Target Fragmented Industries
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Brad Jacobs has built multiple billion-dollar companies by targeting specific types of industries and applying a systematic approach to scaling them.
Industry Selection Criteria
- Targets huge industries with significant fragmentation
- Looks for small, profitable businesses that lack capital to scale
- Focuses on essential services (waste management, logistics, equipment rental)
- Seeks industries where small players can't sustain rapid growth
Growth Strategy
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Acquisition Approach
- Buys companies between 5-10x earnings
- Targets businesses with ~$30M in revenue
- Adds 30-40 employees to double revenue
- Uses combination of acquisitions and organic growth
- Prefers "cold starts" for some locations
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Sales Strategy
- Hires hungry, talented salespeople
- Low base salary ($25-35K) with significant incentives
- Targets salespeople who:
- Score high on "need to win" metrics
- Score low on "need to be liked" metrics
- Can make 99 calls per day
- Can build $1M book after first year
Capital Structure
- Leverages debt strategically
- Raises tens of millions in funding
- Uses clear, straightforward communication with investors
- Focuses on cost of capital relative to growth rate
- Maintains unemotional approach to debt and leverage
Systems Integration
- Prioritizes software/IT systems for integration
- Uses technology to scale acquisitions
- Example: "Rental Man" software acquisition enabled hundreds of subsequent acquisitions
- Builds standardized systems across acquired companies
Research Process
- Spends 3 months studying target industries
- Reads extensive industry reports
- Interviews 100+ industry experts
- Uses straightforward communication in investor materials
- Documents strategy clearly for stakeholders
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.