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Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter)
Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
9/10/24 4:56 p.m.
NickD said:

Tony Angelo actually just did a video on the meltdown of Hoonigan and Donut Media last Friday.

 

Just saw that and was the first thing I thought if when I saw this thread.

Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
9/10/24 6:28 p.m.

In reply to Mndsm :

Yes, plus a whole bakery and lots of Hawaiian/Polynesian dishes.

I'm not sure if the bread was fresh off the assembly line oven, but it at least tasted warm and fresh.

Mndsm
Mndsm MegaDork
9/10/24 7:00 p.m.
NOHOME said:

Why do I keep expecting this very same thing to happen to the Cleetus McFarland empire? There is something that does not feel right about his meteoric rise. I know that most of his $$$ comes from Holley who now owns everything.  But keep in mind that:

In 2012, the private equity firm Monomoy Capital Partners acquired Holley Performance Products.

Holley pays for advertising space. They don't own anything of his. He's actively expanding his business, buying a minor stake in motion raceworks, the airfield, etc. The man is a wizard. 

TJL (Forum Supporter)
TJL (Forum Supporter) SuperDork
9/10/24 7:17 p.m.

In reply to Mndsm :

My neighbor from the next road over just stopped by to say hi because he saw me outside.  he isnt a car guy at all yet had a "cleetus" air freshener in his truck. Garret/cleetus has tapped into market that just wants to see him kick butt. I dont "watch" his stuff, but it is pretty entertaining when i come across it.  

rustomatic
rustomatic HalfDork
9/10/24 7:37 p.m.

That private equity model of expanding, consuming, destroying, and failing to conquer is really getting old . . .

codrus (Forum Supporter)
codrus (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
9/10/24 11:49 p.m.
ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

I was going to point out the same. VC is broadly within the category of Private Equity, but typically VC's are comfortable making a minority investment in a company, where what we think of as PE typically will only invest for a majority/controlling interest.  When we're talking about huge strategic rollups and mountains of debt, it's generally PE and not VC. 

Yup.  While VCs are sometimes called "vulture capitalists", broadly speaking their interests are aligned with the company.  They invest money in small companies in order to try to grow them into big companies, take them public, and then sell a lot of stock.  PEs are the ones who take over big, established, but troubled companies and strip them of the assets.

 

Fueled by Caffeine
Fueled by Caffeine MegaDork
9/11/24 7:42 a.m.

Vic's generally want growth through actual growth of the business. 
 

pe's generally cost cut their way to "profitability" and or grow by acquisition.  Usually they're doing a revenue show for the street. 

 

TJL (Forum Supporter)
TJL (Forum Supporter) SuperDork
9/11/24 8:58 a.m.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

This seems correct from my experience. My former employer was sold to a few different investors, maybe the VC types. We legitimately grew the business. They invested properly and just let us do our jobs and a ton of money was made. Like the business went from 5 million to 30+ million over a decade.
 

then a HUGE group bought the company/companies. Shortly after that, the cutting/stripping began. No raises, no hiring actual help, only hiring more "managers" to help tighten the screws. Force the employees left to do their job plus the job of the people that were eliminated.  Closing my department, then closing the office and moving things to their existing office/warehouse.   All done to pump up the  numbers in a unsustainable way. No F's given about the customer base. I was forced out along the way. 
 

If you like your job and how you are treated, then your company gets bought by an investment group, just go ahead and find a new job. 

DirtyBird222
DirtyBird222 PowerDork
9/11/24 10:03 a.m.
NOHOME said:

Why do I keep expecting this very same thing to happen to the Cleetus McFarland empire? There is something that does not feel right about his meteoric rise. I know that most of his $$$ comes from Holley who now owns everything.  But keep in mind that:

In 2012, the private equity firm Monomoy Capital Partners acquired Holley Performance Products.

I think he's the brightest peanut in the turd. He's grown his empire on his own and don't think he needs a quick cash out from a PE. I'm indifferent on the guy but he seems pretty savvy in his business acumen.

Mndsm
Mndsm MegaDork
9/11/24 9:09 p.m.
TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Mndsm :

My neighbor from the next road over just stopped by to say hi because he saw me outside.  he isnt a car guy at all yet had a "cleetus" air freshener in his truck. Garret/cleetus has tapped into market that just wants to see him kick butt. I dont "watch" his stuff, but it is pretty entertaining when i come across it.  

He comes across as a genuinely nice guy that actively wants to just have fun and do stuff, as well as preserve motorsports on an accessible level. It doesn't hurt that he's actually VERY intelligent (he was in law school prior to the empire) and has made his $$$ selling PG content. I watch his videos. I buy a shirt every so often- the Dixon flannel was very nice. I have respect for the guy. He keeps politics out of it unless it affects racing (see the development debacle that recently flooded BMP) and stays true to himself. 

Datsun240ZGuy
Datsun240ZGuy MegaDork
9/11/24 10:17 p.m.
rustomatic said:

That private equity model of expanding, consuming, destroying, and failing to conquer is really getting old . . .

I agree unless you're the one being given a large bonus check in December.......

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