How to Raise $12M to Buy Small Businesses With Grant Hensel [Ep.214]

What separates great entrepreneurs from everyone else is not avoiding failure. It’s their ability to get back up and keep trying new things.

Grant Hensel started 10 businesses, watched seven fail, scaled one into a 60-person company, shifted from building businesses to buying them, and recently raised nearly $12 million to back entrepreneurs acquiring small businesses. 

In this episode of The Opportunity podcast, Grant joins us to share what separated his successful ventures from the failures and the benefits of buying businesses instead of building them from scratch.

One of the keys to success for Grant was finding the right people. He explains that many of his own successes came from partnering with operators who were better suited to run the day-to-day business, while he focused on vision, support, and capital allocation. That philosophy now shapes how his fund evaluates acquisition entrepreneurs.

We also dig into how he raised the fund itself, why he believes “boring” businesses can be incredible investments, and the warning signs that immediately kill a deal for him.

We also discussed AI’s impact on SEO agencies and why Grant believes AI is actually creating new opportunities for digital marketing businesses rather than destroying them.

If you’re interested in buying businesses, raising capital, or building long-term wealth through acquisitions, this episode is packed with practical insights and hard-earned lessons.

Listen to The Opportunity Podcast Episode #214

Topics Discussed in this episode:

• 04:12 – What separated Grant’s successful businesses from the failures 
• 11:26 – Why Grant switched from building businesses to buying them 
• 13:41 – How Grant found his first acquisition 
• 14:30 – How AI is affecting marketing agencies 
• 17:34 – How the first acquisition was structured  
• 20:03 – The benefits of buying vs building a business
• 23:23 – Ins and outs of raising a fund
• 30:28 – Why Grant is sceptical of acquisition synergies 
• 39:52 – How Grant evaluates searchers 
• 46:26 – How Grant raised $12 million for acquisitions

Mentions: 

• • • Empire Flippers Podcasts
    • Empire Flippers Marketplace
    • Create an Empire Flippers account
    • Subscribe to our newsletter
    • Main Street Capital Network
    • Grant’s LinkedIn

Sit back, grab a coffee, and look behind the scenes of a $12million fund!