Brendan Anderson - Building a Compounding Advantage - Ep.124
My guest on this episode is Brendan Anderson. Brendan started his post-banking entrepreneurial career by acquiring Stam, Inc., which manufactures custom bent tubing before founding a private equity firm called ScaleCo where he has raised three funds and acquired 21 companies to date.\nHe built his career by being an operator first and learned to become an investor, a path that's given them a big leg up when talking to other CEOs and potential sellers. One subject I've wanted to study more deeply is building a team that naturally attracts great people, and this is a major topic of our discussion and something Brendan has given a lot of thought to.\nWe also talk about the use of debt combined with long term investment time horizons, how they facilitate data and information sharing across the portfolio, and what the top idea on his mind is today.\nListen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.\n\nLinks:\nBrendan on LinkedIn\nScaleCo\nPatrick Lencioni Books\nGino Wickman books\n\nTopics:\n(4:21) - Are there any market indicators you focus on that have broad implications for your portfolio of companies\n(5:31) - Where do your CEOs get most of their information?\n(6:37) - How are you bringing your companies together to share best practices?\n(8:40) - Can you walk us through the TAC method?\n(13:47) - Brendan\u2019s background and career\n(23:16) - What were some notable misses you\u2019ve seen across your 3 funds and what did you learn from them?\n(27:16) - How do you find great talent locally in your area?\n(29:35) - How do you think about scaling your recruiting pipeline?\n(31:03) - How do you retain great people?\n(33:52) - What is the \u201cfund route\u201d you offer people?\n(34:52) - Are there career advancement opportunities for people working in your portfolio who may want to jump to another company under your umbrella?\n(35:49) - How does your mindset shift when you\u2019re operating with a long-term hold mindset rather than selling within a few years?\n(37:30) - What kind of freedom does someone at a ScaleCo company have relative to working elsewhere?\n(39:03) - How do you view debt within a long-term time horizon?\n(42:19) - What's the top-of-mind idea for you right now?\n(43:36) - What college class would you teach if it could be on any subject?\n(46:52) - What\u2019s a strongly held belief you\u2019ve changed your mind on?\n(47:55) - What\u2019s the best business you\u2019ve ever seen?