Think Like an Owner – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Alex Bridgeman is joined by Alvin Wong and Jordan Huibers on Think Like an Owner, exploring their long-standing partnership, the focused search that led them to Advanced Aircrew Academy, and the lessons they've carried into running the company. They walk through the origins of their collaboration, how a shared passion for aviation shaped their search thesis, and the discipline required to pursue only the opportunities that truly aligned with their experience and values. They also reflect on the emotional highs and lows of stepping away from a business they loved, only to return months later with deeper conviction and ultimately close the acquisition. Their discussion highlights themes of curiosity, humility, relationship building, and maniacal focus as tools that helped them through both the search and their first year as CEOs.

They discuss:
• How Alvin and Jordan developed their industry-focused search thesis and complementary roles within it
• The emotional and practical challenges of walking away from an LOI and what ultimately brought them back
• Lessons from navigating remote-team dynamics during their first year of ownership
• The importance of curiosity, people-orientation, and focus as competitive advantages
• Guidance for future searchers on prioritizing effectiveness over efficiency

Links:

Advanced Aircrew Academy - https://www.aircrewacademy.com/

Alvin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvinwongto/

Jordan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanhuibers/

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:55) - The origin of Alvin and Jordan's relationship

(00:08:16) - The Search and circling in on an industry focus

(00:23:15) - The first few months on the ground post-close

(00:30:47) - How the Search community helped Alvin and Jordan

(00:33:46) - Taking a people-oriented approach to the business

(00:36:51) - Advice for the listeners

In this episode of Think Like an Owner, Alex Bridgeman sits down with T.J. Coombs, an experienced operator and turnaround expert with decades of leadership across industries including building products, manufacturing, and distribution. T.J. shares lessons from his 40-year career helping companies navigate transitions, execute turnarounds, and build strong leadership teams. He discusses his philosophy of defining success by when you leave, the importance of disciplined assessments, and the hands-on approach required to truly understand and improve a business.

They discuss:
• How defining success as "when you leave" creates accountability in leadership transitions
• Why the best business insights often come from the shop floor, not the boardroom
• The mindset and structure required to execute successful turnarounds
• How effective CEOs balance strategic vision with time spent in the field
• The future of the building products industry and the growing importance of service and technology

Links:

T.J. on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjcoombs/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:48) - The drive to lead

(00:05:12) - When you know you're work is done

(00:07:04) - Evaluating WHO you want to work with

(00:12:17) - "Staple yourself to an order"

(00:15:46) - Favorite questions to ask in order to better understand a business

(00:18:08) - How long do you typically spend as an interim CEO?

(00:20:06) - Involvement in hiring the permanent CEO

(00:23:13) - Leading a turnaround business

(00:31:00) - The key jobs of a CEO

(00:42:56) - The state of the Distribution and Install industries

(00:54:41) - Advice to building supply leaders

In this episode of Think Like an Owner, I sit down with Dave Whorton, founder of Tugboat Institute and author of Another Way, to explore a different path for entrepreneurs—one built on permanence, purpose, and long-term thinking. After an early career in venture capital and tech startups, Dave walked away from the high-growth, high-exit model to focus on what he calls "Evergreen companies."

We talk about the origins of Tugboat Institute and the principles behind Evergreen businesses: profitable growth, deeply held purpose, people-first cultures, and a commitment to staying private. Dave shares stories from multi-generational companies that are thriving by building slowly, investing intentionally, and rejecting the pressure to sell.

We also cover:

• Why Dave left venture capital after working on companies like Amazon and Google

• The seven core values that define Evergreen companies

• How to create long-term alignment between family, founders, and leadership

• The role of independent boards in creating accountability without outside capital

• Why purpose-driven companies often outperform over the long haul

• How to resist short-term thinking in a culture obsessed with exits

This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs who want to build something enduring—not just successful. Dave's framework offers a powerful counterpoint to the dominant startup narrative, with practical takeaways for anyone playing the long game.

Dave's new book, Another Way, is available now.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Another Way by Dave Whorton and Bo Burlingham - https://www.tugboatinstitute.com/anotherway/

Dave on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davewhorton/

Tugboat Institute - https://www.tugboatinstitute.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:00:44) - Sponsor - Inzo Technologies

(00:03:02) - The Tugboat Institute and Evergreen Companies

(00:03:50) - Dave's Journey in Technology and Venture Capital

(00:08:46) - The Value of Long-Term Family Businesses

(00:29:15) - Governance and Family Harmony in Business

(00:33:13) - Lessons from Multi-Generational CEOs

(00:33:52) - Estate Planning for Founders

(00:35:29) - Curiosity About G3 and G4 Leaders

(00:37:36) - Industry Selection in Evergreen Companies

(00:40:09) - Challenges of Transitioning to a Family Business

(00:43:08) - Alternative Paths to Business Growth

(00:49:36) - Innovative Practices in Evergreen Companies

(00:59:13) - Northgate Markets: A Success Story

(01:02:59) - Concluding Thoughts on Evergreen Companies

Ep.183: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Mark Valdez (@_markvaldez).

