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249 - He Almost Bought TikTok with Mr. Beast (Here's How) with Jesse Tinsley

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Manage episode 517679097 series 3591759
Content provided by Nikolas Hulewsky. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Nikolas Hulewsky or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

MY NEWSLETTER - https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Join me, Nik (https://x.com/CoFoundersNik), on Nikonomics as I interview Jesse Tinsley (https://x.com/JesseTinsley), the acquisition entrepreneur and CEO of Main Street, a company now valued at $750 million and on track for $500M ARR.

In this episode, we break down how Jesse built a billion-dollar business through acquisitions, not venture capital, and why buying companies can be a faster, smarter path to wealth than building from scratch.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How Jesse acquired distressed company Bench Accounting (with $40M ARR and 11,000 customers) over a single Christmas weekend, and turned it around with a $50M swing to positive cash flow

  • The exact acquisition-led growth strategy that’s scaling Main Street into a $2B enterprise

  • Why Search Funds and SMB acquisitions are exploding as a path for founders to build generational wealth

  • How a radical sense of urgency, Elon-Musk-style operations, and high-velocity decision-making can drive massive performance

  • The MrBeast x TikTok acquisition story, and what it reveals about bold entrepreneurial thinking

  • How improving customer satisfaction and NPS post-acquisition creates compounding growth

The flywheel effect behind Main Street’s success and proprietary tech that detects employment fraud and optimizes payroll efficiency

__________________________

Love it or hate it, I'd love your feedback.

Please fill out this brief survey with your opinion or email me at [email protected] with your thoughts.

__________________________

MY NEWSLETTER: https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/5avyu98y

Apple: https://tinyurl.com/bdxbr284

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/nikonomicsYT

__________________________

This week we covered:

00:00 – Intro: From $20M startup to $750M valuation in one year

00:26 – The crazy story: Buying Bench Accounting over a weekend

02:45 – How Jesse pulled off the Bench acquisition with no prior talks

05:15 – Turning a $40M ARR distressed asset into profit

09:55 – Customer-first mindset: Fixing 10,000 tickets in 26 hours

14:35 – Financing creative deals & integrating big acquisitions

18:20 – Valuation jump to $750M & lessons from deal-making

20:40 – Inside the TikTok bid with MrBeast & global investors

25:25 – Advice for entrepreneurs: Buy vs. build and the search-fund model

34:50 – Building Main Street into a $5B company & final lessons on speed and urgency

  continue reading

252 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 517679097 series 3591759
Content provided by Nikolas Hulewsky. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Nikolas Hulewsky or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

MY NEWSLETTER - https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Join me, Nik (https://x.com/CoFoundersNik), on Nikonomics as I interview Jesse Tinsley (https://x.com/JesseTinsley), the acquisition entrepreneur and CEO of Main Street, a company now valued at $750 million and on track for $500M ARR.

In this episode, we break down how Jesse built a billion-dollar business through acquisitions, not venture capital, and why buying companies can be a faster, smarter path to wealth than building from scratch.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How Jesse acquired distressed company Bench Accounting (with $40M ARR and 11,000 customers) over a single Christmas weekend, and turned it around with a $50M swing to positive cash flow

  • The exact acquisition-led growth strategy that’s scaling Main Street into a $2B enterprise

  • Why Search Funds and SMB acquisitions are exploding as a path for founders to build generational wealth

  • How a radical sense of urgency, Elon-Musk-style operations, and high-velocity decision-making can drive massive performance

  • The MrBeast x TikTok acquisition story, and what it reveals about bold entrepreneurial thinking

  • How improving customer satisfaction and NPS post-acquisition creates compounding growth

The flywheel effect behind Main Street’s success and proprietary tech that detects employment fraud and optimizes payroll efficiency

__________________________

Love it or hate it, I'd love your feedback.

Please fill out this brief survey with your opinion or email me at [email protected] with your thoughts.

__________________________

MY NEWSLETTER: https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/5avyu98y

Apple: https://tinyurl.com/bdxbr284

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/nikonomicsYT

__________________________

This week we covered:

00:00 – Intro: From $20M startup to $750M valuation in one year

00:26 – The crazy story: Buying Bench Accounting over a weekend

02:45 – How Jesse pulled off the Bench acquisition with no prior talks

05:15 – Turning a $40M ARR distressed asset into profit

09:55 – Customer-first mindset: Fixing 10,000 tickets in 26 hours

14:35 – Financing creative deals & integrating big acquisitions

18:20 – Valuation jump to $750M & lessons from deal-making

20:40 – Inside the TikTok bid with MrBeast & global investors

25:25 – Advice for entrepreneurs: Buy vs. build and the search-fund model

34:50 – Building Main Street into a $5B company & final lessons on speed and urgency

  continue reading

252 episodes

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