From Small Acquisition to $30m Industry Leader | Robin Kovitz Interview

As today's guest approached 30 and wanted to start having kids, she knew her then-career in finance wouldn't allow her the flexibility to be the mom she wanted to be. Entrepreneurship — specifically, buying a business — would. So Robin Kovitz bought a small gift basket business in late 2014. Since then has built it into an industry leader with a reported $30m in revenue. It took Robin four years to find her business, and apparently her story floats around the ETA community as a cautionary tale. And while, yes, you want to aim for less than 4 years, I contend there is much to model in Robin: Targeting an industry that seems smaller than it actually is, then dominating it; Buying a business for which you can have passion; Identifying your three nonnegotiables; And, long-termism. Robin's story reminds me of the recent interview with Don Grigg, who bought a small plastics molding business and has since grown it into a leading kayak manufacturer. Don encourages searchers to realize that the business you buy can become your life's work. Well, Robin has been in her beloved business 11 years now, and shows no signs of slowing down or exiting. Here she is, Robin Kovitz, owner of Baskits (with an "i"). ❤️ Enjoy this interview? SUBSCRIBE for more: https://shorturl.at/zaP1m Chapters: 00:00 Robin’s background 07:13 Career in finance & dissatisfaction with corporate path 09:23 Motivation to pursue entrepreneurship before starting a family 20:05 Four-year search process & industry exploration 25:35 Discovering the gift basket industry opportunity 30:07 Acquiring Baskets With An Eye in Toronto 35:46 Gift basket business model & industry dynamics 45:18 Early growth strategy & professionalizing operations 55:42 Recurring revenue, customer concentration & scaling B2B sales 01:07:35 Building team, systems & operational leverage 01:21:24 Long-term vision, passion for the business & advice for searchers CONNECT with the Acquiring Minds podcast, socials, etc. 🎧 Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vZrl0u... 🎧 Podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 👉 Get notified of new interviews: https://acquiringminds.co 👉 Follow host Will Smith on Twitter:   / whentheresawill   👉 Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn:   / willsmithsf   ABOUT Acquiring Minds Acquiring Minds is a podcast about buying businesses. Acquiring an existing business is an awesome opportunity for many entrepreneurs, and host Will Smith talks to the people who do it. New episodes 2x per week. Credits: Edited by Anton Rohozov Produced by Pam Cameron #business #acquisitions #buyingbusiness