Ryan Kulp – How to Buy, Grow, and Sell Small Companies

A course by Ryan Kulp, founder of Fomo.com and lead marketing instructor at GrowthX Academy.

Our commitment to excellence

The lectures you’re about to review below are “living.” Since debuting this course in July 2019 we’ve already developed partnerships with business brokers, serial entrepreneurs, and portfolio managers who are creating exclusive bonus content for students only.

Regardless of when you enroll, all students have unlimited, lifetime access to current and future materials for no additional cost. Students may also opt into our private community, Rainmaker Club.

In addition to free legal resources and spreadsheet models, throughout the course are discount links to some of the world’s leading providers in back office services, design talent, and advanced learning resources.

What You’ll Learn In How to Buy, Grow, and Sell Small Companies

Module 1 – Getting Started

• Learn why buying is better than building, and set up your entity with a targeted thesis.
• Welcome to the Micro PE course!
• [Case Study] Moving resources from low yield to high yield
• [Interview] Buying online businesses is the easiest path to entrepreneurship
• 4 reasons to buy vs build
• How to choose a niche
• Creating your investment thesis
• Setting up an umbrella company (USA)
• Setting up an umbrella company (AU)
• Setting up an umbrella company (CA)
• Setting up an umbrella company (UK)
• Setting up an umbrella company (other countries)
• Deal process overview
• [Bonus] Industry reports
• Module 1: Quiz

Module 2 – Sourcing

• Build a deal flow machine – automate leads, systematically manage timelines, and build a reputation.
• Dealflow pipeline tracker
• Manual dealflow
• Automated dealflow
• Preview
• Lead outreach and followup
• [Bonus] Email scripts for seller outreach
• Sourcing ecommerce stores on Shopify
• [Bonus] Finding off-market dealflow (SaaS / Brick&Mortar)
• Develop a reputation for speed
• Identifying red flags
• Module 2: Quiz

Module 3 – Negotiation and Diligence

• Determine a valuation, research the competition, and de-risk the opportunity before making a final decision.
• [Case Study] Negotiation teardown
• How to value a small company
• Quantitative deal analysis
• Qualitative deal analysis
• [Bonus] Deal analysis templates (software + ecommerce)
• [Bonus] Ecom vs SaaS vs Content Due Diligence
• Diligence checklist
• How to value ecommerce apps: Part 1
• How to value ecommerce apps: Part 2
• Getting legal work done without lawyers
• [Bonus] NDA, LOI, Asset Purchase, Phantom Stock, Equity Partner legal templates ($3k+ value)
• Module 3: Quiz

Module 4 – Financing and Closing

• Creative ways to fund your acquisition and experience a smooth transfer of assets.
• Strategies to fund your deals
• How to use financial leverage
• [Bonus] Getting an SBA loan
• Brokers, escrow, and trust
• Setting up a support package
• [Bonus] Tax strategies for your new entity (USA)
• Creating a day 0 roadmap
• [Bonus] Managing investor interest
• Module 4: Quiz

Module 5 – Relaunch and Scale

• Clean up ship, exploit the best opportunities, and become a domain expert.
• [Bonus] Portfolio conventions and organization
• Create a customer soundboard
• [Case Study] Identifying power users
• Relaunch Step 1: Makeover
• Relaunch Step 2: Add value
• Makeover quickstart
• Over-investing during relaunch
• Relaunch Step 3: Go to market
• Developing a 90 day marketing plan
• Developer Talent: Introduction
• Developer Talent: Terminology
• Developer Talent: Writing a technical spec
• Developer Talent: Data modeling
• Developer Talent: ERD creation
• [Bonus] Data modeling examples
• Developer Talent: Wireframing
• Developer Talent: Hiring
• Developer Talent: Pricing and negotiations
• [Bonus] Anatomy of a patent filing
• Developer Talent: Managing, scaling, retaining
• Module 5: Quiz

Module 6 – Exit Strategy

• Extract maximum value through a “hold forever” or “flip” strategy, and the required steps to achieve either.
• Deciding to hold or flip your asset
• Growth Share Matrix
• Turning active investments into passive investments
• 3 ways to fend off competition
• [Exit Interview] – Niche content acquisition (DIY Beer Brewing)
• [Exit Interview] – Acquiring 2 products in 60 days
• [Bonus] Making your company sellable
• [Bonus] 4 lessons from a sale gone bad
• Module 6: Quiz

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