Kirk Newcombe | Business Process & AI
@KirkNewcombe
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Building process, automation, AI @TorchPX / Acquired NY's largest swimming pool holdco thru ETA. 150 staff in Service, HVAC, Bulk Chems, Design/Engineer/Build.
New York, USA
Joined March 2014
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
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Last Seen Profiles
Pinned Tweet
FACT: Businesses thrive on process.
Also FACT: Leaders don't invest enough in process documentation.
Want to know how a 150-person pool company operates?
Reply with "Workflow" and I'll DM you the process map for an 8-digit business.
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Buy a pool business they said.
Rollup the industry they said.
Raise capital they said.
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@danielcronauer
I consider myself fortunate that I grew up experiencing a diversity of people/thought/lifestyles. I'd like to believe I'm a better person for it. Shielding your child from a tongue ring isn't the answer.
I'd say trust but verify.
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@mbacarella
@carmguti
@CultureIgnorant
Great in theory. Takes longer to build an EMR than it does a hospital though. And then why build software that only brand new hospitals will use? Might as well just build hospitals where you'll make just as much money.
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Context: Gate was locked. Tech couldn't get in.
Also not my tech to be clear.
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I bought a business with 150 employees.
And then proceeded to get lied to every day for a year.
You think you're a good leader.
Empathetic, understanding, and always ready to listen.
But what if that's precisely the problem?
I learned this the hard way.
Running a
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Top employee was in a really tough spot.
Lent him $500.
He quits and leaves for $1 an hour extra.
Never saw a dime of my money.
What would you have done?
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Left my laptop in an uber this morning. Uber says I can pay driver $20 and speak direct by phone. He doesn't answer (doesn't speak english.)
Instead, I get a call from driver's son looking for $200 because dad "will lose a days wages" returning the laptop.
Woulda paid $60 surge
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Lots of new followers recently. 🙌 Probably worth reintroducing myself.
I’m an entrepreneur and SMB investor who acquired a handful of pool companies in the Hamptons through the search fund model. Until recently I led day-to-day operations for 4 of our 5 business units and
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Accidentally cold emailed the CEO of one of the biggest pallet businesses in the world back when I was searching.
He took my call.
The untold secret in the industry? They carried their pallets on the balance sheet at $20 a piece when they cost $3.50 to make.
Turns out the
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I told myself I'd start a new business for my 40th birthday.
Well, here we are. I'm 40 and I just launched
@torchpx
🎉
We’re helping CEOs and investors who have struggled time and again with traditional business and technology consultants who think in silos.
Between myself
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Bought a 150-employee pool company.
Quickly learned that many pool techs can't swim.
Go figure.
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@zerohedge
For those saying that bitcoin is the solution, you're arguing against yourselves on this one.
Expiry is better than loose monetary policy because it directly targets velocity of money. It's the nitrous shot in the engine of rhe economy with benefit of not being inflationary.
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LOI signed and countersigned. Let's go!!!
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Just received a redline back on an LOI for an exciting business. Their email was titled "Let's do it!"
Good indications. Let's get to work!
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Contemplating sharing a few threads that outline some of my past industry theses and why I passed. Competitive dynamics, revenue models, consolidation trends.. margin and working capital profile.
Any interest?
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@KenziesPoolBoy
Great reminder. Been on pc for years and finally back on the Mac. didn't realize that the new macbooks are visible in find my eve n if they're asleep. Thanks Tim!
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30 days, 30 industries. Planning to break down 30 industries I evaluated while searching for a business to acquire. I eventually acquired a pool business which isn't the holy grail some make it to be. Planning to share more on that too.
What industries would you want me to hack
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@MatznerJon
Burned the boats in 2017. Raised capital in 2018. Searched for 3.5 years. Lost 1 to covid. Came close to acquiring a half dozen times. Avoided some huge bombs. Ended my engagement and 7 year relationship. Another bomb. Acquired an incredible pool business in the Hamptons in 2021.
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Hot lead just went cold.
Great business having a stellar year. Owners want to hang on for the ride.
Can I blame them? Nope.
Running a growing business (or buying one, for that matter) is more exciting than a failing one.
In solidarity CEOs. In solidarity.
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@jagemelt1
Worst part is they aren't understanding.
Gonna be tough turning that pool around in time. Setting the tech up for failure.
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@Secretsrchr
I struggle to see how anyone could truly do the work I'd want done for $5k. Maybe he's just doing a cash proof. And if so, that's maybe a bit rich then.
