Buyers and Builders – Details, episodes & analysis

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Buyers and Builders

PrivateEquityGuy

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/7d. Total Eps: 184

The Buyers and Builders podcast with PrivateEquityGuy is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about holding companies, buying and building businesses, entrepreneurship, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

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Data updated on 27/10/2026

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https://privatequityguy.beehiiv.com/subscribe
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https://www.joinscalepath.com/
35 shares
https://www.spacebarstudios.co/
24 shares

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Score global : 48%

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How I Invested in 150+ Companies and Built a $2B AUM Private Equity Firm | James Andersen Interview

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 • Duration 01:00:02

What does it really take to build a successful private equity firm from scratch, and what can 30 years and more than 150 transactions teach you about investing?

I sit down with James Andersen, co-founder of Clearview Capital, a lower middle market private equity firm managing approximately $2 billion in assets, to unpack the journey of building the firm since 1999. James shares how Clearview navigated difficult early investments, turned one healthcare investment into a 29x return and developed an investment philosophy built around backing exceptional people.

We also explore why the golden era of private equity may be over, the hidden costs of ambition, and James's decision to step back from day-to-day leadership to invest his own capital and pursue a new chapter.

We discuss:
- What it really takes to build a private equity firm from scratch.
- How Clearview survived an early investment that nearly went to zero.
- The story behind a 29x return in healthcare.
- Why great people matter more than great business models.
- The costly lessons of partnering with the wrong founder.
- How Clearview creates value without relying on financial engineering or cost-cutting.
- Why incentives often fail to motivate management teams.
- Why 40 years of falling interest rates created an illusion of private equity outperformance.
- Where James still sees opportunities in the lower middle market.
- Why humility, transparency, and self-awareness matter when evaluating founders.
- How James thinks about deploying his own capital and backing the next generation of entrepreneurs.
- The trade-offs between ambition, family, and building a life well lived.

Guest:
James Andersen is the co-founder of Clearview Capital, a Connecticut-based private equity firm founded in 1999. Over its history, Clearview has completed more than 150 transactions and grown to approximately $2 billion in assets under management. James has recently stepped back from day-to-day leadership to focus on investing his own capital, advising entrepreneurs, and writing about business, investing, and life through his Substack, You Read It Here.

Are you interested in sponsoring the Buyers & Builders Podcast? Please email Mikk Markus at mikk@privatequityguy.com.

Let's Stay Connected (Mikk Markus):
X/Twitter: @PrivatEquityGuy
LinkedIn: Mikk Markus

Stay Connected with James Andersen:
LinkedIn: James Andersen
The Firm: https://www.clearviewcap.com/
SubStack: https://substack.com/@youredithere

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Building Clearview Capital: 27 Years and 150+ Deals
02:04 The Hidden Price of Ambition and Success
07:05 The Experience That Changed James's Approach to Failure
09:38 Why He Walked Away to Start His Own Firm
16:41 The $155M Deal That Proved Clearview Could Succeed
18:37 How Their First Investment Nearly Went to Zero
24:25 The Cost of Partnering With the Wrong Founder
29:25 Inside Clearview's Extraordinary 29x Return
32:49 Why Private Equity Is Ultimately a People Business
35:44 The Difference Between Rewards and Incentives
38:58 Why Great PE Firms Build Businesses Instead of Cutting Costs
42:08 The Great Private Equity Illusion: Why There Will Be Blood
47:29 Why James Stepped Back and How He'll Invest His Own Capital

#privatemarkets #privateequity #fundraising #familyoffice

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

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How Marc Stad Raised $180M and Grew Dragoneer to $40 Billion in AUM

Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 22:11

At 27, he had $0 in assets under management. By 32, he had raised $180 million. Today, Marc Stad's Dragoneer Investment Group manages over $40 billion.

How did he do it?

From getting rejected by TPG to being mentored by its legendary co-founder, David Bonderman, pitching Jeff Bezos in a bathroom, turning a $1 million investment into $4 million, and assembling a multibillion-dollar Uber deal with Warren Buffett, Marc Stad's story is a masterclass in ambition, persistence, relationships, and creative dealmaking.

In this episode of Buyers and Builders, we break down the extraordinary career of Dragoneer's founder, the principles behind his investments in companies like Uber, Airbnb, Spotify, and Meta, and what entrepreneurs, investors, and business buyers can learn from his approach.

