What 137 Acquisitions Taught Me About Operational Excellence | Robert Irving Interview
Podcast: Buyers and BuildersPublished On: Mon Apr 27 2026
Description: In this episode, Robert Irving of Buffalo Growth Partners shares what he learned from building a fire protection business from zero to $20M in revenue, selling it to private equity, rolling equity, and then helping execute a 137-company rollup.Timestamps:0:00 Why PE value creation is harder than it sounds1:52 From fire protection operator to $20M in revenue4:09 The three sales roles that drive B2B growth6:25 Building hospitals, data centers, and complex fire systems8:07 Selling the company and rolling equity into the platform9:33 Going from one business to 12 offices and 800 people11:21 The hidden pattern behind great acquisitions13:53 Why integrations usually fail because of people15:49 What 100+ acquisitions teach you that one or two never could18:13 How to diligence small businesses without overcomplicating it19:30 The danger of fast rollups and pure multiple arbitrage23:39 Retaining owners and creating alignment after the deal25:15 The real craft of off-market sourcing31:00 Buffalo Growth Partners and the “guys in trucks” thesis37:39 Reimagining private equity through operations40:12 Small consistent improvements that compound into big results42:06 Constraint-based growth and finding the real bottleneck45:05 Meeting operators where they are with technology48:51 Where to find Robert Irving and Buffalo Growth PartnersThis podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
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