yan Sullivan launched a new career in his late 40s.

The self-described risk averse entrepreneur is acquiring small legacy manufacturing businesses across the US — and it's going well.

His first acquisition was a 100-year-old electrical component manufacturer in Wichita, Kansas, doing about $700k in adjusted EBITDA.

He bought it alongside a partner, who took a little apartment in Wichita and flew back and forth during the transition.

2 years later, they've bought 3 more businesses, have another under LOI, and have expanded to 5 partners.

We spend a lot of time on Ryan's model here, which has some key elements:

He's raises money from investors to buy these businesses, but he does it deal by deal, not as a fund.

His investors get returns from the acquired business's cash flows, as opposed to the more traditional PE model, where liquidity occurs when they then exit those businesses themselves.

He's a long-term holder of these businesses — decades is the plan.

He uses SBA loans and personal guarantees for each acquisition, which is why his group has expanded to 5 partners.

But despite those loans & PGs — or better said, because of — he is conservative with debt; the debt/equity ratios in his acquisitions are low. They are structured such that an acquired business's revenues could decline by half, and the deal would still survive.

And more.

This interview pulls back the curtain on a serial acquirer that's not quite a holdco, not traditional private equity, and not a roll-up.

Which I appreciate because it feels like Ryan and his partners didn't just copy the existing models out there.

Instead they worked from first principles to arrive at a model that aligns incentives, and generates compelling economics even while being conservative with respect to debt & risk.

Enjoy this interview with Ryan Sullivan, managing director of North Park Group.