v2.26 - Investing in Private Equity for Individual Investors (ft. Sequoya Borgman)

For most individual investors, “private equity” is usually associated with “inaccessible” – something reserved for the Elon Musks and Blackstones of the world. Buying and running established companies has been an institutional game with large minimums and no obvious way in. Sequoya Borgman spent nearly two decades in public accounting before leaving a partner’s seat to buy businesses himself. A decade and 20-plus acquisitions later, he joins Dustin and Adam to walk through how private equity in the lower-middle-market space actually works: buying founder-led companies from owners who need a succession plan, layering bank debt, seller notes, and equity, then paying that debt down with the company’s own cash flow. The tried-and-true leveraged buyout (LBO) model. They get into where this sits on the investment risk scale, why he’ll walk from a deal everyone else loves, and how accredited investors can now reach a space that used to require a Goldman Sachs-sized check. Episode Release Notes & Resources: • Pass the Hat: https://www.passthehat.com • Borgman Capital: https://www.borgmancapital.com/ • Connect with Sequoya on LinkedIn:   / sequoya-borgman-8a6057a   Key Timestamps: 00:01:40 Meet Sequoya Borgman & Borgman Capital 00:03:28 From Arthur Andersen to buying businesses 00:04:51 What a lower-middle-market LBO looks like 00:06:49 Building the investor base and Pass the Hat 00:09:59 Screening 1,200 deals 00:11:38 The deal he'd never buy: the winner's curse 00:13:53 Valuing businesses and target multiples 00:15:54 Structuring the capital stack 00:18:54 Exits, hold periods, and timing 00:20:10 The QSBS tax benefit 00:21:15 Where private equity fits in a portfolio 00:24:47 Leaving a public accounting partner's seat 00:27:32 What freedom and independence mean to Sequoya 00:31:10 Adam & Dustin's takeaways: equity growth vs. cash flow See all Wealth Independence episodes at https://wealthindependencepod.com Connect with Dustin: Big Spring Capital: https://bigspringcap.com LinkedIn:   / thedustinbailey   Twitter/X: https://x.com/TheDustinBailey Connect with Adam: Bidwell Capital: https://bidwellcapitalfund.com