Podcast Review: How to Buy a $13m Business with No PG, No Investors

Key Lessons from the Acquiring Minds Podcast Interview with Carlo Santelli

Pete Weishaupt
3 min readJan 19, 2025

This recent Acquiring Minds podcast interview features Carlos Santelli, an entrepreneur who left investment banking to acquire businesses. Santelli’s unique approach involves seeking out proprietary deals, usually employing sale-leaseback strategies to minimize upfront capital requirements. He focuses on lower-middle-market companies, prioritizing speed and building strong relationships with sellers over extensive due diligence. His strategy leverages his investment banking background to efficiently structure transactions and secure financing. Santelli’s story highlights a creative, less conventional path to entrepreneurship through acquisition, emphasizing the importance of building trust and swiftly executing deals.

Here are some of the key lessons from the interview with Carlos Santelli:

Proprietary deals can be highly lucrative. Santelli emphasizes that proprietary deals, those sourced directly without brokers or intermediaries, offer the best multiples. In his experience, brokered deals rarely offer below-market prices. This aligns with his belief that “the magic is in the multiple.”

Building trust and direct relationships with sellers is critical. Santelli emphasizes a hands-on, partnership-based approach, particularly in proprietary deals where no intermediary exists to facilitate the process. He advocates for clear communication, responsiveness, and a willingness to go the extra mile to address seller concerns and needs.

Sale-leasebacks can unlock significant value. Santelli advocates for incorporating sale-leasebacks into acquisition strategies when real estate is involved. By immediately selling the acquired real estate and leasing it back, buyers can significantly reduce their upfront cash outlay, enabling them to acquire larger businesses or secure more favorable purchase prices. However, he cautions that sale-leasebacks add complexity to transactions.

Focus on consequential due diligence. Santelli advocates for a targeted due diligence approach that prioritizes areas with the greatest potential impact on valuation. When acquiring businesses at low multiples, he suggests focusing on key factors such as customer concentration, employee dynamics, and owner involvement, rather than getting bogged down in minutiae.

Seek creative financing solutions and optimize deal structures. Santelli’s experience demonstrates the power of exploring non-traditional financing options, such as asset-based loans, to minimize equity requirements. By securing financing backed by the acquired company’s excess inventory, along with the RE sale-leaseback, he was able to acquire it without any personal investment.

Think long-term and embrace optionality. Santelli’s 100% ownership gives him significant flexibility and long-term strategic options. Unburdened by external investor demands, he can prioritize long-term value creation over short-term gains.

All in all, Santelli’s journey provides valuable insights into achieving success in the lower middle market. By focusing on proprietary deals, fostering strong seller relationships, employing creative financing strategies, and maintaining a commitment to continuous learning, aspiring entrepreneurs and investors can unlock significant opportunities in this dynamic space.

Do you have a business you need help selling? Click here. And don’t forget to get your free copy of “Get Ready to Sell: Your Roadmap to Business Transition Success

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