M&A Launchpad

This is a milestone episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast — Episode 100. In lieu of a guest interview, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa look back on how they got started in acquisition entrepreneurship and use the milestone to unpack the capital stack in plain terms. They walk through the three main paths buyers take into the lower middle market — the traditional search fund model, the self-funded search model, and the independent sponsor model — and explain how debt, equity, seller rolls, seller notes, earnouts, SBA loans, and SBICs fit together to get deals done. 
This conversation is especially useful for anyone trying to figure out which buying model fits them, and for buyers and sellers alike who want a clearer picture of how modern lower middle market deals are actually financed and structured. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
Search fund vs. self-funded vs. independent sponsor — Casey and Feras break down the three main paths into a buy-side deal and how to pick the right one for your situation 
What an independent sponsor actually is — fundless sponsors, typical deal size ($2–10M EBITDA), and how equity and management fees get structured 
What an SBIC is — how these SBA-backed funds bridge the gap between SBA lending and traditional private equity in the lower middle market 
How to build the full capital stack — mezzanine debt, seller rolls, seller notes, and earnouts, and why understanding your financing options (SBA vs. banks vs. SBICs) matters before you negotiate 
Additional Resources 
Thinking about buying a business? Connect with the Equity Launchpad team to learn more about acquisition entrepreneurship and upcoming opportunities. 
Contact Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa: info@equity-launchpad.com 
Explore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com 
 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/
 

In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa sit down with John Blanchard and Nick Saloom of Engineered Tax Mitigation to unpack how business owners can dramatically reduce the tax hit on a sale. John and Nick explain how they work alongside a seller's existing CPA and legal team to compress effective tax rates, why depreciation recapture catches so many sellers off guard, and how getting involved years before a sale can also boost a company's valuation. 
 
The conversation includes a real case study: a $25 million business sale where proactive tax planning took the blended tax rate from 27% down to 11%, putting an extra $4.2 million in liquid proceeds in the sellers' pockets. 
 
In this episode, we discuss: 
Why tax planning needs to start years before a liquidity event, not at closing 
How personal expenses run through the business quietly suppress EBITDA and valuation 
Why depreciation recapture (Section 1245/1250) surprises sellers who assume they only owe capital gains 
A real case study: compressing a $25M sale from a 27% blended tax rate to 11% 
Deferred Sales Trusts vs. Deferred Sales Trust Plus, and how they compare to a compressed-rate strategy 
Why buyers, not just sellers, can benefit from bringing in a tax mitigation team 
 
Guest Contact Information 
John Blanchard, Engineered Tax Mitigation 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnblanchard/ 
Nick Saloom, CPA, MBA, Engineered Tax Mitigation 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-saloom-7abb27a4/ 
Website: etmwealth.com 
Phone: 888-799-0288 
 
Additional Resources 
Thinking about buying a business? Connect with the Equity Launchpad team to learn more about acquisition entrepreneurship and upcoming opportunities. 
Contact Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa: info@equity-launchpad.com 
Explore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com 
 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/

In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa sit down with Mark Hartmann, Lower Middle Market M&A Advisor and Business Broker at HartmannRhodes and author of *The Sweat Equity Payday*. Mark spent years building a medical claims cost containment company, sold it for eight figures at 42 without hiring a broker, and made every mistake in the book along the way — including not knowing what "working capital" meant until it cost him roughly a million dollars. That expensive lesson, plus his Certified Exit Planning Advisor credential and IBBA training, turned him into a broker who now runs sell-side and buy-side deals in the $1M–$25M enterprise value range, with a specialty in getting sellers deal-ready years before they ever list.
In this episode, we discuss:• The "catastrophic mistake" that may have cost him a million dollars: selling his own company without a broker and not understanding the working capital peg or adjustment• What a broker actually does after the LOI is signed• Mark's three pieces of advice for first-time buyers and sellers
Guest Contact Information:Mark HartmannM&A Advisor / Business Broker, HartmannRhodesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhartmann/Website: https://www.hartmannrhodes.comBook: *The Sweat Equity Payday* — Amazon bestseller, available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle (audiobook forthcoming)
Additional Resources:Thinking about buying a business? Connect with the Equity Launchpad team to learn more about acquisition entrepreneurship and upcoming opportunities.
Contact Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa: info@equity-launchpad.comExplore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com
 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/

