Alex Vantarakis is a serial entrepreneur and national authority on mergers and acquisitions. He is the founder and President of The Vant Group, an industry-leading company that plans and supports business transfer transactions for a diverse client base. Since its foundation in 1999, The Vant Group has consistently outperformed industry averages along every performance metric in the mergers and acquisitions industry. In addition to his work at The Vant Group, Alex is the owner of Thornhill Catering in Dallas, Texas. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business and a degree in Finance from Boston College.
Alex joins me today to offer advice on buying and selling businesses. He describes his life growing up with entrepreneurial parents and explains how he became passionate about helping business owners get ready and sell their businesses to the market. He discusses why some entrepreneurial skills can’t be taught through formal education. He reveals the characteristics that make the best and worst business buyers and sellers. Alex also highlights the value of giving back to the community and underscores why communication and people skills are essential to all kinds of business owners.
“No matter what business you buy, you’re always selling.” - Alex Vantarakis
This week on Priorities Lifestyle:
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Alex’s background and his journey to becoming a business broker
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Why entrepreneurial skills can’t be taught through formal education
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The power of learning entrepreneurial skills through experience
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The importance of people and communication skills in entrepreneurship
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The Confidential Information Memorandum and The Vant Group’s secret sauce to business success
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The basic building blocks of success in buying or selling businesses
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What Alex wished he knew before he bought his first business venture
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What a lifestyle business is and how it differs from financial businesses
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The Founder’s Dilemma and the difference between a “rich” and a “king” business owner
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The demographics of The Vant Group buyers
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U.S. SBA-backed loans and how they help people become small business owners
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The characteristics of the best and worst business buyers
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Why corporate managers don’t necessarily make great lifestyle business or small business owners
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Giving back to the community and Alex’s Bible study and fellowship community brief history of the Independent Buyers’ Company
Resources Mentioned:
Our Favorite Quotes:
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“At any level in business, it’s about communication– you can know backward and forwards those numbers and values, but you’ll have to be able to communicate that in an appealing way.” - Rob Schulz
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“In a financial business you’re trying to grow the enterprise value as fast as you can for a future transaction; that’s not necessarily the goal for lifestyle businesses, whose goal is income and freedom.” - Rob Schulz
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“Ensure you have true financial liquidity and that you’ve vetted the business up and down—backward and sideways. And know that even if you’ve done that, you’ll still miss a bunch of things.” - Alex Vantarakis
Connect with Alex Vantarakis:
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About Rob Schulz and P&L Priorities & Lifestyle Podcast
The P&L: Priorities & Lifestyle Podcast is a show for business owners. In each episode, host and financial planner Rob Schulz sits down with business owners and the professionals that serve them to talk about business building, life, money — and the all-important transition out of the business, which inevitably happens to everyone who has ever founded a company.
Email Rob at rob.schulz@schulzwealth.com with questions and comments, or to schedule a one-on-one conversation.
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*You’re listening to P&L: Priorities & Lifestyle with your host Rob Schulz. Rob is the Founder and President of Schulz Wealth. All opinions expressed by Rob and his guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Schulz Wealth. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for investment decisions. Please refer to our website for more information: schulzwealth.com.
