Aggregating SMBs Inside a Public Company
After an early search that didn't close and a decade in PE (incl. Alpine), former Marine Rob Casper found his stride inside a public company. Today he leads skilled trades at Kingsway Financial, a public company that transformed from an insurance underwriter to a public company compounder of small business acquisitions.
Kingsway Financial, a decades-old public company once focused on insurance and warranty, has reinvented itself as a small business compounder with permanent capital. Through its Kingsway Search Accelerator (KSX), the company brings on 3-4 Operators-in-Residence each year, equipping them to find, acquire, and run lower-middle market businesses. KSX has backed 7-8 searchers who have completed acquisitions to-date. Kingsway's annual revenue stands at ~$118 million, with ~$17 million coming from the plumbing platform that Rob leads.
The ambition mirrors the playbooks of companies like Judges Scientific and Heico, long-term compounders that redeploy capital into enduring, cash-generating niches. True compounders focus on owning excellent small businesses indefinitely, where time and operating excellence are the key drivers of wealth.
Rob is a Marine Corps veteran and approaches leadership through service. "Serve your people first and the numbers will follow," he says, which reflects his business philosophy and a bottom-up approach learned through years of people management. The plumbers and technicians on his teams are the value creators, and Rob sees his role as equipping them to succeed.
Home services, and plumbing (and HVAC) in particular, are in the later innings of industry consolidation. Private equity is everywhere, multiples are high, and the easy wins are gone. Rob and KSX believe the way to win now is through operational excellence and people-first leadership.
Keep reading
Buy Small ($1m EBITDA at 4x), Keep Winning
Ryan Sullivan's fully-baked & winning concept at North Park Group: buy $1m EBITDA firms at 4x, add the real estate, finance half with SBA debt, and never sell. Voila, today they have 5 operating companies, 6 acquisitions, 25% annual returns, and an investor waitlist.
$100m Fund? No, Thanks!
Quinten Griffiths, based in Calgary, Canada, shares his journey from an empty-handed traditional searcher who walked away from 6 LOIs to a highly successful independent sponsor and co-founder of GoodCapital. Today, he leads Sportball as CEO, one of several portfolio companies that they own outright, with a 4th platform set to close imminently. Their success prompted a Family Office to offer them the opportunity to lead & run a dedicated $100m fund, but Quinten and his partner preferred the autonomy & flexibility of staying an independent sponsor.
8 Years, 8 Portcos Since Starting as a Searcher
Ian Reynolds, based in Houston, founded Thesis Capital Partner, recently ranked as a Top 20 independent sponsor. Thesis recruits Executives in Residence, who run their portcos, shares in the GP, and gets involved at the Thesis-level for shared learnings and ecosystem-building. Minds Capital invested in one of Thesis' deals in 2024. 8 years after completing his first deal as a self-funded searcher, Ian reflects on a journey that now counts 8 portfolio companies and a team of handpicked partners.
