Brent Beshore: The "Forrest Gump of Private Equity"

In The Trenches

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My guest today is Brent Beshore. Brent is Founder and CEO of Permanent Equity, a private investment firm that invests in Founder-owned private companies. Permanent Equity is a (very) long-term investor that typically intends to hold portfolio companies indefinitely, often without the use of any leverage.

In addition to his role as an investor, Brent is also a prolific writer: He is a regular contributor to Forbes, and also publishes and releases materials for free on Permanent Equity's website, spanning topics like operating, selling, and investingin SMBs, among others. Brent is also the author of The Messy Marketplace, a book that aims to demystify the process of selling a company.

I must say that this conversation was a real pleasure for me to have. Brent is a really thoughtful guy who has a lot of really unique and insightful views on buying, running, and selling SMBs. And, of all the many conversations that I’ve had recently, this one might cover the most ground: So strap in for a very wide-ranging discussion, and please enjoy.