$3.1b in deployed capital
110 investments
44 live investments
Just a short list of accomplishments from, Ian, a co-founder of a PE firm that manages a multi-billion-AUM PE firm.
On top of that, here's a powerful message from him which I believe is relatable to a lot of investors, business buyers/builders, and capital allocators (And also something I keep coming back to once a quarter, happened today, for example):
"The thing that I kind of knew anyway, and I would urge other people who are looking to go on an entrepreneurial journey, is: don't give up. It probably won't go right the first time, or it might not go right the first five times, because life isn't like that.
It's hard. Very tough to do these things. Very few people achieve any business success."
PrivateEquityGuy (Mikk Markus) (@PrivatEquityGuy)
Private equity made an 80x cumulative return with Mister Car Wash.
No wonder Ian and his wife, who’ve already built a $3.1 BILLION private equity firm…
Acquired Subway stores, backed entrepreneurs & are now building more than 12,000 apartments…
And are, again, getting into the car wash industry... rolling up US car washes using AI-driven site selection
Here is how they did all that:
0:00 “Don’t give up” Ian’s core lesson on entrepreneurship and resilience
0:34 Who is Ian Rickwood and what is Henley Group?
1:04 The scale of Henley today: capital, sectors, and strategy
3:02 Early career: Procter & Gamble and Pepsi
5:02 Discovering Subway & winning the master franchise
7:04 “More margin in the lease than in the sandwich” real estate awakening
11:01 From 17 Subways to buying Benjys
13:03 Scaling Benjys to 90 stores + ~200 ‘vanchises’… then getting crushed
15:05 A tough exit and what it taught Ian
17:04 Starting Henley from lifestyle dev to serious platform
19:03 Surviving the GFC and pivoting the model
21:03 A 12-year run and Henley’s track record
22:07 Building a firm with your spouse “colors and numbers”
25:08 Bringing the kids into the business (without ruining them)
29:04 Dealing with bad deals and problem assets
31:02 Geographic expansion Holland, Germany, Poland, Ireland
33:06 Entering the US and timing the exit
33:56 From deal-by-deal to first fund
37:03 “It’s all about the deal” capital vs conviction
40:13 Sponsor: Capitalpad marketplace for acquisition deals
41:20 What a perfect operator/entrepreneur partner looks like
43:03 Reading people in a 60-minute meeting
45:02 Why car washes? Entering a ‘boring’ but beautiful business
47:03 The failed first platform: overpaying, over-spending, bad sites
48:00 Rebuilding from scratch: launching Aquasonic the right way
49:02 Data, AI and picking car wash sites
52:05 The most expensive beliefs Ian has changed
55:11 Big-picture lessons keep learning, don’t give up, pivot fast
57:17 Favorite books and how Ian unwinds
57:47 Closing thoughts and wrap-up
Video
— https://nitter.net/PrivatEquityGuy/status/1989422702591918566#m