Welcome to The Business Buying Academy with Sieva Kozinsky. Here's what we have in store for you today:

1. Rolling up billboards (he made billions)
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2. A 27-year old manufacturing business for sale
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3. What type of business should you buy?

We have over 50 bank accounts across our portfolio companies.

Nick, our Director of Finance, used to spend hours every week just logging in and checking balances.

Then we found Vesto. It pulls in every account—across every bank—into one dashboard. Real-time balances, cash flow, transactions. No more jumping between logins.

Now Nick handles it all in under 5 minutes. That means more time spent on cash strategy, less on admin.

👉 Check out Vesto here​

(Thanks to Vesto for sponsoring this newsletter.)

Stop me if you've heard this story before:

An ambitious businessperson sees an inefficient, fragmented market...

Then decides to acquire dozens or hundreds of small companies to consolidate the industry.

This story has been told a thousand times in business over the last several decades. Many multi-billion dollar companies started like this, including Waste Management (which I wrote about a few weeks ago)

But today I wanted to highlight yet another example of this strategy to inspire you.

You probably don't know the man behind this business (unless you're a fan of the Major League Baseball team he owns).

But I bet you've seen one of his company's products in the last week.

After serving in the Vietnam War, Arte Moreno entered the billboard industry in the 1980s by joining Outdoor Systems, a Phoenix-based outdoor advertising company.

Initially a minority partner, Moreno saw potential in the fragmented billboard market.

It was a category dominated by small, regional operators but had consistent demand from advertisers seeking visibility.

National advertisers found difficulty in dealing with dozens of different billboard operators to purchase ad space for national campaigns.

If only someone rolled up this fragmented industry.

Moreno became President of Outdoor Systems in 1986 and started by buying up small regional operators.

Eventually they scaled into massive deals.

In 1998, they bought the largest billboard operator in Mexico for $215 million, instantly taking over the country's outdoor advertising market.

Moreno transformed the company into an international leader with the following strategies:

1. Consolidation via Acquisitions: Moreno and partner William Levine pursued a roll-up strategy, buying up smaller billboard companies across the U.S. This allowed Outdoor Systems to expand its geographic footprint and consolidate a fragmented industry, reducing competition and increasing market share.
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2. Operational Improvements: They modernized operations by upgrading billboard locations, improving signage quality, and leveraging better sales strategies to attract national advertisers. This enhanced revenue per billboard and profitability.
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3. Capitalizing on Industry Trends: The billboard industry benefited from steady demand, as businesses relied on outdoor advertising for brand visibility. The 80s was the perfect time to get into the business, years before online advertising started taking market share. Moreno positioned Outdoor Systems to serve major clients, including tobacco and alcohol companies, which were high-margin advertisers at the time.
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4. Public Offering and Scaling: In 1996, Outdoor Systems went public, raising capital to fuel more acquisitions and growth. The company did $64 million in revenue that year and was later acquired for $1 billion.

By the way, the MLB team that Moreno owns is the Los Angeles Angels.

🔑 A 27-year-old wire harness manufacturer with sticky revenue and a clear succession plan

Two seasoned leaders are acquiring a custom wire harness manufacturer in Southern California that’s been serving OEMs across security, defense, and industrial automation for nearly three decades. It’s a niche but necessary business that prioritizes quality and speed over commoditized scale-and their customers love them for it.

Why this stood out:

• Reliable cash flow. $2.6M+ in EBITDA with 15% margins over the past 3 years, backed by 95%+ repeat revenue.
• Succession in place. The retiring owners are offering a 6-month transition. A long-tenured team will remain to run daily ops.
• Low churn, high trust. The company’s tight integration into customer supply chains creates high switching costs and sticky contracts.

It’s not flashy—but it is durable, overlooked, and built on long-term customer trust. If you’re looking for cash-flowing businesses with downside protection and a credible operator, this is one to watch.

​Check out the deal on Mainshares​

(Thank you to Mainshares for sponsoring this week's newsletter).

🔑 What Type of Business Should You Buy?

I spoke with Codie Sanchez about her portfolio of businesses and how she thinks about buying companies.

She's done a bit of everything: She's acquired traditional SMBs, invested in venture capital style plays, and started media businesses.

I asked her which ones have worked out best, and what mistakes she's made in each one.

If you're wondering what type of business you should buy, watch this:

​Watch on YouTube​

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Have a great day,

Sieva

P.S. - Are you hiring? Get started with top global talent from Somewhere (I'm a customer and investor)

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Disclaimer: nothing here is investment advice. Please do your own research. The information above is just for information and learning.

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