oday's interview is with one of the few Acquiring Minds guests so far who set out to do a roll-up.

Yes, many guests anticipate doing more acquisitions after their first one.

But few have gone into it with an explicit roll-up strategy.

Well Kevin Swenson did.

Kevin had years of experience in and around real estate appraisal, and he saw an opportunity to consolidate the space.

Like many industries targeted for roll-up, real estate appraisal is populated by thousands of tiny, often one-person, businesses.

But it wasn't just fragmentation that attracted Kevin; he also had a vertical integration play in mind.

This is the sort of strategy that only an industry insider could develop, and I really enjoyed getting the perspective of a searcher with deep industry expertise and conviction.

In fact, my favorite part of the interview is where Kevin and I chew on this question of industry experience.

Kevin calls it his philosophy of "finding your sure thing":

But having a sure thing — well, not all of us will...

Many of us are likely to search across multiple industries, industries that we don't have experience in.

So thinking through your lack of industry experience is mandatory.

How will you handle that?

Can you learn the industry in, say, 6 months?

Will sellers even be open to speaking to someone from outside the industry?

Have those questions in mind as you listen to this conversation with Kevin Swenson, buyer of real estate appraisal businesses. 👇

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August Felker is a 2-time successful searcher — first with a traditional search fund; the second time around, he did a self-funded search.

Today August runs Oberle Risk Strategies, an insurance firm with a dedicated practice group for searchers and acquisition entrepreneurs like you.

If you've got a business under LOI, Oberle will provide complimentary due diligence on that business's insurance and benefits program. A great, no-risk way to get to know August & team.

They love helping searchers; they've worked with hundreds. Oberle is a specialty insurance brokerage for searchers, by a former searcher.

Check out the Search Fund Team at Oberle.