Acquiring Minds The First Steps to a Family Holdco
19 snips
Jan 26, 2026 Linh Van Deibel, a finance and fintech entrepreneur building a long-term family holdco. Leo Van Deibel, ex-consultant and private equity operator who joined to run acquired businesses alongside his spouse. They discuss choosing self-funded search, navigating UK deals as non-citizens, broker dynamics and volume, structuring financing with seller rollovers, and balancing intense personal challenges while building Acacia Partners.
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Prioritize Brokers To Scale Deal Flow
- Favor broker outreach for self-funded searches since brokers can accelerate access to deal flow.
- Reallocate time toward brokers once you validate their value versus pure proprietary outreach.
Don't Over-Niche Your SME Search
- Avoid being overly thematic for small-ticket SME searches; broad opportunism uncovers hidden gems.
- Tight themes can limit brokers' willingness to send deals in fragmented markets.
Autonomy Helps But Demands Choices
- Search gives scheduling autonomy that can enable medical treatment but requires deliberate boundary-setting.
- Still, entrepreneurship shifts the burden of income and time management onto founders.
