Ralph welcomes Tom Shipley, an entrepreneur with a background in special forces and a track record of building successful businesses through mergers and acquisitions. Tom shares his journey from the challenges of the tech bubble to creating Atlantic Coast Brands, telling you the strategies and insights that have driven his success. You’ll learn a lot about the nuances of business growth, creative financing, and how to find and close acquisition deals. Tom's stories and advice are like a guide for business owners looking to scale in innovative ways. So, tune in if you’re aiming to elevate your entrepreneurial game! Chapters: 00:00:00 - Welcome to Perpetual Traffic Podcast00:00:39 - Meet Tom Shipley: Serial Entrepreneur and Former Special Forces Operator00:01:58 - Unlocking Business Growth through M&A00:04:40 - Tom Shipley's First Business Ventures00:05:09 - Surviving the Tech Bubble00:06:47 - Building a Beauty Empire: Atlantic Coast Brands00:10:07 - Innovative Financing and Acquisition Techniques00:14:24 - Identifying Perfect Acquisition Targets00:17:00 - Creative Deal Structures00:19:30 - Leveraging Your Network for Funding00:21:45 - Motivations Behind Selling a Business00:24:00 - Retaining Key Employees00:26:00 - Case Studies of Successful Acquisitions00:27:07 - Steering Clear of Acquisition Pitfalls00:34:14 - Gear Up for DealCon Conference00:35:27 - Final Thoughts and How to Get in Touch LINKS AND RESOURCES: DEALCON LIVEPT on TelegramEmail TomTom on LinkedInAgency Ventures AggregatorTier 11 JobsPerpetual Traffic on YouTubeTiereleven.comSolutions 8 Perpetual Traffic SurveyPerpetual Traffic WebsiteFollow Perpetual Traffic on TwitterConnect with Lauren on Instagram and Connect with Ralph on LinkedIn Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to Perpetual Traffic? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on iTunes and leave us a review!