Minds Capital Podcast

Grew EV 10x in 5 Years

Ben Rudman knew he wanted to work in food before he knew what investment banking was. His first independent sponsor deal, Western Smokehouse Partners, started with ~60 em

Report from McGuireWoods 2026

Niklas, Max, and Will debrief Day 1 of the McGuireWoods Independent Sponsor Conference at the Fairmont in Dallas, aka the industry Superbowl. The Minds guys also reflect

32x MOIC After 100 Investors Said No

Since Kevin Ramsier's last appearance on this podcast, his firm, Sier Capital, has closed a new infrastructure platform (where Minds Capital is an investor) and exited an

The $600M Bet on Independent Sponsors

Grant Kornman co-founded NCK Capital as an independent sponsor in 2013, then moved to the capital side with Align Collaborate in 2023. Align now manages $600m+ across 2 d

815 Independent Sponsor Deals Analyzed

Greg Brown is a Professor of Finance at UNC Kenan-Flagler and Founder of the Institute for Private Capital. On July 15, 2026, he published the first large-scale study of

When Equity Oversubscribes 2-3x

Sequoya Borgman is the first repeat guest on the Minds Capital Podcast. Since his last appearance, Borgman Capital has exited 1 company (4x+ net MOIC) and acquired 2 more

Funding Deal #2 From Exit #1

Ben Tiggelaar started his career in PE before acquiring healthcare business Enable Dental in 2017. He ran it searcher-style for 5 years, exited in 2022, took 10 months of

Rolling Up Tiny $400k EBITDA Targets

Ziv Bendor co-founded Pinewell Capital in Scottsdale in 2016 after working across consulting and operating roles. Pinewell is now working on its 5th platform and 10th acq

Over $60m of Second Bite Liquidity

Chad Scripps started Black Lake Capital in 2013 after working at McKinsey, HIG, and several hedge funds. Based in Denver, Black Lake is an unapologetic “fundless sponsor”

The Doctor & The Finance Bro

Dr. Lisa Piercey went from pediatrician to hospital executive, Tennessee Commissioner of Health during COVID, and now independent sponsor preparing to close her 5th healt

$2m to Start as an Independent Sponsor

Drew Bagin and his partner raised $2m in seed capital for the General Partnership before doing their first deal as an independent sponsor. Then they built a tightly regio

Behind The Scenes: Our Unique Angle In An Increasingly Crowded Space

The 3 founding partners of Minds Capital sit down for the 75th episode to provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of their operations & strategy, and also share market observ

"An Independent Sponsor Can Be My Favorite Kind of Buyer"

Dara Shareef is an executive at Benchmark International, a global lower-middle market M&A brokerage. Dara is an avid speaker on panels and podcasts, and he brings a nuanc

1 Equity Raise ($500k), 4 PortCos

Andrew McDonald raised $500k to acquire one small business selling work safety shoes in 2015. He used the cash flow from this fledgling company to acquire his next one, a

The 123-Year-Old Firm's Independent Sponsor Blitz

HKW is a 123-year-old firm (!!). First an investment bank, then a PE investor across 5 funds, and now an independent sponsor with 5 new platforms in the last 18 months. T

11 Exits in 11 Years

After decades at Arthur Andersen and Grant Thornton, Lou Grabowsky and his son Brian raised capital upfront to stand up the management company of Juniper Capital Manager

Holding All-Equity Deals Forever

Houston-based Logan Walters founded Forge Equity in 2021 after a career in traditional private equity (focused on oil services). Dismayed by the limiting 5-year holds of

From Venture Capital to Independent Sponsor

Christian Seale has built healthcare companies from every angle. As a healthcare VC, entrepreneur, and now founder of Despierta, Christian Seale combines VC, PE, and inde

Promoted from Associate to MD at Independent Sponsor Firm

Jimmy Watson graduated during the 2009 financial crisis, which forced him to move back home to his parents' basement. Luckily he soon landed a job in FP&A at Raytheon, an

Two Recaps To 10.5x MOIC

Dan Chetrit was a traditional searcher, "stuck" in his first (well-performing) deal. That changed during COVID, when they successfully recapped the company. Rolling their