Two years ago, the holdco seemed like the thing everyone wanted to build.

That enthusiasm has cooled since, which is for the best.

But today's guest is one of the people who actually built one.

Colin King was on Acquiring Minds in May 2024.

He and his 50/50 partner Joe were at roughly $28 million in revenue then; they're at $33 million now, across 17 acquisitions since 2018 — everything from teddy bear manufacturing to insurance claims adjusting.

They've also sold four businesses along the way, pruning the portfolio as they've upleveled it.

The heart of our conversation is what it actually takes to make a holdco work.

Colin says the number one hurdle is critical mass.

‍A business has to throw off enough cash to hire someone better than you to run it — otherwise you're the operator, and you don't have a holdco, you have a job.

‍Which is what Colin and Joe learned about themselves: they don't want to run businesses directly, they want to buy them and staff them.

Listen also for how Colin got that insurance business.

He bought it alongside a self-funded searcher who now runs it, with equity and no personal guarantee.

‍A model more searchers might explore. Feel free to reach out to Colin to get on his radar.

Welcome back to Colin King, co-founder of Circle City Capital Group.