Episode Details
Back to Episodes
My First 5 Acquisitions and How I'm Building a $20m EBITDA SaaS HoldCo | Pascal Levy-Garboua Interview
Description
In this episode, I sit down with Pascal Levy-Garboua, a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and the founder of Noosa Labs. After making 140 venture capital investments, including seven unicorns, Pascal shifted his focus to acquiring and scaling small, profitable SaaS businesses under Noosa Labs. His next goal? Building a $50 million ARR portfolio with a 50% EBITDA margin.
We dive into his journey—from bootstrapping and navigating trade-offs to executing four acquisitions in his first year. Pascal shares invaluable lessons on structuring deals, managing high-cost debt, and the realities of scaling through acquisitions. He also explains how his experience as a VC has shaped his unique approach to investing in and operating SaaS businesses.
If you're interested in entrepreneurship, acquisitions, or building a portfolio of profitable SaaS companies, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.
Please enjoy this conversation with Pascal Levy-Garboua., founder of Noosa Labs.
----------------------------------------------
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:18 - A career in technology
00:05:33 - Finding fulfillment: Enjoying work for the first time
00:10:13 - Bootstrapping a business and key trade-offs
00:13:34 - Completing four acquisitions in the first year
00:18:53 - Key lessons from the first four acquisitions
00:28:54 - What he would do differently if he could redo those acquisitions
00:32:17 - Underestimating the challenges of the journey
00:34:56 - Defining a North Star for capital allocation
00:42:25 - Managing high-cost debt
00:50:34 - Understanding what founders can’t or don’t want to do
00:52:07 - Personal growth as an acquirer and investor
00:54:02 - Typical deal structures and key considerations
01:01:20 - How making 140 VC investments, including seven in unicorn companies, shaped Pascal as a SaaS investor
----------------------------------------------
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Pascal on Twitter: https://x.com/2pasc
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.