The biggest lesson? Your current resources don't define the size of your opportunities.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 The $12 Billion Uber Deal: Marc Stad's Extraordinary Story
3:44 From $180 Million to $40+ Billion: Building Dragoneer
7:22 The Inner Flame: From a Difficult Childhood to Harvard
9:23 Breaking the Rules: How Marc Got Into TPG After 25 Rejections
0:59 Creating Your Own Luck: The Jeff Bezos Bathroom Story
12:53 Turning $1 Million Into $4 Million With MercadoLibre
14:34 The Power of Mentorship: David Bonderman and the $5 Million IOU
17:25 Finding Opportunities Others Don't See
19:04 Lessons in Ambition, Leverage, and Building Great Businesses
20:34 Building Relationships Before You Need Them

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

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He's 30, Raised $25 Million, and Bought Two Boring Businesses | Giuseppe Balzano Interview

Monday, October 12, 2026 • Duration 01:17:17

What does it take to acquire companies, build a serial acquisition platform, and never sell?

My guest today is Giuseppe Balzano, founder of Novaterra, an Italian permanent capital holding company acquiring niche industrial businesses with defensible technology and intellectual property.

At just 30, Giuseppe has secured $25 million in equity commitments, pursued two acquisitions, and set out to build an industrial group that could endure for generations.

We discuss why Italy's overlooked industrial champions present an extraordinary opportunity, how to find businesses with near-monopoly positions, the realities of raising permanent capital, and why patience may be the greatest competitive advantage in investing.

We also explore Giuseppe's unconventional journey from venture capital to business ownership, his approach to acquiring and operating companies, and his ambition to build something his children might one day own.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Building a company he never wants to sell
3:56 The mentor who shaped his long-term thinking
7:20 Why he left venture capital to build something permanent
9:42 Why Italy's industrial businesses are overlooked
12:29 Solo founders, co-founders, and playing the long game
15:05 How he learns and makes investment decisions
18:29 Inside his first two industrial acquisitions
23:37 The next acquisition: water management
24:25 Growing businesses without chasing growth
29:44 Finding acquisition targets other buyers miss
34:14 How to win the trust of family business owners
40:07 The brutal reality of raising $25 million
44:22 The numbers behind his fundraising process
48:12 Deal structuring: debt, equity, and ownership
50:09 Managing acquisitions without replacing CEOs
57:22 Founder incentives and building an ownership culture
1:02:49 Why finding great people is harder than finding deals
1:05:11 Building a legacy despite the odds
1:10:49 The road to a self-funding industrial compounder

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

I Met Roll-Up and Serial Acquisition Outliers. Here’s What I Learned

Saturday, October 3, 2026 • Duration 24:27

What does it actually take to build a world-class roll-up?

After spending a day at the RollUpEurope Serial Acquirers Summit with some of Europe’s most active serial acquirers, we break down the operating playbooks behind groups that have completed hundreds of acquisitions—and the lessons that matter whether you’re pursuing acquisition #1 or #50.

This episode covers how great acquirers choose markets, build proprietary deal flow, win sellers without simply paying the highest price, keep founders engaged after closing, integrate without destroying what made a business special, and eventually turn a collection of companies into an institutional platform.

The examples are remarkable: one group has acquired roughly 680 pharmacies. Evergreen has completed roughly 160 acquisitions. Another platform deliberately stopped acquiring for nearly a year after its first two deals because the founders wanted to understand the operating model before scaling it. Later, they completed an additional 18 acquisitions.

Roll-ups look like finance from a distance. Up close, they are a combination of sales, psychology, operations, hiring, negotiation, capital allocation, culture, and endurance.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Inside Europe’s most active roll-up builders
2:36 Find the pain you actually enjoy
6:11 Why the best roll-ups start extremely niche
7:22 Your acquisition pipeline is part of the research
9:23 Seller psychology: why the highest price doesn’t always win
11:58 Don’t scale a roll-up you don’t understand
13:09 M&A is not value creation
15:08 Integration, capital partners & building an institutional platform
18:54 Reputation as an economic asset
20:08 The roll-up flywheel

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

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A Private Equity Approach to Public Markets | Deiya and Dean Pernas Interview

Monday, September 21, 2026 • Duration 52:25

My guests today are Deiya and Dean Pernas, founders of Pernas Research, who have compounded capital at roughly 30% annually over the past nine years.

We explore their private equity-like approach to public markets: understanding businesses from the inside out, judging management teams and capital allocation, and finding inflection points before they show up in the financials.