My guest Mark Valdez is the founder and CEO of Eads Bridge Holdings, a holding company with a tech-enabled thesis, and now the owner of a behavioral health business, Stokes Counseling. Mark and I talk about what a tech-focused thesis looks like in practice and what it means to be a software-defined holding company, dynamics in the new acquisition, where tech makes the greatest impact, and building a holding company team. This is also Mark's second appearance on the podcast, so head to episode 55 for more background on Mark and Eads Bridge. Please enjoy my second episode with Mark Valdez.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Mark on Twitter

Eads Bridge Holdings

The Eads Bridge Substack

Stokes Counseling

Timestamps

(00:04:18) Thoughts on Hedge Funds

(00:05:35) Pursuing a Holdco model

(00:07:57) The story of Eads Bridge

(00:14:44) Questions to find problems in processes

(00:16:17) Mark's first acquisition

(00:19:20) Tools and products that are obvious add-ons to a new business that's acquired

(00:22:32) Company growth perspectives for mental health companies

(00:25:09) Factors to monitor in a marketplace business

(00:27:49) Marketplace businesses Mark takes inspiration from

(00:29:54) Evaluating Founder fit

(00:34:08) Characteristics of well-run talent networks

(00:37:36) Key roles EBH fulfills for portfolio companies

(00:39:24) Being a software-defined Holdco

(00:41:55) Approaches to take with a long-term hold mentality

(00:44:20) Thoughts on investing in software subscription businesses

(00:45:44) Top of mind focuses for the rest of 2023

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.

Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N

Ep.182: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Jim Vesterman (@jim-vesterman).

This episode is the fourth in our Launch Series, a partnered episode series with Trilogy Search Partners and Pacific Lake Partners, on the stages leading up to becoming a CEO via the search fund model. Today's conversation with Jim Vesterman focuses on seller relationships during the deal process. Jim shares his own experience working with the seller of Raptor Technologies, a company he ran as CEO and is now a board member of, as well as other experiences he had with sellers during his search.

This is a discussion packed with insights on building great relationships with sellers and is a perfect complement to our earlier Launch episodes on industry research, starting up a search, and managing a due diligence process. Please enjoy this Launch Series episode on seller relationships with Jim Vesterman.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Raptor Technologies

Pacific Lake Partners

Trilogy Search Partners

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:04:01) Jim's career and experience Searching 

(00:07:26) Identifying the right characteristics for a seller in a Search Fund acquisition

(00:11:45) Navigating a multi-founder acquisition and replacing a seller's role within the business

(00:14:55) Finding the seller with the right mindset

(00:17:13) Building trust and rapport with sellers

(00:20:25) Assessing the trustworthiness of a seller

(00:24:26) Working through valuation expectations

(00:29:01) Learning from advisors on both seller and search side

(00:33:29) The importance of face-to-face interactions

(00:35:22) Managing the seller relationship post-close

(00:37:17) Best practices for transitioning key relationships with company stakeholders

(00:39:20) Examples of when it's right to keep the seller within the business

Ep.181: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Ben Tagoe (@btagoe).

My guest today is Ben Tagoe, CEO of Objective Management Group who through a partner network provides sales assessments to sales teams and individual salespeople. Founded over 30 years ago, they have assessed millions of salespeople and 10s of thousands of companies across hundreds of industries. They are a fascinating business that I'm excited to talk about today.

Ben and I talk about the various ways they evaluate and coach sales teams, the power of active listening and tools to improve, trends he's noticed at the best-performing sales teams, operating a company with a small headcount relative to its impact, and his past role as Chief of Staff at OnDeck and the various flavors of the Chief of Staff role he's observed. Enjoy!

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Objective Management Group

Ben on LinkedIn

Timestamps:

(00:04:03) The history of OMG and their business model

(00:06:10) The different product categories offered at OMG

(00:08:46) What are the methods for evaluating a salesperson or sales team?

(00:16:20) Improving active listening

(00:19:58) To-do lists

(00:21:19) The practice of changing belief systems

(00:24:40) Common themes across OMG's case studies

(00:27:56) Skills that correlate with effective Sales Management

(00:32:31) The pros and cons of OMG's small team size

(00:36:36) The importance and function of the Chief of Staff role

(00:48:11) What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on?

(00:50:04) What's the best business you've ever seen?

Ep.180: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by David Dodson (@Dave-Dodson).

My guest today is David Dodson. David is an investor, former CEO, professor at Stanford, and as of July 13th, 2023, an influential author having published his first book, The Manager's Handbook. I read an advance copy ahead of the recording and was incredibly impressed with how strategic and tactical it was in showing you how to become a more productive leader.

