, and supporting each other along the way. In fact, 17% of ETA searchers in the market are now women. In a fascinating conversation, three ETA leaders compare notes about the appeal of the ETA search-fund career, the advantages women can have connecting with fellow entrepreneurs, and the challenges and misperceptions women confront in a male-dominated industry.
Women are making gains toward substantial representation in the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) community, and supporting each other along the way. In fact, 17% of ETA searchers in the market are now women. In a fascinating conversation, three ETA leaders compare notes about the appeal of the ETA search-fund career, the advantages women can have connecting with fellow entrepreneurs, and the challenges and misperceptions women confront in a male-dominated industry.
Wasserstein, himself the builder of two successful businesses, has made entrepreneurship and the search fund community the subject of his teaching and academic work. As Search Party learned in a fascinating conversation, Wasserstein has developed frameworks not only about the potential of an ETA career to pave a way to self-determination and wealth, but to personal fulfillment, what psychologist Abraham Maslow calls self-actualization.
Wasserstein, himself the builder of two successful businesses, has made entrepreneurship and the search fund community the subject of his teaching and academic work. As Search Party learned in a fascinating conversation, Wasserstein has developed frameworks not only about the potential of an ETA career to pave a way to self-determination and wealth, but to personal fulfillment, what psychologist Abraham Maslow calls self-actualization.
