Acquiring Minds

He started by buying a small flooring business in 2000. Today Paul Lajoie takes home $1m a year and works how he wants.
Register for the webinar:
Why Deal Flow Isn’t Your Biggest Problem - TOMORROW! - https://bit.ly/4ah8L1E
Topics in Paul’s interview:
Background in Big Six accounting
Buying the first business he looked at
Partnering with his brother
Downsizing his lifestyle in the beginning
Underestimating working capital needs
Detailed partnership agreements
You are not smarter than the seller
Pivoting to remodeling after 2008 crash
Acquisition vs startup success rates
His BizBuyPro community
References and how to contact Paul:
LinkedIn
[email protected]
Kiplinger Today Newsletter
Confessions of a Millionaire
Gobundance
Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:
The Acquisition Lab
Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:
Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team
Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:
From this page or contact [email protected]
Connect with Acquiring Minds:
See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
Follow Will on Twitter
Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Andrew Kurzrok connected with his seller over his manufacturing background, leading to a successful deal and transition.
Topics in Andrew’s interview:
Background in science and national labs
Spending all his time traveling for work
Wanting to stop traveling when his son was born
Studying management at Yale
Gaining management experience before searching
Making a “no” list
Success with cold calling business owners
Putting down 25% equity
Regional moat of sheet metal
His “crawl, walk, run” approach to operations
References and how to contact Andrew:
LinkedIn
Hopewell Sheet Metal Manufacturing
Heather Endresen’s working capital webinar: Working Capital for SMB Acquisitions
Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:
Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team
Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:
Pioneer Capital Advisory
Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:
Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher
Connect with Acquiring Minds:
See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
Follow Will on Twitter
Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Sensing untapped potential, Ville-Matias Vilén bought a sub-million manufacturer with good IP and global distribution.
Topics in Ville’s interview:
Desire to “eat what he kills”
1990’s Finnish Recession
Aversion to solving people problems
Acquiring a cattle brush manufacturer
Funding his deal in Finland
Patents as a moat
Relocating the manufacturing 5 hours away
Sharing ownership with his family’s company
Goal to grow 5x in 5 years
Long-term holdco vision
References and how to contact Ville:
LinkedIn
FinnEasy
Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:
From this page or contact [email protected]
Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):
Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds
Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:
The Acquisition Lab
Connect with Acquiring Minds:
See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
Follow Will on Twitter
Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron

Despite success in corporate, Jarom Wren wanted more freedom, so he traded 5 figures of salary for 7 figures of revenue.
Topics in Jarom’s interview:
Realizing he was renting himself to a corporation
Mid-career risk assessment
Searching for a digital business
Choosing the lowest cost Q of E
“Deals want to die”
Risks of a 4-year old e-com business
Offering education as well as DIY products
Deciding against using ROBS
Buying 70% of the company
His first year report card
References and how to contact Jarom:
LinkedIn
Vanlife Outfitters
Harley Sitner on Acquiring Minds: Building a Beloved Brand from a Tiny, Dying Business
Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):
Book a call with Tim or [email protected] and mention Acquiring Minds
Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:
From this page or contact [email protected]
Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:
Pioneer Capital Advisory
Connect with Acquiring Minds:
See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
Follow Will on Twitter

Family planning and entrepreneurship converged as Linh & Leo Van Deibel bought their first (and not last) business.
Topics in Linh & Leo’s interview:
Making the case for business acquisition
Taking family planning into account
Searching in the UK as a non-citizen
Being taken seriously as an Asian woman
Their goal of building a holdco
Thousands of meetings with sellers
Search is a numbers game
Brutal IVF process
Giving up on acquiring SaaS
Buying an engineering consulting firm
References and how to contact Linh & Leo:
Linh Van Deibel LinkedIn
Leo Deibel LinkedIn
Their acquisition, Infrastructure Design Solutions
Linh Tran on Acquiring Minds: The Dream Outcome: From $300k to $5m EBITDA
Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:
Email Nick Akers at [email protected], and tell him you’re a searcher
Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:
The Acquisition Lab
Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:
Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team
Connect with Acquiring Minds:
See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn
Follow Will on Twitter
Edited by Anton Rohozov
Produced by Pam Cameron