My guest today is Joel Mathew, Head of Originations at Woodson Equity. We discuss how his entrepreneurial path led him into private equity, Woodson’s “inch wide, mile deep” focus on diversified industrials and business services, and why they favor hands-on, control deals. Joel shares a live carve-out playbook, how he sources more than a 1,000 deals a year, the first-100-days operating cadence, culture as an edge, off-market vs. banked processes, and the mindset required to win in the lower middle market.Sponsors:This episode is sponsored by CapitalPad, the marketplace that connects acquisition entrepreneurs with investors who want exposure to small-business deals. Operators list live deals in one place; investors get standardized terms, governance, and distributions. If you are raising for a deal, or you want to back great operators, visit https://capitalpad.com/Our sponsor Spacebar Studios builds and runs your newsletter end to end, so you stay top of mind with founders, brokers, LPs, talent and your customers without adding to your workload. Strategy, writing, design, sending, and list growth are handled. HoldCo Builders listeners also get a two-week free trial. Start with a free intro call at https://www.spacebarstudios.co/inquireTIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro5:03 Focus: diversified industrials & business services6:27 Hold period philosophy7:07 Target size & screens8:04 Why pursue larger deals9:41 Value creation beyond capital; control investing11:08 Hands-on operations (presence on the floor)12:53 Sponsor: CapitalPad14:16 Stewardship playbook: cost discipline, systems, people15:24 Beyond the P&L: culture & morale16:18 Weighing purpose vs. numbers21:42 Factory-floor insights you won’t see in a data room25:48 Why deal flow is “easy” (but a lot of work)28:16 Sponsor: Spacebar Studios29:48 Bigger vs. smaller deals31:44 Seller types: family, PE, and carve-outs33:50 Winning trust with founders not yet selling38:02 Where the best off-market deals originate39:10 Time allocation & focus blocks41:05 Best ROI: banker processes vs. proprietary43:40 Deals that die… and come back44:51 What’s exciting now: volatility & tariffs47:12 Patterns of elite operators49:24 Staying sharp & never settling53:16 War stories from the trenches55:15 What’s next for Woodson (2-3 years)57:08 “No bad deals, only bad prices”Follow 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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