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@TOMMYROBB5
@trevorsmithmd
@mbacarella
@carmguti
@CultureIgnorant
In principle, I don't disagree. However, even single payer systems need to run on budget and have incentives so that a balance is struck against efficiency and quality of care.
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Big day for me today. Broke 700 followers. Appreciate all the new subs.
Releasing day 3 of my "30 days, 30 industries" content Thursday. Hoping to bang out a pinned backstory too. Gnight.
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Slowly making my way to 2000 followers.
I'll spare you the "X has changed my life" speech because it simply isn't true.
Reflecting on the posts where I'm compelled to reply is rewarding to a degree.
A reaffirmation of what excites me.
Business problems, leadership,
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Cost reduction and expense management.
The sexiest business model out there.
1) audit the expenses of any company
2) find mistakes in billing, get them corrected
3) negotiate a better deal with a new vendor
4) get paid 25-50% of the savings over 3 years
PE buys you at 10x 👇
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If you want to play PE and show up to start demanding certain actions from your new employees.
Your new acquisition will fail.
You've just acquired a legacy business.
Congratulations.
Now, you're ready to revolutionize. To optimize. To demand results.
Stop.
This is where
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Advice I wish I had when I was 22:
> Pick up the phone and speak to people who are genuinely excited to do hard things.
Hat tip:
@SullyBusiness
, great meeting you yesterday bud. Very inspiring!
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Girlfriend bought me a 5 week welding class in September.
Woodwork has been my medium since I was a kid. Always dreamed of learning to weld.
Can't wait.
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Captivating conversations last night at one of the best attended ETA events I have seen in NYC.
Courtesy of legend
@AgeofHoffman
himself,
@LisaGForrest
and Sarah Andrews
@LiveOakBank
who funded the senior debt on my deal 🙏, and
@FetaFund
who is the search investor we all need!
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Before the age of 16 I had washed more dishes than most people do in a lifetime.
Staffer calls in sick? I had to step in.
30 staff, their kids, and 200 guests don't eat if the dishes don't get done.
Every role on a team is critical.
Even the kid doing dishes. Lest we forget.
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I decided to build a new business for my 40th birthday.
That gives me 22 days to get to a "go or no-go" decision.
A couple of conversations have been really encouraging.
Thx
@MalcolmPools
and
@RoryTyer
for your feedback and validation.
Now, to get in front of customers!
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Humbled as ever. Back to my roots in tech with some of
@Andela
and the global talent community's finest.
10 years since the launch. Incredible work team!
@JeremyJ
@nadayar
@sasschristina
@toluolatunde
@senisulyman
@IanCarnevale
@iaboyeji
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@danielcronauer
I think what’s really important about the original post is that he is acknowledging his implicit bias in his question whereas many people who are responding, have said more about themselves, their judgments and their own biases than augment the conversation that the original
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@dylthorn
Beggars can't be choosers.
Our pool biz does twice-weekly visits. Someone wants once-weekly? They aren't a fit for us. We can't defend quality on that schedule. Now, if someone wants us there 3x per week? Happy to oblige. We're in a place where we can afford to be selective ofc
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My asset classes: Small private companies. Personal growth. Beers. Friendships.
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Met a guy kitesurfing a year back... afterwards we shared a couple beers and some war stories. Have only followed him on Instagram since.
Tomorrow, we're going to discuss me buying his business. Wish me luck.
There's opportunity everywhere, just need to look.
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@photo_bb
@danielcronauer
I don't think neck tattoos are necessarily a predictor of one's ability to be compassionate whereas it sounds like they are for you. There are situations in life (where neck tattoos aren't even involved) where I forgo my rose colored view of the world.
The irony is that while I
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Most people don't realize that pool service companies up North operate very differently from the South.
All because of the Frost Line and ground freeze depths.
The solution is closing pools with antifreeze in the lines and staffing down.
Memorial Day openings a clusterf**k👇
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Hot Take: SMB operators going through ERP integrations could become highly effective product managers in a tech startup. Trial by fire.
Who's dreading (or sweating) a ERP implementation?
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Building a B2B biz
Start by mapping market dynamics
For example, pool companies. Market segment matters.
Affluent markets trump low income.
✅ 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 wealthy end-customers = healthier margins
✅ 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 one poler ≠ mom&pop ≠ PE shop
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People think bigger companies don’t have the same issues as small ones.
Well, that is not always true.
I bought a pool company with 150 employees.
4 and a half affiliated businesses.
Sounds great right?
