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​Business // Leadership // Learning

We're still here...

3/19/2019

 
Hello, good people! It's been a busy first quarter in our world and I apologize for missing a few months of communication. Nonetheless, we find ourselves on the cusp of yet another exciting spring as we balance the engagement in our newly-acquired business with the annual influx of new M&A opportunities which seem to present this time of year.

So as the snow melts, trees bud, and flowers begin to grow, please keep us in mind as you have conversations with business owners. When addressing the subject of selling or transitioning out of their business, perhaps we can be a resource.

We take a relationship-first approach to our opportunities and enjoy patiently evaluating the process alongside the seller. You can see more about our acquisition criteria on our website.

Additionally, if you or someone you know is looking to buy a business and would find value in a family office partner, we are always looking to expand our relationships with high-quality business operators.

We always appreciate and respect any introductions and referrals.

Until next time!
~Team Kaztex

Deal closed. Merry Christmas!

12/20/2018

 
We are quite pleased--and relieved--to announce that as of Friday, December 14th, we've closed our first ever Kaztex-led deal. Phew!

I've learned, grown, and gotten (slightly) beaten up more over the last 3 months than probably the last 5 years combined. I've gained tremendous respect for people who do this on a regular basis, and yet find myself now looking forward to the next one. I'd like to give a mad shout out to Mike Bradburn at Park Bank for making some things happen to get the deal financed, Jason Scoby for his absolutely incredible legal work and negotiations assistance, and the tight group of investors who believed in us, in the company's story, and were willing to look past our relative inexperience to be a part of something fun and hopefully profitable. I'm truly grateful for all of you.

The company we have acquired is Backyard Nature Products, a manufacturer and distributor of premium birdfeeders, animal feeders, and outdoor furniture, based in Chilton, WI. We employ a staff of 27 and are moving forward very positively with the help of the sellers to transition their operations and new projects/products without missing too many beats.

Christmas cheers to all!

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex

Celebrate!

10/23/2018

 
In our busy, project-filled, deal-doing, getting-stuff-done lives, it can be easy to always be looking toward the next thing. "When I finish this, I'll get started on that," or "Once this deal is done I'll be able to focus on that other thing," etc. At this hectic pace--and hectic frame of mind--it's easy to miss an opportunity right in front of our noses: the opportunity to celebrate.

Let's be honest: life will always be full of 'the next thing,' whatever that thing may be. We can go on about our way continually doing and achieving, earning recognition, promotion, or a bigger paycheck. But we are not achievement robots nor are we money-earning cogs in the machinery of society, so let's not live like we are.

So ask yourself: what can (or should) I celebrate? How can I give pause to reflect on and celebrate the steps of my journey? The milestone doesn't have to be anything huge, nor does the celebration. A little levity goes a long way.

And if you have people working for you, you might consider asking: what can I find to celebrate about my employees? What is their journey and how can I help them celebrate their progress?

Never underestimate the power of making someone feel valued.

On a business note, our deal-in-the-works continues to move forward. As it does, just a reminder that we always love meeting great new people. If you know quality people who are seeking an acquisition and need a partner, quality people who work with business owners, and/or quality business owners who are considering moving on, please introduce us! Here's a reminder of what we generally look for.

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex

Next Steps

9/18/2018

 
Hello and happy September to you all!

I apologize for missing last month's newsletter; August 2018 shaped up to be the epitome of working hard and playing hard to make the most of summer's waning days. And we are pleased to announce that our hard work has resulted in an accepted LOI for a really great little company.

Now, as any of you in the deal world know, while this is great news, it also means that now the REAL work begins. I'll admit that I had a brief moment as I looked at the seller's signature on the page where I said to myself: 'Excellent! But...now what do we do?' Felt a little bit like this for a few minutes. But nonetheless, off we go!

I'm both confident and excited to continue taking the next steps because we're surrounded by a great team of partners and advisers. As I wrote about last time, we can't do this alone. I hope to have more good news in the months to follow.

In the meantime, we still love meeting great new people. If you know quality people who are seeking an acquisition and need a partner, quality people who work with business owners, and/or quality business owners who are considering moving on, please introduce us! Here's a reminder of what we generally look for.

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex

Independence

7/10/2018

 
Independence Day. The pinnacle of summer holidays, an unquestionable excuse to throw parties, and even a temporary carte blanche to blow stuff up. Add in some parades, flags, red-white-and-blue outfits, BBQs, cold beverages, and maybe a boat ride or a picnic...can it get more American than that? What a fantastic holiday.

We Americans love our Independence. Like, we reeeally love our Independence. And in many contexts, that's a wonderful and powerful thing. However, I think that the spirit of independence can sometimes hinder or limit us. We tend to put up a lot of fronts to prove ourselves. We seek titles or positions to gain respect. We boast things like "I got this" when inside we're melting, or "I did such and such" when in reality we barely survived.

But let's be honest: No man or woman is an island, and none of us can truly go it alone. Does this fly in the face of the independent spirit? I think not. The founding fathers (hint: plural) knew this. Heck, the Declaration of Indepence was signed by fifty six people and required input by many more. We're made to operate in community.

One of Kaztex's greatest drivers of success this year has been our partnership approach. Be it acquisition search partners or linking up with high-quality operating partners, we've gained tremendous value, learned a considerable amount, and had doors of opportunity opened to us. Mostly because we're not doing it alone.

Who's your team? Who deserves some credit or a big 'thank you'? Where might you have some independence fronts that ncced to come down?

