Your 1st Acquisition Isn’t About EBITDA. It’s About the Next CEO with Peter Kang

Описание: Fresh off the release of Peter Kang’s HoldCo Guide, we go deep on what it actually looks like to build an operational holdco in the agency world—where the goal isn’t quick flips… it’s compounding over 10–30 years.

Peter walks through what changed inside Barrel Holdings after shutting down “optionality,” why their latest acquisition (AO2) was won on leadership + client roster quality, and how their capital stack is evolving as they begin pairing SBA debt with outside equity—without turning into a fund.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro + Barrel Holdings update
01:40 Cutting incubations + exiting subscale agencies
06:10 Where AO2 came from (the deal you don’t “plan” for)
07:45 Tariffs turbulence during DD + staying steady
09:30 The holdco criteria: internal #2 who can become CEO
12:20 Client roster DD method (line-by-line + color coding)
16:40 Deal structure lessons + “sprinkles” regret
20:00 The HoldCo Guide + capital allocator vs operational holdco
24:30 Other people’s money + SBA stacking
32:00 Returns + preferred stack + catch-up dynamics
34:20 AI risk, lean teams, and the human layer
37:40 Why holdco is not private equity (time horizon + compounding)

Peter Kang’s writing + newsletter: search “Peter Kang” and “PeterKang.com”
Agency Habits: search “Agency Habits”

(As always: this conversation is for education and entertainment, not investment advice.)

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