At that size, there is likely a nice org chart and only a few direct
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Caught up a former colleague. Top notch human, struggled with ADD.
Years ago I gave him a book, The ADHD Advantage.
He's re-read it 5 times and it's a big part of why he has embraced entrepreneurship. Warms my heart.
Don't underestimate the power of small gestures or ADHD. ❤️
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Working on a national dataset to weigh the attractiveness of a region to pool cos and HVAC... turns out that the USDA's plant hardiness scale is a great proxy for minimum annual temperatures.
Their data is easier to work with than NOAA's too.
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@Slackwatercap
So many small trades businesses don't have strong policies in place. A mix of being busy, not necessarily knowing what works/doesn't, and treating customers like Faberge eggs. "Just fire the customer" is probably the right answer.
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Fortunately, these guys allowed me to join in on the fun.
I have spent the last few months engaging lightly, trying to add a bit more value, and author a couple longer form things, but with any particular goal in mind. The hope is that this will make building out my personal
We are closing applicants for our growth group tonight at midnight
I’m going to be honest with you guys
@CoFoundersNik
@carkerpox
@meetmikehiggins
have done an incredible job setting this up and you’re going to want to be a part of this group
We are giving away 5k in prizes
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@STLChrisH
The subtle truth of the trades is that many of our techs are quieter and more independent than your average bear.
They're also paying more attention and in tune than one might think (hi guys!). Usually the loudest and most abbrassive are the worst performers whereas the
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@habsburglar
@mbacarella
@carmguti
@CultureIgnorant
There are some examples of vertically integrated hospital systems... not an expert, of course. But, my understanding is that bringing care and insurance risk under one roof results in better more cost effective outcomes. Not sure that EMR is the place to start though.
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There isn't a single technology product in my life that gets as many malicious login attempts as my Microsoft account that I never use. Someone really wants access to the dust collecting in this account.
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There are highly successful software companies scared out of their minds of AI. GhostCos in waiting.
Upstart competitors can build a competing product at 1/10th the cost that's AI first.
Imagine being Slack and asking yourself if you should build from scratch or be disrupted.
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Great crew at last night's meetup in NYC. Thanks to
@RandBusiness
for bringing it all together!
@SMBProspector
great to meet you, good luck on the LOI!
@AgeofHoffman
awesome catching up in person finally!
@NewMajorityCap
also great meeting you. Let's do some deals!
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@BostonJerry
So it's not just about fragile male egos and skyscrapers being modern 🍆 measuring contests? Got it.
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Mark my words. Everyone and their dog is going to try and sell AI to businesses.
But, the 2 major differentiators of a vendor will be:
- Do they understand your business context and process in totality?
- Will they force rank their projects based on ROI?
Caveat emptor.
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Decided that this week I'm going to try and add more followers than
@meetmikehiggins
... nothing like a little healthy competition, amiright?
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Wow. Hit 750 this morning.
Big day for me today. Broke 700 followers. Appreciate all the new subs.
Releasing day 3 of my "30 days, 30 industries" content Thursday. Hoping to bang out a pinned backstory too. Gnight.
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I wanted to buy an alarm company back in 2019. What I found was an incredible industry with great fundamentals.
But I passed on it anyways.
There are few pillars to the security industry, primarily the "parts & smarts" companies that do design and configuration, the installers
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@lawyer4SMBs
Having 1 and then having twins.
Not my situation, but have seen it first-hand. Hooowee!
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Advice to searchers...
Industry reports won't teach you what conversations with owners will. Take the calls, even if the business isn't very obviously a fit.
Learn to celebrate when you pass on a deal. That focus is valuable.
Strive for great business and industry dynamics
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@brianbeers
The dynamics in insurance mean the deck is stacked in their favor and eliminates healthy competition, it's pretty criminal if you ask me. There need to be better mechanisms to introduce competition.
That said, plenty of capitalists in the replies here who'd gouge is they could.
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@CoFoundersNik
@GrantCardone
@sweatystartup
@AlexHormozi
@Codie_Sanchez
Two of the smartest people I know told me yesterday at lunch that they want to buy laundromats.
They're not wrong.
But, Codie is still a shill.
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Maybe don't change that process until you understand it.
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Last week I told X that I was starting a business for my 40th birthday.. So, what did I have accomplished in the last 3 days towards my goal?
- Pinged business acquaintances that built
@ForbesCouncils
for their guidance.
- Had a VC tear my idea apart. "Those who can't do,
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@FluentInFinance
Context matters here. Let's not be unnecessarily alarmist.