In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa sit down with Betsy Kauffman, Founder & CEO of Cross Impact, a Charlotte-based leadership coaching and organizational development firm, and author of the new book The Fix. Betsy has spent two decades coaching leadership teams through acquisitions, integrations, and everyday dysfunction — and she's also lived the buyer's side of the table herself. She walks through the near-acquisition of a $50M commercial design firm that collapsed on a $14M deal just before closing, the systems-and-process blind spots she sees over and over in newly acquired businesses, and why “the person's not a fit” is usually the wrong diagnosis. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
Betsy's path from corporate program manager to founding Cross Impact in 2014, and the TED Talk (“4 Tips to Kickstart Honest Conversations at Work”) that grew out of her coaching work 
How her practice evolved from agile/technology team coaching into full leadership development after clients kept asking for help with alignment, not just execution 
Why she wrote The Fix, a business fable built around a core idea: people usually aren't broken — the systems and processes around them are 
The common pitfalls she sees in newly acquired businesses: no real decision-making process, and no shared language for what basic terms even mean 
Her own near-acquisition: partnering to buy a $50M commercial design firm for roughly $14M, and getting “a little over our skis” on a first deal 
The red flag that should have ended it sooner — missed monthly forecasts — and the 11th-hour collapse when the valuation dropped and the sellers wouldn't renegotiate 
What she'd have fixed post-close: no go-to-market strategy, an earmarked new leader ready to run it, and plans to divest a “shiny object” division 
The leadership nugget she repeats in every session: alignment does not always equal agreement 
Why a good coach exists partly to force the tough, lingering decision that everyone already knows needs to be made 
Guest Contact Information 
Betsy Kauffman 
Founder & CEO, Cross Impact 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betsykauffman 
Website: https://crossimpact.co 
Book: The Fix — available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Spotify Audiobooks 
Additional Resources 
Thinking about buying a business? Connect with the Equity Launchpad team to learn more about acquisition entrepreneurship and upcoming opportunities. 
Contact Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa: info@equity-launchpad.com 
Explore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com 
 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/

In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa sit down with Sequoya Borgman, Founder & CEO of Borgman Capital, a Milwaukee-based independent sponsor firm that has completed over 20 acquisitions in roughly a decade. Sequoya shares how he left an 18-year career in public accounting — rising to Partner at a Big Four firm — to launch Borgman Capital in 2017 with nothing but a deal under LOI that promptly fell apart a week before close. He breaks down how the independent sponsor model actually works, why the first deal makes or breaks your track record, how people problems quietly tank more investments than anything else, and what Borgman looks for in the food and equipment rental spaces that keep them coming back. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
Why Sequoya walked away from a Partner-track career at a Big Four firm after 18 years in public accounting — and what finally pushed him to make the jump 
The gut-punch of his first deal: an LOI lined up before he quit his job that collapsed a week before close when the seller chose his son instead 
How he closed his first deal nine months after launching — a material handling manufacturer — and why that exit five years later set Borgman Capital up for everything that followed 
The 2026 deal market reality: why only about 50% of deals are closing, big funds competing down market, and what that means for independent sponsors chasing $4–7M EBITDA businesses 
Why the biggest risk in any lower middle market deal isn’t the business model — it’s the leadership hire, and how you usually know within the first 30 days if you got it wrong 
The independent sponsor structure explained: deal-by-deal Reg D funds, over 500 LPs, co-sponsorship terms, and when Borgman brings in a mezzanine partner 
Why food and equipment rental are Borgman’s favorite verticals — and why he’s closing on another equipment rental business tomorrow 
How to reach Borgman Capital whether you’re a seller, a deal-finder looking to co-sponsor, or an investor looking to participate 
Guest Contact Information 
Sequoya Borgman 
Founder & CEO, Borgman Capital 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sequoya-borgman-8a6057a/ 
For business owners and deal partners: https://www.borgmancapital.com 
For investors: https://www.passthehat.com 
Additional Resources 
Thinking about buying a business? Connect with the Equity Launchpad team to learn more about acquisition entrepreneurship and upcoming opportunities. 
Contact Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa: info@equity-launchpad.com 
Explore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/

