My guest today is Alexis Sikorsky. An entrepreneur who bootstrapped, scaled, and ultimately sold a company in a 9-figure exit.SponsorsThis episode is brought to you by CapitalPad — a marketplace that connects acquisition entrepreneurs who need capital with investors who want exposure to small-business deals. Standardized terms, governance, and distributions included. If you’re raising for a deal—or want to back operators—check out https://capitalpad.com/ETA Europe — sharp weekly curation of European acquisitions, operators, and deals. Sign up, it's free: https://legacy-partners-newsletter.beehiiv.com/We cover:00:00 Sponsor: CapitalPad01:36 Who is Alexis Sikorsky02:03 Early entrepreneurship03:59 First ISP & internet café in West Africa05:12 Conflict with government & partner’s death07:05 Buys training company07:43 1999–2000: founding the software dev firm09:20 Buying assets of Logical Access09:37 On failures & lessons (politics, client concentration)12:35 “I can’t be employed” mindset / drive to continue13:06 2008 peak: €11–12M revenue, €3M profit14:31 “The grind” years: cuts, mortgages, survival15:17 Private equity calls16:35 The very optimistic 2-year plan17:22 The deal: ~11x EBITDA, 85% cash now / 15% later18:59 Final personal exit; later strategic sale (undisclosed 9 figures)19:30 Sponsor: ETA Europe newsletter20:41 “If I had 2023 wisdom in 2003…”21:22 How much runway to hold; agility for black swans22:23 Fear, resilience, and hiring “good people” too late24:59 Personality under stress; heart attack joke28:07 Why post-PE period was the best28:13 “Did you sell to the right people?”28:29 Strengths & weaknesses30:00 Life after exit34:31 What retirement actually felt like35:01 Happiness, safety, safari/diving; minimal “stuff”39:52 Founders often don’t know their own company40:52 Know your numbers monthly43:28 “Fire yourself” from most tasks as CEO44:51 “What’s your number?” conversation45:37 Grow to sell vs. morphing into a bank47:50 Growth vs. lifestyle businesses50:16 Execute phase cadence51:08 Best growth levers (context-dependent)52:03 M&A focus for this audience52:17 Why M&A is the fast/cheap shortcut54:01 Leverage math in euros (LBO example)56:08 PE myths1:01:05 Negotiate your own contract & non-compete1:01:23 Managing time during diligence1:02:21 Readiness test: 1-week no-phone vacation1:02:37 How to diligence PE (ask for 5, call the others)1:06:59 What buyers saw that he didn’t1:10:41 Why founders often under-sell1:10:55 Nominal EBITDA explained1:12:13 Over-management at €100M valuations1:12:35 Where clients fail in execution1:14:21 Black swans & an online pivot to €100M1:16:28 Quickfire wrap1:17:33 Best investing advice (fundamentals over price)Support our Sponsors:CapitalPad: https://capitalpad.com/ETA Europe: https://legacy-partners-newsletter.beehiiv.com/Subscribe on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/6lr5bE3SNZF2uEE7Nb0DHh?si=cP_nAarhRmep1lvnR6uk5gSubscribe on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holdco-builders/id1695713724Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: ⁠⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuyThis podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

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