16 Months to Exit: Cleaning Up in Street Sweeping

July 31, 2023
Listen in Apple Podcasts appListen in SpotifyListen in Apple Podcasts appListen in SpotifyRSS address of the Acquiring Minds podcast feed
W

hen Manny Saxena boarded a plane to the US from his native India to attend business school, he didn't imagine that street sweeping would be his fate.

But boy has that fate been sweet.

Manny only owned his businesses (he acquired 3) for 16 months, which meant his search was actually longer than his tenure as operator.

But he used those 16 months well, making both tactical and big strategic decisions aggressively to become the largest municipal street-sweeping company in northern California.

Manny Saxena with Statewide Construction Sweeping team
Manny Saxena with his team

As you may already have guessed, one of the appealing aspects of the street-sweeping business is contracted revenue with customers that aren't going anywhere, municipalities.

Indeed. Manny says he could tell you today his revenue for, let's say, October 2025 — his contracts were that sticky and predictable.

But I hear you saying, Yeah but those big street-sweeping machines. Lots of capex... I don't like that.

Well listen for Manny's response.

Spoiler: he thinks searchers are capex-phobic.

Lastly, we spend a lot of time on what it's like to buy a blue collar business.

Manny was an MBA parachuting into a completely different environment.

I find this topic endlessly interesting because it seems to be so challenging for some, while perfectly fine for others.

It's important to tease out when & why it works.

OK, here is Manny Saxena, buyer of 3 street-sweeping businesses.

Read MoreStories

16 Months to Exit: Cleaning Up in Street Sweeping

Manny Saxena quickly bought 3 street-sweeping businesses to become the largest player in NorCal. A big PE fund noticed.

Key Takeaways

Introduction

Listen to the introduction from the host

hen Manny Saxena boarded a plane to the US from his native India to attend business school, he didn't imagine that street sweeping would be his fate.

But boy has that fate been sweet.

Manny only owned his businesses (he acquired 3) for 16 months, which meant his search was actually longer than his tenure as operator.

But he used those 16 months well, making both tactical and big strategic decisions aggressively to become the largest municipal street-sweeping company in northern California.

Manny Saxena with Statewide Construction Sweeping team
Manny Saxena with his team

As you may already have guessed, one of the appealing aspects of the street-sweeping business is contracted revenue with customers that aren't going anywhere, municipalities.

Indeed. Manny says he could tell you today his revenue for, let's say, October 2025 — his contracts were that sticky and predictable.

But I hear you saying, Yeah but those big street-sweeping machines. Lots of capex... I don't like that.

Well listen for Manny's response.

Spoiler: he thinks searchers are capex-phobic.

Lastly, we spend a lot of time on what it's like to buy a blue collar business.

Manny was an MBA parachuting into a completely different environment.

I find this topic endlessly interesting because it seems to be so challenging for some, while perfectly fine for others.

It's important to tease out when & why it works.

OK, here is Manny Saxena, buyer of 3 street-sweeping businesses.

About

Manny Saxena

Manny Saxena
Olivia Rhye
Product Designer

Show Notes

Episode Transcript

Show Transcript
Hide Transcript

Listen instead of watch

Register for the live Q&A
Manny Saxena
on
<date>
Subscribe to newsletter
Subscribe to receive the latest blog posts to your inbox every week.
By subscribing you agree to with our policies.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.