In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Feras Moussa and Ben Suttles sit down with Christopher Burke — Australian entrepreneur, founder of Brickendon Consulting and HybridHero, and Managing Partner of Aduvo — to talk about what 25 years of building companies from the inside actually teaches you. Christopher shares how he scaled Brickendon to 300+ professionals across four countries before executing a management buyout, how he launched HybridHero before COVID validated the workplace management software thesis, and why he now works alongside founders at Aduvo to help them avoid the structural traps that stop growth in its tracks. This conversation covers the people problems that stall every growing company, the mechanics of a UK Employee Ownership Trust, the $13M deal that tripled Brickendon’s revenue overnight, and why founders who are central to every decision don’t actually have a sellable business. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
Why the systems, processes, and people architecture — not the market — are what stop businesses from scaling 
The two revenue thresholds (~$10M and ~$30M) where founders most often become the bottleneck 
How to hire only A players and build a culture that self-selects for top talent 
The org chart exercise every founder should do: put your name in every box, then figure out which ones to hand off 
Why being irreplaceable in your business makes it unsellable — and what to do about it 
How Brickendon’s management buyout worked, including the data room, warranties, and share purchase agreement 
The UK Employee Ownership Trust (EOT): selling your company tax-free to your staff and why it beat private equity 
What Aduvo does for founders looking to scale, acquire, or exit — and why outside perspective changes what you can see 
Guest Contact Information 
Christopher Burke 
Managing Partner, Aduvo 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-burke-uk/ 
Website: https://theaduvo.com/ 
Additional Resources 
Thinking about buying a business? Connect with the Equity Launchpad team to learn more about acquisition entrepreneurship and upcoming opportunities. 
Contact Feras Moussa and Ben Suttles: info@equity-launchpad.com 
Explore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com 
 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/

In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa sit down with Andrew Kurzrok, owner-operator of Hopewell Sheet Metal Manufacturing in Hagerstown, Maryland. Andrew shares his unconventional path from national security to Fortune 500 manufacturing executive to self-funded searcher — and how he closed on a 45-year-old business with a 17-year average employee tenure. He breaks down why he chose a self-funded SBA deal over the independent sponsor route, how he found Hopewell through cold outreach, and what the first seven months of ownership actually look like. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
Why Andrew chose self-funded search over independent sponsor or PE-backed acquisition 
How he structured his search: cold outreach vs. broker deals, and what actually worked 
The deal structure behind Hopewell — SBA financing, equity strategy, and why he deliberately over-equitized 
What it was like to buy a 45-year-old business with a 17-year average employee tenure 
The biggest surprise in the first 30 days (hint: it’s HR paperwork) 
Why Hopewell’s “best value” positioning mirrors the connector industry he came from 
Plans to implement EOS and lean manufacturing — and why the team’s expertise is the real asset 
Guest Contact Information 
Andrew Kurzrok 
Owner-Operator, Hopewell Sheet Metal Manufacturing 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akurzrok/ 
Additional Resources 
Thinking about buying a business? Connect with the Equity Launchpad team to learn more about acquisition entrepreneurship and upcoming opportunities. 
Contact Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa: info@equity-launchpad.com 
Explore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/

