Dr Glen Richards: The Business of Roll-Ups

Stark Naked Numbers

This episode is all about roll-ups – and we’re not talking about the fruit snacks you had in your lunch box as a kid.

No, we’re talking about rolling up SMBs. You know the playbook: Buy a bunch of small businesses, whack them together, take it public and make a tonne of money.

I’ve been feeling the itch to do some rolling up myself. And this pod, I scratch that itch with the great Dr Glen Richards, Australia’s king of the roll-up.

You know Glen. He’s the founder of Greencross Vets, a roll-up of vet clinics, and a chairman of Healthia, a health care roll-up. He’s also a director of a bunch of companies, which I’ll let him share with you. Glen’s also a Shark… yep, you might also recognise him from his time as a panelist and investor on Shark Tank.

Roll-ups might sound easy (and delicious) – but as Glen explains this episode, getting it right is actually harder than you think.

Alright, let’s get into it.

Links:

Keep up with Glen Richards on LinkedIn.

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Show Notes:

(00:52) - Glen’s business portfolio

(02:14) - What does a successful roll-up look like?

(07:44) - Why most Aussie businesses don’t have long term vision

(13:20) - Creating value and de-risking through a roll-up

(18:25) - Synergies: The cream on top of the ‘Roll-Up Cake’

(25:16) - Glen’s learnings from the Petbarn and Greencross merge

(33:34) - Roll-up succession plan

(41:00) - Jason’s five key ingredients to a successful roll-up

(44:07) - The Pitch: Jason’s perfect roll-up business – and The Shark weighs in.

(50:30) - Glen’s dream roll-up businesses