Strategic vs Diversified Acquisitions
Existing owners should buy in their lane before buying across it.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 81%
Sanchez splits acquisition strategy into two types. Strategic acquisitions buy something adjacent to a business you already run — for example acquiring another agency to absorb talent you're struggling to hire, increasing capacity so you can sell more. Diversified acquisitions build a portfolio across unrelated industries, which suits her because her skill set is finance and running a holding company. Her advice: if you're a strong operator, do more strategic than diversified acquisitions because your odds of success and value creation are far higher in a business you understand. She highlights the aqua-hire — acquiring a person and their company by paying out their salary over the year — as a sophisticated but accessible move.
Origin
Sanchez contrasts her private-equity portfolio approach with what she'd advise a strong operator, illustrated live by the host's own absorption of her production partner Jason.
Core principles
- 01Strategic acquisitions buy talent or competitors in a business you already run
- 02You understand and can grow a business you already operate far better
- 03Diversified acquisitions suit finance-skilled portfolio builders, not operators
- 04An aqua-hire acquires a person and their company using their future salary
How to run it
- 1
Classify the acquisition type
Decide whether a target is a strategic acquisition (adjacent to what you run) or a diversified one (a new lane in a portfolio).
- 2
Match to your skill set
If you're a great operator, favor strategic acquisitions; only build diversified acquisitions if your strength is finance and portfolio construction.
Pro tip You'll know instantly if a competitor's agency is bad because you already run one.
- 3
Identify target acquisitions
Look at competitors you already know are struggling or lacking something you have, where you can increase revenue materially.
Pro tip You can even overpay slightly or use future revenue you'll drive to fund the deal.
- 4
Consider an aqua-hire
To secure scarce talent, acquire the person and their company by paying their salary over the year, giving them an exit and you an integrated asset.
Pro tip Using the terminology ('aqua-hire', 'asset sale') lets you structure and sweeten the deal deliberately.
In the wild
The host realizes she'd effectively done an aqua-hire: her business partner Jason had a production company, and she brought him on and absorbed the company, using his salary rather than upfront cash.
→ She gained a committed, invested partner and integrated his company without a large cash outlay.
Common mistakes
Diversifying as an operator
A strong operator buying into unrelated industries loses the informational edge and value-creation ability they'd have in their own lane.
Is it for you?
Best for
Existing business owners deciding how to grow through acquisition.
Not ideal for
Pure finance operators intentionally building a diversified holding company.
From the transcript
“there's two ways to think about acquisition strategic Acquisitions or Diversified Acquisitions”
“it's called an aqua hire and the cool part is if you start using the terminology that's why I like people to learn deal Mak”
From the episode
Codie Sanchez: How to Make Extraordinary Wealth Buying Boring Businesses
Codie Sanchez