In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa sit down with Kevin Baker of Emergency Care Partners (ECP) to unpack the business side of emergency medicine and the acquisition strategy behind one of the country’s fastest-growing emergency care platforms. Kevin shares how ECP scaled from a Louisiana-based merger into a 10-state organization serving more than 1.5 million patients annually, while breaking down how hospital emergency departments are actually operated behind the scenes.  The conversation dives into physician practice acquisitions, healthcare EBITDA valuations, recurring revenue, liquidity events, and how buyers structure recapitalization deals that keep doctors invested in future growth. Kevin also shares practical insights into sourcing acquisition opportunities, building relationships with industry advisors, and why consistent outreach is critical for long-term pipeline development. 
In this podcast episode, we discuss: 
The surprising business structure behind hospital emergency departments and outsourced physician staffing 
Why succession planning and liquidity are major drivers for physician practice acquisitions 
Common EBITDA adjustments in healthcare acquisitions and how buyers evaluate recurring earnings 
Why recurring revenue and operational stickiness command higher EBITDA multiples 
What buyers look for during Quality of Earnings and confirmatory diligence 
Guest Contact Info: 
Website: https://www.ecp.net 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmb23/ 
Additional Resources: 
Contact Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa at info@equitylaunchpad.com 
Explore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/

In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Ben Suttles sit down with Mike Ehrle, founder of FinParency, to discuss one of the most overlooked problems in the lower-middle market: business owners who simply lock the door and walk away rather than securing a proper exit. Mike draws on his experience watching UnitedHealth Group complete 65 acquisitions and leading companies through multiple private equity and family office transactions to explain how FinParency is building a platform to get small business owners exit-ready, match them with the right buyers from a pool of 4,500+ private equity groups and 4,000+ family offices, and bridge the knowledge gap that causes so many deals to fall apart. 
 
In this podcast episode, we discuss: 
Why roughly 20% of small business owners in their 60s plan to shut down rather than sell -- and what's driving that trend 
How FinParency's platform diagnoses a business, scores its exit-readiness, and flags red flags before buyers ever see them 
What business owners need to understand about add-backs, working capital, and cleaning up financials before going to market 
How cutting costs (especially benefits and insurance) directly increases your exit multiple 
Inside look at how strategic buyers like UnitedHealth Group approach acquisitions differently than private equity 
How FinParency matches sellers with the right buyers -- PE groups, family offices, and individual investors -- and when to bring in a banker 
 
Guest Contact Info: 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeehrle/ 
Email: mikeehrle@finparency.ai 
Website: finparency.ai or finparency.com 
 
Additional Resources: 
Thinking about buying or selling a business? Connect with the Equity Launchpad team to learn more about acquisition entrepreneurship and upcoming opportunities. 
Contact Casey Minshew and Ben Suttles: info@equity-launchpad.com 
Explore more: https://www.equity-launchpad.com 
 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/

**Please note: There are periodic audio distortions.  Thank you for bearing with the tech glitches. 
In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa sit down with Robert Checchia, CFO of Benzinga, to discuss what happens after private equity acquires a fast-growing media company and how leadership teams reposition businesses for long-term enterprise value. Robert shares how Benzinga evolved from a financial media platform into a fintech and data licensing company, why recurring revenue and sticky data products matter, and the operational playbook he uses when stepping into PE-backed businesses. 
In This Episode We Discuss: 
How Benzinga transitioned from financial media into a fintech and data licensing company 
Robert’s 30-60-90-180 day CFO framework after joining a PE-backed acquisition 
Why cash flow management and centralized data are critical after acquiring a business 
The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when scaling and productizing companies 
Guest Contact Info: 
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robert-g-checchia-cfa 
Email: robert@benzinger.com or checchia.robert@gmail.com  
Benzinga: https://www.benzinga.com 
Additional Resources: 
Equity Launchpad helps acquisition entrepreneurs, investors, and operators learn how to buy, scale, and grow businesses through strategic acquisitions. Explore educational resources, podcast episodes, and investment insights at https://www.equity-launchpad.com or contact Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa at info@equity-launchpad.com 
 
About The M&A Launchpad: The M&A Launchpad provides insights into acquiring, investing in, and selling profitable businesses in the lower to middle market. Whether you are a business owner, investor, or aspiring entrepreneur, we will provide you with the knowledge, guidance, and capital to navigate the world of mergers and acquisitions.The M&A Launchpad presents a series of weekly podcast episodes and hosts an annual M&A Launchpad Conference tailored to the M&A community.Connect with M&A Launchpad: 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0mW6i4ooujqC7eOPWmguU7🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-launchpad/id1740382586🎟️ Attend Upcoming M&A Launchpad Conference: http://malaunchpad.com/