Buyers & Builders
A deep-dive interview show exploring the playbooks of serial acquirers, holdco operators, and private equity investors.
A highly-focused podcast that dissects the mechanics of building a company through acquisitions. Host Mikk Markus interviews seasoned operators and investors, many with dozens or even hundreds of deals under their belt, to extract their specific strategies. The show is data-rich and avoids surface-level conversations, instead focusing on topics like deal structuring, post-acquisition value creation, and the philosophies of building permanent capital vehicles.
“The podcast's sharp focus on serial acquirers and building 'HoldCos' sets it apart. The host's rigorous pre-interview research is evident, as he often opens episodes with a dense, metric-heavy summary of a guest's accomplishments, immediately establishing their credibility and setting a high-level tone.”
Who hosts this show
Buyers & Builders, hosted by Mikk Markus (also known as PrivateEquityGuy), explores the world of buying, building, and selling companies. Each episode features in-depth conversations with business buyers, investors, and operators who share actionable strategies for acquiring and scaling businesses, structuring deals, and creating long-term value. The podcast is aimed at those looking to grow a company, explore acquisitions, or build their own holding companies.
Credentials & credits
- Host of Buyers & Builders podcast
- Investor focused on acquiring an industrial SME in the Baltics
- Writer of the PrivateEquityGuy newsletter on Beehiiv
Other ventures
- PrivateEquityGuy (social media handle)
- PrivateEquityGuy Newsletter
What kind of podcast
When new episodes drop
- 01
- 02A $6.5M Estimate in 23 Minutes: How AI Is Rewiring SMBs | David Flickinger InterviewJun 15, 2026 · 51 min
- 03
- 04How We Bought 14 Businesses and Built a $120M HoldCo | Andrea Allegrini of LindberghMay 22, 2026 · 51 min
- 05
- 06From Buying a Business to $1.3B Exit | Mark Sinatra of ETA EquityMay 7, 2026 · 1h 06m
- 07
- 08
Notable episodes
- 01How I Bought 90 Businesses and Built a $128M HoldCo | Brett Kelly of Kelly Partners
A deep dive into a prolific serial acquirer's story, detailing how he built a major accounting firm through over 90 acquisitions, embodying the show's core theme.
- 02A $6.5M Estimate in 23 Minutes: How AI Is Rewiring SMBs | David Flickinger Interview
Provides a practical, operator-focused look at implementing AI in traditional businesses, moving beyond theory to a concrete case study of enterprise value creation.
- 0313 Acquisitions and Going from Private Equity to Permanent Capital | Chris Rolls of PieLab Capital
This episode clearly articulates the shift from a traditional private equity model to a permanent capital/HoldCo strategy, a central concept of the podcast.
What you'll be asked on this show
Mikk Markus runs a deeply researched, respectful, and methodical interview. He typically opens by framing the guest's significance with specific, impressive metrics (e.g., "completed more than 90 acquisitions," "built a $1.5B revenue HoldCo"). This data-driven opening establishes immediate credibility and bypasses generic introductions. His questions are logical and build on each other, often moving from a guest's origin story into their core business model, specific acquisition case studies, and post-close operational tactics. He doesn't interrupt or push back aggressively, but rather guides the conversation to extract practical, actionable details from his highly experienced guests.
The show is a one-on-one interview format. Host Mikk Markus is a prepared and data-forward interviewer who often structures the conversation explicitly (e.g., 'the past, the present, and the future'). He uses his detailed research to ask specific, informed questions that get straight to the guest's operational playbook.
Questions the host keeps coming back to
9 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when the host reaches for it.
origin
2- Q.01
“Can you give us an overview of your company and what you've built so far?”
The host often uses this early on to establish the scale and nature of the guest's operation for the audience.
- Q.02
“Take us back to your early career, around age 22.”
This question seeks to uncover the guest's foundational motivations and the pivotal moments that set their career trajectory.
backstory
1- Q.01
“What were the key lessons you learned during a specific past experience?”
This is used to dig into formative periods the host has identified in his research, such as a guest's 'work experience' in PE.
mindset
1- Q.01
“Why did you decide to [invest in private businesses] instead of [public ones]?”
This question probes the guest's core investment thesis and strategic rationale.
process
3- Q.01
“How did you structure the company or a specific deal in the beginning?”
The host asks this to understand the foundational mechanics and initial challenges of a guest's business model.
- Q.02
“What are some post-close improvements or value creation levers you've used?”
This question aims to extract the guest's specific playbook for making an acquired business more profitable.
- Q.03
“How can you be sure an output is correct enough to send to a client?”
When discussing new technologies like AI, the host asks this to address practical concerns about quality control and reliability.
technique
2- Q.01
“Can you walk us through a specific case study, like [portfolio company]?”
This is a key tool for moving from abstract strategy to concrete operational examples.
- Q.02
“Can you explain the difference between [Concept A] and [Concept B]?”
This helps clarify nuanced topics for the audience, such as the difference between a simple AI chatbot and an integrated AI system.
Signature segments
- · Data-rich guest introductions
- · Focus on permanent capital vehicles
- · Structuring interviews as 'Past, Present, and Future'
- · Deep dives into acquisition case studies
- · Exploring the 'Berkshire Hathaway' model for various industries
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are founders, CEOs, and investors with a significant, quantifiable track record in M&A—often involving dozens or hundreds of acquisitions. They typically run holding companies, private equity firms, or have successfully scaled and exited major businesses (e.g., Brett Kelly of Kelly Partners, Chris Rolls of PieLAB Capital).
- Chris Rollson 13 Acquisitions and Going from Private Equity to Permanent Capital | Chris Rolls of PieLab Capital
- David Flickingeron A $6.5M Estimate in 23 Minutes: How AI Is Rewiring SMBs | David Flickinger Interview
- Brett Kellyon How I Bought 90 Businesses and Built a $128M HoldCo | Brett Kelly of Kelly Partners
- Andrea Allegrinion How We Bought 14 Businesses and Built a $120M HoldCo | Andrea Allegrini of Lindbergh
- Ramsey Sahyounon How We Bought 160 Businesses and Built a $1.5B HoldCo at 33 and 35 | Ramsey Sahyoun of Evergreen
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
Estimated: The audience consists of sophisticated and affluent business operators, PE professionals, and investors. This makes the show a prime target for M&A advisory firms, legal services, due diligence platforms, high-ticket B2B software, and financial services catering to accredited investors.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch this show
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People also ask
- Who is the host of Buyers & Builders?
- The host is Mikk Markus, who also goes by the handle PrivateEquityGuy.
- What is the Buyers & Builders podcast about?
- It's an interview podcast focused on the strategies and tactics of buying, building, and selling companies, with a special emphasis on serial acquirers and building holding companies.
- Is this podcast still active?
- Yes, based on recent episode dates from June 2026, the podcast appears to be actively releasing new episodes on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
- What kind of guests appear on the show?
- The guests are highly experienced founders, CEOs, and investors who have a significant track record in acquisitions and operating companies, such as Brett Kelly (90+ acquisitions) and Ramsey Sahyoun (160 acquisitions).
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The podcast is available on platforms like YouTube and Apple Podcasts.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Buyers & Builders - YouTube Channelyoutube.com
- [02]Buyers & Builders - Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
- [03]Mikk Markus, aka the PrivateEquityGuy on Twitter, shares his views on the Rollup Europe eventyoutube.com
- [04]PrivateEquityGuy Newsletter on Beehiivprivateequityguy.com
- [05]Borgman Capital - Podcast Featureborgmancapital.com
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