Collin Hathaway Interviewed

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Permanent Equity launched a new newsletter called Permanent Playbook for tactics and strategies for operating small companies, and the first issue is fantastic. Highly recommend subscribing.

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Top Think Like an Owner guest Collin Hathaway appeared on ServiceTitan’s podcast Toolbox for the Trades for a discussion on preparing for recessions, mental health in operating, opportunities for trades businesses, and more.

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Pursuant Capital is hosting their next search bootcamp in Tampa, FL in November. Give Sam Rosati a shout to see about joining!

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This Week on Think Like an Owner

Nick Haschka – Reversing Course on a Holding Company – Ep.129 – Think Like an Owner | Podcast on Spotify

Listen to this episode from Think Like an Owner on Spotify. My guest on this episode is Nick Haschka, back for a third episode to provide an update on his early ambitions of a holding company, which have taken a slight turn. Two years ago, Nick and his partner Anupam Sharma acquired a commercial landscaping company Vargas Gardening. They added a manager and grew the business, but realized the road ahead was going to be substantially more difficult and so made the decision to sell the business, earning a two-year IRR of 122%. Running a second business with a worse economic profile than Wright Gardener wasn’t going to be as valuable an endeavor, and thus they renewed their focus on Wright after the sale. Nick has also been thinking more about search investing, having reduced his investment activity due to the declining economics he’s seeing. We talk about this change of thought, his interest in investing in public micro-cap stocks, and deeper, more targeted industry theses.Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.Links:Nick on TwitterNick on LinkedInThe Wright GardnerNick’s recommended products, reading, and more!Connor Haley on The Fort PodcastTopics:(2:39) – Updates since Alex and Nick last spoke at the outbreak of the pandemic(5:35) – Nick’s venture into acquiring a commercial landscaping company(9:49) – Selling the landscaping company(19:30) – What changed in your growth approach with this second business?(22:35) – How have the last few years been for The Wright Gardener from a growth perspective?(24:24) – Why have you slowed on investing in Searchers?(26:53) – Do you get the sense that terms have gotten worse or the quality of deals has declined?(28:45) – What’s been your experience with investments since slowing down?(29:48) – What’s your interest in Micro-cap stocks?(35:28) – How do you think about expanding your network from Search into Micro-caps?(36:28) – What’s your long-term vision for this Micro Caps approach?(38:35) – What other topics or ideas are you focusing on?

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My guest on this episode is Nick Haschka, back for a third episode to provide an update on his early ambitions of a holding company, which have taken a slight turn. Two years ago, Nick and his partner Anupam Sharma acquired a commercial landscaping company Vargas Gardening. They added a manager and grew the business, but realized the road ahead was going to be substantially more difficult and so made the decision to sell the business, earning a two-year IRR of 122%.

Running a second business with a worse economic profile than Wright Gardener wasn’t going to be as valuable an endeavor, and thus they renewed their focus on Wright after the sale. Nick has also been thinking more about search investing, having reduced his investment activity due to the declining economics he’s seeing. We talk about this change of thought, his interest in investing in public micro-cap stocks, and deeper, more targeted industry theses.

Think Like an Owner is sponsored by:

Live Oak Bank – Live Oak Bank is a seasoned SMB lender providing SBA and conventional financing for search funds, independent sponsors, private equity firms, and individuals looking to acquire lower middle market companies. If you are in the process of acquiring a company or thinking about starting a search, contact Lisa Forrest or Heather Endresen directly to start a conversation or go to www.liveoakbank.com/think.

Hood & Strong, LLP – Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. 

Oberle Risk Strategies– Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company’s commercial insurance and Employee benefits programs. If you are under LOI, please reach out to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to the CEO, August Felker, directly at [email protected].