The short answer
Gary Guseinov shares his formula for buying, building, and selling businesses, including the transparency and reputation disciplines that underpin his approach to strategic growth through acquisition.
Key takeaways
- What different types of investors look for when they’re considering where to sink capital
- The fundamental formula for vetting business ideas
- When to focus on organic growth VS growth by acquisition
- Gary’s framework to assess potential acquisition opportunities
Listen to the podcast
1 hr 9 minWatch the full interview
About this episode
Gary Guseinov is an entrepreneur who’s been there, done that. In a wildly successful career, he’s built several multi-thousand employee companies that collectively turn over hundreds of millions of dollars.
On the other side of the table, Gary has also been at the helm of many acquisitions, fuelling a strong growth by acquisition strategy for his business, RealDefender and developing a playbook for what – and what not – to invest in.
This episode is chalk full of insights for entrepreneurs looking to take their business to the next level, whether through organic growth or via acquisitions.
Chapters
- 7:54Do you want to grow your business? Gary Guseinov advises that you stop periodically to ask WHY are you doing something. Not how. Most entrepreneurs engage in execution first VS discovering the why behind your business. Knowing why will help you figure out how
- 16:30Young entrepreneurs often feel like their pushing a boulder up a mountain to get their product off the ground. These growing pains are normal. As long as you have a really good product, most things will sort themselves out over time. So, focus on making your product better and the rest will follow
- 20:00Tune in here for Gary’s formula for vetting your next big business idea. He boils it down to three key points
- 31:42There are hundreds of ways to get ripped off, not close, or get sued during an acquisition process. Here’s Gary’s advice on how to make sure it’s a success
- 53:16Statistically, 30-40% of earn-outs are never earned. Love them or hate them, acquisitions often require an earn-out. Gary’s perspective on earn-outs is interesting, especially from the eyes of an acquirer
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About Gary Guseinov
Gary Guseinov is the founder and chairman of CyberDefender, a NASDAQ company, and currently a Private Equity investor and CEO of RealDefense where he acquires companies.
RealDefense actively manages operations at its portfolio companies, providing them with marketing and development support. Using its proven acquisition playbook, RealDefense can immediately improve customer retention and revenue generation by offering complimentary services to customers, improving NPS and customer satisfaction scores, and increasing average order value by offering relevant product and service bundles to customers.
In its four most recent acquisitions, RealDefense has achieved average revenue gains of 25% within the first 30 days.
Being in both the sell-side as an entrepreneur, and now on the buy-side as a company looking to add to its portfolio, Gary has a lot to share on his journey.
Connect with Gary Guseinov
About the show
Buy Grow Sell is hosted by Simon Bedard, founder and managing director of Exit Advisory Group, a boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that helps Australian business owners value, prepare for and navigate a sale. Every conversation draws on real deals and the patterns behind them.
