Minds Capital Podcast 7x Organic EBITDA Growth After Liberating Employees
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Mar 18, 2026 Corbin Cook, co-founder of Rise Run Capital and hands-on operator who led a 7x EBITDA exit, and Alex Swanston, former Q of E provider turned independent sponsor with deep diligence chops, discuss a founder buyout turned revival. They cover liberating employees, reinvesting in service and sales, whiteboard playbooks, long seller courtship, and disciplined valuation and growth levers.
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Liberation Day Sparked Organic 7X Growth
- Rise Run bought a low-EBITDA multi-site service business where the founders had stopped reinvesting and the team was sheltered and risk-averse.
- They rented an Airbnb for two weeks post-close, whiteboarded functions with employees, then hired salespeople and realigned culture to growth, driving explosive results.
Doing What You Say Is A Differentiator
- Alex's Q of E background revealed many sponsors talk operations but fail to execute; Rise Run made execution their core differentiator.
- They designed a firm that insists the sponsor itself do the operational heavy lifting, not just delegate to CEOs or consultants.
Plan For A One Year Post Close Fix Period
- Expect to miss things in lower-middle-market diligence and budget a 12-month intensive post-close period to discover and fix those misses.
- Use that year to refine the plan, address surprises (e.g., code issues), and align operations before scaling.