May this 2nd half of 2018 bring growth to you and your team(s).

And of course, we love meeting great new people. If you know quality people who are seeking an acquisition and need a partner, quality people who work with business owners, and/or quality business owners who are considering moving on, please introduce us! Here's a reminder of what we generally look for.

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex

Writer's Block

6/12/2018

 
Over multiple attempts to write this month’s piece, I kept getting stuck. Over and over. I can’t imagine being an author for a living…the days & weeks when writer’s block hits must be brutal.

So, since I couldn’t come up with anything compelling to write about the theme I originally planned, here’s a nutshell update on this year’s progress:

Our twofold strategy is paying off:
  1. Our proactive search process has yielded a number of conversations with business owners and currently has us engaged with a wonderfully attractive business here in town.
  2. Our partner-with-strong-operators strategy continues to yield new opportunities, with new potential partners and new potential acquisitions coming to bear on a regular basis. We have two active engagements via this strategy, two more in the near-term pipeline, and a dozen or so ‘in conversation.’
While we all know not to celebrate things too early, our momentum is exciting and I hope to have some closed-deal news to share in the coming months. Until then, we shall see...

As always, hop on over to our website for a rundown of our acquisition criteria. We hope be to top of mind the next time you learn of a business owner planning to sell.

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex

Focus

5/15/2018

 
I probably touch on this topic in some way, shape, or form at least 2 or 3 times a year in my writing. And one of those times always seems to be right around this time of year...and for good reason! It seems like the snow has barely melted (quite literally this year) and I'm already up to my eyeballs in networking events, initiatives, and board meetings; not to mention kids' activities, spring/summer travel planning, and the requisite spring house & yard work. It's really easy to get distracted.

One way that I've found it easier to focus is having tightened up our acquisition search criteria a bit. Ironically, I've found that by simplifying the story of what we're looking for, we've been seeing more opportunities come our way.

So here's the story (or, the focus):
We're seeking introductions to companies with sales up to $15MM (with EBTIDA of +10%), which manufacture proprietary products or engineered products (or provide a niche manufacturing process), and are located within ~1 hour of Milwaukee.

We've also added a little more on our website about our approach and philosophy on business ownership. Take a minute to check it out and please let us know who comes to mind that might be a fit to work with us on a transition.

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex

Celebrate

4/17/2018

 
If you’ve been following my blog over the first quarter, you’ll probably remember that they’ve all centered on themes related to getting stuff done. And concurrent with getting stuff done, I believe, is the need to periodically assess your progress and celebrate your wins. After all, don’t we all like to win? Isn’t work (and life) much more fulfilling and enjoyable when you can step back and see where & how you’re winning?

The Great Game of Business, a book I’m currently reading, makes a huge deal about this philosophy of running a business; I read at least 3 books last year whose authors believed the same. And I buy it!

So here are some of our wins for Q1 2018:
  • Closed on 1 partnership investment
  • Built strong relationships with two new operating partners
  • Engaged with two add-on acquisitions for existing portfolio companies
  • Engaged with a search partner to significantly ramp up our targeted search efforts
What are some of your wins?

Our primary criteria continue to be:
- Companies located in greater Southeast Wisconsin (~1 hr drive from Milwaukee), that are...
- Manufacturers producing a product line, engineered product, and/or utilizing a specialized capability, generating...
- Sales in the range of $2 - $15mm and EBITDA margins above 10% (with a particular interest in companies ranging from $3mm - $8mm in sales).

Please keep us top of mind with owners of businesses like these. Our goal is to acquire two this year; we'd love for you to be a partner in our success!

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex

Press On

3/13/2018

 
Last month, I wrote about execution. After all, planning is nothing if you don't (or can't) execute. By the same token, executing is nothing if you don't press on and maintain the discipline of execution.

I keep a list of my goals printed out in front of me and update each sheet weekly so I can visualize my progress. It's encouraging to see targets being met or exceeded over the first two months of the year. We've already yielded more private/direct opportunities in the first two months than I expected for the first half of the year (to you who have made those introductions: thank you!). Yet we press on because we can't be satisfied by a good start--the year is far from over!

Our primary criteria continue to be:
- Companies located in greater Southeast Wisconsin (~1 hr drive from Milwaukee), that are...
- Manufacturers producing a product line, engineered product, and/or utilizing a specialized capability, generating...
- Sales in the range of $2 - $15mm and EBITDA margins above 10% (with a particular interest in companies ranging from $3mm - $8mm in sales).

Please keep us top of mind with owners of businesses like these. Our goal is to acquire two this year; we'd love for you to be a partner in our success!

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex

Execute

2/13/2018

 
Following up on last month's piece about planning and creating space for meaningful work, the next logical step is to take action.

I'm pleased to share that we're making great progress on our two projects. Specifically, we have already been introduced to 7 acquisition/investment opportunities--3 being direct connections to the business owner--and have begun the process of proactively contacting businesses we've selected as being particularly attractive.

Our primary criteria continue to be:
- Companies located in greater Southeast Wisconsin (~1 hr drive from Milwaukee), that are...
- Manufacturers producing a product line, engineered product, and/or utilizing a specialized capability, generating...
- Sales in the range of $2 - $15mm and EBITDA margins above 10% (with a particular interest in companies ranging from $3mm - $8mm in sales).

So as we continue at our goal of making two acquisitions this year, please keep us top of mind with owners of businesses like these. We'd love for you to be a partner in our success!

Moving forward,
~Team Kaztex
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