What I Learned Last Week 7.19.2024
Curating the best M&A, SMB, and EtA-related content since 2020.
Hello Friends!
In this week’s issue of What I Learned Last Week:
📰 Articles
🧵 Best of X (Twitter)
🤔 Other - Common Struggles with the Trades
🗓️ Events
⚒️ Tools & Resources
💡 How I Can Help
This issue of The Business Inquirer is sponsored by:
Close Your Deal Quickly and Efficiently: M&A Legal Solutions Integrating Automation and Project Management
At Sterrett Law, we’ve developed a streamlined process using cutting-edge automation and project management techniques to maximize speed and efficiency. Using templates and a client-centered collaborative process we’ll keep your deal on track and on time.
Ready to make your next move? Schedule your free consultation today!
📰 Articles
I summarize, so you capitalize.
US Private Equity Outlook: Midyear Update
PitchBook has published its midyear update on the PE outlook for 2024.
PE managers came into the new year anticipating as many as six interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Although this did not materialize, they’ve found relief through lower spreads being charged above those base rates due to increasing competition within the private credit sector and the revival of the syndicated loan market. Another surprise was the bustle of fundraising activity, with H1 seeing $155 billion in capital committed, maintaining the near-record pace set last year.
🧵 Best of X (Twitter)
I scroll, so you don’t have to.
Ben shares his learnings from acquiring and running a multi-million dollar company remotely in an unfamiliar industry…
Two opposing viewpoints on deal sourcing in PE…
$500k burning a hole in your pocket? Opportunity to deploy capital…
Love this contrarian take. Common advice is don’t change anything immediately post-acquisition. Mike has a different view…
Good FYI for those looking at franchises…
This is a common scenario. Great advice in this thread…
DueDilio has an excellent pre-LOI questionnaire that helps you quickly assess a deal…
🤔 Other
Common Struggles with Trades Businesses
The Reddit discussion highlights various challenges faced by trade businesses like contracting, plumbing, and electrical work. Key struggles include managing cash flow, especially with delayed payments and high upfront costs for materials and labor. Business owners often mistake revenue for personal income, leading to financial instability. Many lack business education, which complicates marketing, pricing, and operations management. The cyclical nature of construction work and maintaining a reliable workforce also pose significant challenges.
Key insights include:
Importance of cash flow management and savings.
Distinguishing business revenue from personal income.
Necessity for business education and project management skills.
Dealing with delayed payments and financing large projects.
Navigating the cyclical nature of trade work and workforce management.
🗓️ Events
Southeast EtA Conference (Sept 6-7) - Washington D.C.
Independent Sponsor Forum (Sept 12) - Chicago, IL
Self-Funded Search Conference (Sept 14-15) - Dallas, TX
Main Street Summit (Oct 9-10) - Columbia, MO
Annual M&A Institute (Oct 10-11) - Dallas, TX
Rice EtA Conference (Oct 13-14) - Houston, TX
McGuireWoods Independent Sponsor (Oct 15-16) - Dallas, TX
Texas & The South M&A and Business Symposium (Oct 16-18) - Dallas, TX
National Summit for Middle Market Funds (Oct 27-29) - Palm Beach, FL
Booth-Kellogg EtA Conference (Nov 4) - Chicago, IL
HoldCo Conference (Mar 31-Apr 3 2025) - Sundance, UT
🎵 Listening: “Love Me Like That (feat. Carly Rae Jepsen) “ by The Knocks, Carly Rae Jepsen 🎵
How did you like this issue of the newsletter?
⚒️Tools & Resources
I want to share some tools & resources that I have found helpful. Please note that some of these are paid sponsors or affiliates of the newsletter.
PrivSource - PrivSource helps you source deals and connect with transaction partners without ever paying a success fee.
X5 Deals - Proprietary deal sourcing for a great price. They do the outreach and send you relevant, actionable deals directly into your inbox.
Rejigg - Platform that connects searchers/investors directly with owners of off-market small businesses ($200k - $3M EBITDA) considering exits. All deals are sourced by the Rejigg team. Their team adds 15 to 20 new deals each week.
Kumo - 100,000+ deals sourced from thousands of brokers and marketplaces. Plus, AI-powered listings, robust data & analytics, and more.
DealFlowXchange - The premier private capital funding community for raising and deploying capital. Use discount code DUEDILIO for 20% off your lifetime membership.
Sterrett Law - At Sterrett Law, we offer Manhattan and Boston experience at Vermont prices. Specializing in deals under $10 million, we're your go-to partner for navigating the complexities of mergers and acquisitions without the hefty price tag
BizNexus - Marketplace + off-market origination in one platform. The marketplace averages about 10k active listings & pre-CIM opportunities, and the off-market origination focuses on data & multi-channel.
Secret - Say goodbye to overspending on SaaS. With Secret, you get access to up to $1,000,000+ in savings on the best software to run your search, operate, and scale your business.
Search Fund Coalition - community for the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition ecosystem. Monthly events and meetups for acquisition entrepreneurs.
Deal Sourcing Guide - a comprehensive list of business marketplaces, brokers, deal origination firms, and more.
💡 How I Can Help
Whenever you’re ready, here are a few ways for us to work together…
Schedule 1:1 consulting on deal sourcing, due diligence, M&A ecosystem, newsletters, entrepreneurship, or anything else you’d like to discuss
Promote your brand to business buyers, investors, SMB owners, and other M&A participants by sponsoring this newsletter
Assemble your M&A deal team with DueDilio
If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, why not share it?