The book examines the five essential managerial skills David has observed across some of the most ambitious CEOs he knows, and it's written in a format designed for busy leaders who don't have time for fluff. Given this show's focus on ambitious CEOs and David's wide reach across the CEO world, I can't think of a better guest or topic for this show. Enjoy our conversation, and I highly recommend picking up a copy of The Manager's Handbook.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Pick up a copy of The Manager's Handbook by David Dodson

David on LinkedIn

Timestamps:

(00:05:21) David's experience as a first-time author

(00:10:39) The decision to design the book for busy people

(00:12:29) The challenge for CEOs to read given their time constraints

(00:15:14) The 5 skills that are common among great leaders

(00:23:56) How readers can apply the book's lessons to their company

(00:28:20) How to improve meetings

(00:33:24) Radical Candor

(00:39:41) The impact effective communication has on the 5 skills

(00:48:48) Thoughts on good hiring

(00:51:52) Successfully onboarding a new hire

(00:55:34) Knowing when to fire an employee

(00:57:27) The fanatical custodian of time

(01:02:16) Best email & Slack habits

(01:10:52) What section David would add to the next revision

Ep.179: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Julian Scadden (@JulianScadden).

My guest today is Julian Scadden, CEO of Nexstar, an industry education, coaching, content, and data business all-in-one for plumbing, HVAC, and electrical companies. I am super excited for this episode. This is a fascinating company and has been mentioned by no less than three other podcast guests to me, so I'm thrilled to sit down with Julian today.

Julian and I talk about Nexstar's business model and ownership structure, which is really unique, how they help member companies, what the best-performing companies in their membership do, developing and maintaining a sharing-based culture, and so much more. Enjoy!

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Nexstar Network

Julian on LinkedIn

Timestamps:

(00:03:40) The correlations between Clear, TSA Pre check & Nexstar

(00:06:08) An overview of the Nexstar business model

(00:15:21) What a typical year looks like for a member of Nexstar

(00:24:43) Potential threats to the culture of sharing built at Nexstar

(00:28:22) Scarcity vs. abundance mindset

(00:32:39) Common themes across Founders thriving within Nexstar

(00:37:53) Ways to test and use predictive analytics

(00:40:37) How the market for businesses on Nexstar has evolved

(00:43:59) Raising a competitor vs. fighting them

(00:46:57) Customizing a service for larger-scale businesses 

(00:51:40) What's a strongly held belief you've changed your mind on?

(00:53:28) What's the best business you've come across?

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.

Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N

Ep.178: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Ryan Turk (@Ryan-Turk) and Keith Gross (@Keithmgross).

This is the third episode in our Launch Series, a partnered episode series with Trilogy Search Partners and Pacific Lake Partners. This conversation focused on managing the due diligence process after a signed LOI with past guest Ryan Turk, CEO of Radiation Detection Company, and Keith Gross, Partner at Pacific Lake. This discussion touches on managing third parties, the importance of open and regular communication, the goals of different types of due diligence, and focusing on the issues that matter.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Ryan on LinkedIn

Keith on LinkedIn

Pacific Lake Partners

Radiation Detection Company

Think Like an Owner Ep.110 w/ Ryan Turk

Timestamps:

(00:02:45) The objective of doing diligence 

(00:06:15) Deciding where to focus diligence

(00:14:05) Having flexibility in your areas of focus

(00:15:42) Pipeline management while in diligence or doing a deal

(00:22:27) Managing investor communications & Board construction

(00:41:42) Managing external parties

(00:44:00) Confirmatory diligence

(00:46:51) Keeping legal advisors focused 

(00:50:24) Managing seller relationships

Ep.177: Alex Bridgeman (@aebridgeman) is joined by Sieva Kozinsky (@sievakozinsky).

My guest on this episode is Sieva Kozinsky, co-founder of Enduring Ventures, a holding company founded in 2019 with 17 acquisitions to date. Sieva and I met at a dinner following the Berkshire Hathaway meeting in Omaha, his first time attending the meeting. A theme from our first conversations in Omaha that continues through this episode is long-term thinking being a huge advantage, and that compounding happens everywhere. Reputation, lessons, and learning - well beyond capital alone.

We talk about Sieva's background as a founder and how it impacts his role at Enduring Ventures, how he discovered he is a better buyer than a builder, great companies and founders he's studied and taken lessons from, and much more. Enjoy!

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Sieva on LinkedIn

Sieva on Twitter

Enduring Ventures

Founders Podcast

Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow

The Gambler: How Penniless Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History by William Rempel

Timestamps:

(00:03:53) Belief Documents

(00:08:39) Long-termism trends

(00:11:22) Takeaways from the Berkshire Event

(00:20:02) Helping employees & executives think and behave like an owner

(00:25:44) Being a Buyer vs. Builder

(00:32:36) Culture Index

(00:35:24) The importance of having experience as a founder/operator to succeed at Enduring

(00:44:18) Pareto Prinicples

(00:53:45) Habits, tactics, and learnings from biographies on great founders and companies

(01:08:14) What strongly held belief have you changed your mind on?

(01:09:34) What's the best business you've ever seen?