Annually, the global forex market is 1.94 quadrillion dollars in trade. USD accounts for 88% of that.
$150 Billion in reis crossing with yuan is a fraction of a drop in the bucket.
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If you are a CEO with a Board, make sure they understand that financial reporting requires coordination across the entire organization, not just finance. To do that, you need:
- a culture of accountability from the bottom to the top
- line level employees posting accurately, on
Building a great finance team is HARD 😅
But get it right, and it makes your life 10x easier as CFO.
It took me over 10 years to perfect a framework that worked.
Let me share it 👇
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🚩 for those of you excited about ChatGPT's integration with Google Drive.
It will use your data for training.
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Most people recognize pool cleaning trucks from a mile with their vacuums hanging off the tow hitch.
Pool vacs are awesome tools that cut down time to service dramatically.
But, adding vacuums to your toolkit should come with updated team expectations.
Here's how I see it👇
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4 days in the market with
@TorchPX
, closed one client, advancing a second with high probability to close, a third with a very clear problem set and propensity to close. Pitched proof of concept to train an LLM on a dataset ripe for this evolution.
Zero marketing.
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The single greatest risk in acquiring pool companies is Warranty Liability.
Haters will say staffing is risk
#1
.
Pareto Principle. 20% of customers will consume 80% of a team's time.
Fixing one customer's problems means others are being forgotten.
How do you value that cost?
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My advice for anyone automating they're business:
Don't just replicate your existing process.
First, document, simplify, and optimize
...THEN find technology solutions to support the new optimized process.
Optimize before you automate.
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You are:
- A landscaping company owner
- A snow removal company owner
- A pool cleaning company owner
Trying to figure out what your team should be tracking?
Here ya go:
1. Track opening and closing times for each job
2. Measure the speed and output of each work order
3.
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What's the going rate and structure for appointment setters?
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You acquire a business.
It's profitable but stuck in the past.
The big question is: how do you modernize?
First, take a step back.
As tempting as it is to throw out that old fax machine, don't rush into changes.
When I bought my pool company, I learned the hard way that
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Back in 2018 I spent 2 months looking to buy into the industrial automation industry. My basic thesis: Automation is a trend and these machines will need service & repair. Easy, right?
What I found was an ocean of consultancies, on-site experts, and consumable parts. A thread 👇
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@FetaFund
I'll go on the record and say that if you're launching a search and have never done sales or led a team, having interns is mandatory. The degree to which you're able to inspire a part-timer to care about your search, grind through minutiae, and stay on task is good practice and
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A common automation mistake:
Trying to automate existing processes without understanding them.
The outcome?
Speeding up bottlenecks instead of removing them.
The fix?
A deep dive into the operational flow before automating.
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Dang I love bringing good people together. If you don't know
@GeorgesJanin
he's a legend and a great guy.
Best part is, we met through the randomness of life. We sat next to each other at a WeWork and that was that.
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I'm regularly humbled by the folks I get to hang with. Blessed beyond compare.
Yesterday's announcement on LinkedIn has had nearly 5,000 impressions with the top job titles being precisely the buyers for my work at
@torchpx
🔦
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@ryanraysr
Speaking on behalf of traditional funded searchers, they're intimately familiar with the noise and the competition.
It's a giant sorting hat. Not all sellers are a fit for PE and the same applies to searchers. Their propositions are fundamentally different.
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Adding your first employee is a real challenge.
Congrats on getting there!
My 2 cents is the pool industry won't grow sustainably unless we commit to building talent.
Scaling services means investing your cash flow in people.
Hiring another you is unrealistic. He's already
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@jcolesimpson
@AwayConsultant
Working capital is a real thing. Fuel to your fire. In 2 years they'll lend you whatever you want.
In the interim, you can free up some cash in other ways:
- Drag out your vendors to 60 or 90 days without asking.
- Tell vendors you want 90 day terms and see what they say. You
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The vast majority of small businesses keep cash books. For those that say they're accrual basis, beware. They're definitely not.
Ask me how I know.
No. Your $2M home services business business doesn’t need GAAP financials and accrual basis.
Cash basis, good monthly bookkeeping will do wonders.
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Product Market Timing
Is that a term? If not, I just coined it.
There is an ocean of tech innovation coming to market that is going to be irrelevant overnight. HOT then cold.
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Proud to have supported my parents in the sale of their business on January 6th. Lots of great lessons, including the power of motivated parties and TRUST leading up to the finish line.
Congrats and best of luck to everyone in their new adventures!
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