We also discuss their “motor” investing framework, why trajectory matters more than absolute quality, lessons from poker and bankroll management, and how they think about position sizing, averaging down, and knowing when a thesis is broken.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 The opportunity in public markets
2:49 From poker and engineering to investing
6:08 Private equity lessons for public investors
11:35 The Motor investing framework
14:40 Finding potential before the numbers
17:02 When to sell
19:20 How to judge great CEOs
23:39 Capital allocation: good and bad
29:59 Trajectory over quality
33:32 Finding inflection points
36:45 Incentives and shareholder alignment
41:48 Poker lessons for portfolio management
45:16 Position sizing, averaging down, and surviving mistakes

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

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How to Scale a Services Business Like a Tech Company | Sam Allsopp Interview

Saturday, September 12, 2026 • Duration 49:33

My guest today is Sam Allsopp, co-founder of Neal Roofing and Waterproofing, a home services company he started with Andrew Neal in 2020 and has since grown from zero to roughly $50 million in annual revenue—all organically.

What makes Sam’s story interesting is that he didn’t come from roofing. Before starting Neal Roofing and Waterproofing, he ran a marketing agency and worked with more than a dozen roofing companies, where he began to see firsthand why some contractors could turn leads into profitable growth while others struggled. That experience eventually became the foundation for Neal Roofing and Waterproofing: build a world-class customer acquisition and sales machine, then pair it with excellent execution and fulfillment.

In this conversation, Sam breaks down how the business changed at every stage—from the first few million in revenue to building management layers, professionalizing the sales organization and eventually creating the systems required to operate at $50 million of scale. We go deep on marketing spend, lead generation, speed-to-lead, booking rates, sales capacity, one-call closes, compensation plans, hiring ahead of growth and the KPIs he watches every day.

We also explore how Neal Roofing and Waterproofing has remained profitable while growing aggressively, why Sam prefers opening new markets from scratch over acquiring competitors, how he thinks about incentives and accountability across the organization and why he believes the underlying playbook can work far beyond roofing.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 From zero to a $50M roofing company
1:11 The real business: customer acquisition + sales
3:25 $1M → $2.5M → $6M → $14M → $25M → $36M → $50M
8:33 What changes at every stage of growth
15:01 The KPIs Sam tracks to run the business
17:52 Facebook, PPC, LSA & the marketing mix
19:15 Why they contact leads in under a minute
23:15 Building the sales machine & one-call close
27:24 The operating system behind $50M of roofs
33:07 Growing fast while staying profitable
38:48 Hiring, incentives & performance pay
40:34 Why they prefer organic growth over M&A
46:14 How Sam actually learned sales & marketing

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

The Roll-Up Playbook: From Zero to $100M Revenue | Felix Jander Interview

Thursday, September 3, 2026 • Duration 57:20

My guest today is Felix Jander, co-founder of Arsipa, a buy-and-build company focused on occupational health and safety.

Felix and Stefan began exploring the idea during COVID, studying roughly 60 niche industries before choosing a fragmented market with significant room for consolidation.

Arsipa went on to complete more than 40 acquisitions, grow to over 1,100 employees across 60+ locations, and surpass $100 million in annual revenue. In 2024, the company partnered with Warburg Pincus, with Felix remaining invested in the business.

We discuss how they chose their market, built proprietary deal flow, and used highly personalized outreach to generate reply rates as high as 80%. Felix explains why the first acquisition matters so much, how Arsipa financed its early deals, and the operational playbook behind recruiting, finance, pricing, integration and culture.

He also shares the story of splitting with his original co-founder, finding his next partner, and transitioning from operator to investor.

This is a practical conversation about acquisitions, capital allocation and building an institution from a collection of small businesses.

Please enjoy my conversation with Felix Jander.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 From zero to 40+ acquisitions and $100M+ in revenue
3:33 Why boring businesses beat venture-backed hypergrowth
5:08 How they chose one market from 60 niche industries
7:40 The 1% conversion math behind proprietary deal flow
11:08 Raising the first pool of acquisition capital
18:00 Buying businesses without brokers
20:41 The first acquisition changes everything
23:04 Equity first, debt later
24:58 Turning acquisitions into an operating company
28:13 Losing a co-founder in the middle of fundraising
32:27 Selling to Warburg Pincus and rolling equity
40:08 The roll-up integration and value-creation playbook
44:32 The economics of scaling a roll-up
48:06 What changes after a major private equity investment
51:24 Felix’s advice for aspiring buy-and-build founders
54:18 From operator to investor
56:12 Final lessons from building ArsipaThis podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

The Anti-Private Equity Playbook: Buy Great Businesses and Don’t Change Them | Justin Escajeda

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 • Duration 43:48

My guest today is Justin Escajeda, an entrepreneur who owns 12 trade businesses around Pittsburgh, employing roughly 250 people and generating more than $50 million in annual revenue.

