From Near Collapse to $100M+ Exit: A Story of 8 Smart Acquisitions

In this episode, Todd Saunders shares how one small group of customers with much better retention changed the direction of his entire business. Instead of chasing trends or going broader, he went deep into a simple, overlooked niche -- independent flooring retailers -- and ended up building the core software used across the industry.Todd explains why brand and community mattered more than features, how Facebook groups and events became his main growth drivers, and how that approach helped him roll up 8 niche software companies, grow past $30M in revenue, and exit for $100M+.Show notes:0:00 From Google to flooring software5:19 The retention data that changed everything 7:44 The bold pivot (and why revenue collapsed first)8:37 8 acquisitions lead to a platform build13:35 Sponsor: CapitalPad15:40 51% brand, 49% product (the real moat)18:58 The Facebook group engine25:05 FloorCon: turning community into a movement28:12 Sponsor: Spacebar Studios31:09 The “great idea” that nearly blew up the business40:07 Buying niche software: relationships vs outreach44:03 Integration: the stuff nobody tells you57:47 His founder filter: “I know in 5 minutes”59:22 Hospitality vs service (the lesson that explains everything)Sponsors:https://capitalpad.com/ - A deal-by-deal private equity investing platformhttps://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquireFollow Mikk/PrivateEquityGuy on Twitter: ⁠⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuyThis podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.