What makes Justin’s story interesting is that he never set out to become an acquisition entrepreneur. He started in masonry, construction and real estate before buying his first roofing company which did $600k in SDE in 2018 for $846k. That acquisition changed how he thought about building businesses.

Today, Justin owns companies across masonry, roofing, insurance, material supply, general contracting, property management and luxury remodeling. His approach is unusually simple: buy businesses that already work, preserve what made them successful, put great operators in charge and resist the temptation to change things simply because you can.

We also explore how he manages 12 businesses without micromanaging them, the four KPIs he watches every day and why he stopped taking cash from portfolio companies to fund new acquisitions.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Building a $50M portfolio of trade businesses
1:24 The first acquisition that changed everything
4:34 Buying a roofing company for under $1M with an SBA loan
6:21 Why Justin never wants to start another company
8:15 Why he avoids changing businesses after buying them
12:24 Inside a portfolio of 12 trade businesses
15:00 The acquisition Justin overpaid for
16:49 SBA loans, cash, and why he prefers seller financing
22:25 Solving key-person risk after an acquisition
27:14 Growing companies without micromanaging operators
31:05 Why Justin went an entire year without buying anything
34:38 The four numbers he watches every day
37:42 A $300K mistake, liquidity, and why ownership isn’t passive

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

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Masters of Private Equity: Warren Hellman, Tully Friedman and Joseph Rice

Tuesday, August 18, 2026 • Duration 51:04

In 2010, Robert Finkel wrote the book The Masters of Private Equity and Venture Capital: Management Lessons from the Pioneers of Private Investing

In this episode, I explore the ideas, decisions, successes, and failures of two people who helped define modern private equity: Joseph Rice, co-founder of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and Warren Hellman, co-founder of Hellman & Friedman.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 The Masters of Private Equity
2:15 Private equity is more than buying and selling companies
5:42 What separates the best private equity investors
7:14 Joseph Rice: Building Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
10:13 Jack Welch’s advice during the 2008 crisis: “Hammer them”
15:23 The failed deal that changed how Rice invested forever
19:28 Lexmark: Turning an IBM division into an entrepreneurial company
22:06 Kinko’s, a total loss, and the danger of believing you can do anything
26:20 Joseph Rice’s five lessons from 40+ years in private equity
31:03 Warren Hellman: Building Hellman & Friedman
32:23 “This time is different” — the investing lesson Hellman never forgot
36:35 Every investment is guilty until proven innocent
39:51 Think like an owner, not an employee
42:38 Levi Strauss and the deal that put Hellman & Friedman on the map
45:34 Why a great security can still be a terrible investment
49:08 Warren Hellman’s five rules for investing

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

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How Two First-Time CEOs Bought a $5M EBITDA Business | Greg Geronemus Interview

Wednesday, August 12, 2026 • Duration 56:39

Greg Geronemus bought a ~$5M EBITDA business with no operating experience, financed half the purchase price with a seller note, and spent his first year doing something most new owners struggle to do: almost nothing.

Four years later, the business was larger, professionally managed, dramatically delevered, and sold at roughly 9x EBITDA—producing just under a 5x net return and ~50% net IRR for investors.

Greg breaks down the entire journey: finding the deal, negotiating the structure, taking over from a deeply embedded founder, deciding what not to change, discovering the growth channels that actually worked, and ultimately selling the company.

Above all, this is an episode about buying well.

Because you can change your team, strategy, marketing, systems, and operations after closing. You cannot change the price you paid or the structure you agreed to.

For anyone searching for, buying, financing, or operating a business, this is a case study worth studying.

Timestamps:
0:00 From Private Equity to Buying a Business
5:12 The High-Volume Strategy for Finding Deals
7:42 The Unlikely Chain of Introductions That Found smarTours
10:01 The Deal: ~5x EBITDA and 50% Seller Financing
13:50 From First Meeting to a $29M Acquisition
17:18 What Made This Business So Attractive
23:14 How the $29M Acquisition Was Financed
25:21 The First 100 Days: Don’t Screw It Up
31:35 Why Great Buyers Go Slow Before They Go Fast
35:23 Modernizing the Business—and What Didn’t Work
39:39 The Growth Breakthrough Nobody Expected
44:12 Selling the Business, ~5x Returns

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

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Buyers and Builders – Details, episodes & analysis

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Buyers and Builders – Details, episodes & analysis

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