The Deal Table

The Deal Table is a long-form podcast featuring the founders, operators, investors, and advisors who navigate consequential decisions around capital, control, leadership, and legacy.Hosted by Lane Carrick and Ryan Harper, and filmed at Old Parkland in Dallas, the show brings together leaders who have built, financed, governed, acquired, and exited real businesses to speak candidly about private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and what actually happens before, during, and after the deal.For founders, executives, investors, and advisors making decisions

The Deal Table is a business podcast hosted by Lane Carrick and Ryan, with 52 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Lane Carrick and Ryan hosts The Deal Table, a business show with 52 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #53

  #53 Bill Rowe: There Are More PE Jobs Than Proven Operators

  Oct 1, 20261h 20mS3

  "If we owned this company, we wrote the $50 million check to control this business, is that who you would hire to put in that job?" Bill Rowe is founder, chairman and CEO of Rowe Global, a retained executive search firm that recruits CEOs, CFOs and presidents for private equity portfolio companies, PE funds, family offices and private companies. He went into retained search straight out of SMU in 1991, spent almost 10 years at Foster Partners and 11 as a founding partner of Pearson Partners International, and launched Rowe Global in 2013 so the principals would make the calls and meet the candidates themselves. He asks his team the $50 million question about 20 times a week, usually when a search is down to two or three qualified finalists. After nearly 25 years recruiting for private equity, he says he thinks more like a PE investor than a recruiter: where the fund sits in its investment cycle, what the debt looks like, and what kind of leader a leveraged portfolio company can afford. The market has shifted against the buyer of talent. Private equity has grown so broad that "there's more leadership needs than there is proven operators," the best candidates are weighing two other deals or waiting out a payday at their current portfolio company, and the industry average search runs 122 days from go to yes. Executives who move from Wall Street or a Fortune 50 company into a family office fail, he says, when they arrive without the mentality of "I'm here to serve." And he remembers every placement that did not work: "I still can remember like a death of a child, every placement that wasn't good. And it eats at me." Also in this episode: executive search for private equity, how a retained search firm defines a role, hiring a CEO for a portfolio company, recruiting executives into Texas and to secondary markets, a search that ended with a hire in Ghana, what moves a candidate besides compensation, and the question his three kids asked him at Thanksgiving. Hosted by Ryan Harper and Andy Swartz. Produced by Harper Belmont Media. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 2:28 Sponsors 3:50 The forever pledge at Old Parkland 13:06 The client is the company 13:41 A boutique, not the next Korn Ferry 15:54 Fill the job, don't survey the market 18:36 11 years building Pearson Partners 20:14 The emergency call to New Orleans 23:51 A scared SMU senior reads Forbes 27:07 Coaching a new leader in 28:43 Every bad placement, remembered 29:42 "We wrote the $50 million check" 31:30 Partner versus transaction 33:57 Thinking like a PE investor 37:39 Why executives fail at family offices 41:25 Forget the job description 42:12 How long a search really takes 45:07 More PE jobs than proven operators 46:30 Waiting out the payday 49:02 Two smart decisions 50:44 A third of the work is recruiting into Texas 52:05 Recruiting to West Texas 53:13 A search that ended in Ghana 57:08 What moves a candidate besides money 59:46 The left and right side of the page 1:01:31 A landmine field 1:03:15 The Old Parkland spring cocktail 1:06:12 The Rowe Global Ranch Party 1:07:49 "Dad, do you even like what you do?" 1:09:58 10 years at the Indy 500 1:11:55 SMU's next 35 years 1:19:05 Sam Susser, filming next SPONSORED BY Capital Southwest | https://capitalsouthwest.com Security National Bank | https://securitynational.bank Blockchain.com | https://www.blockchain.com IMA Financial Group | https://imacorp.com Rowe Global: https://www.roweglobal.com The Deal Table: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-deal-table/ Ryan Harper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryansharper/ Lane Carrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-lane-carrick-65a728/ Lane's book, The Optima Advantage: https://amzn.to/48nLElW

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  The Deal Table

  Alex Danza, Vonlane: They Said Nobody Would Pay $99 to Ride a Bus

  Sep 21, 20261h 22mS3

  "People thought I was crazy 12 years ago. You're going to ask people to spend $99 to ride a bus. They thought I was nuts. And I thought I was nuts a little bit."Alex Danza is the founder and CEO of Vonlane, the premium motorcoach company he launched in Dallas in May 2014 with two coaches and a single route to Austin. Twelve years on, Vonlane runs more than 500 weekly departures across Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia, has carried 1.8 million passengers over 36 million miles, and has never taken a dollar of institutional capital.The original plan was a regional charter business. Danza killed it once he saw the industry competed on nothing but who bid lowest, and a coach salesman offered him a way out: an empty shell he could finish however he wanted. What came back is closer to an airline than a bus line. Terminals in downtown Dallas, Austin, Houston, and Nashville rather than an airport twenty minutes out. Twenty-two first class seats, an attendant on every trip, Starlink, meals included, and a library voice policy enforced with a discreet card and a piece of chocolate. Net promoter score runs at 90, and the first two coaches he bought are still on the road and still earning.Then COVID erased two and a half years. He was two weeks from launching Nashville when March Madness was cancelled, went dark for six weeks, took Vista Bank's first Main Street lending loan, and did not reach Tennessee until 2023. On the fare he is plain: it started at $99, it is $129 today, and it will never be dynamically priced. "It is an airline on the ground, this business." The pricing is the one part of the airline he refuses to copy.Also in this episode: how Vonlane picks a route and why it runs to Buckhead instead of Hartsfield, why he will not hire a driver without two years on a 45 foot motorcoach, what he actually wants from autonomous vehicles and the DOT, raising capital in one ten minute phone call, why he would sell to private equity or a family office but never go public after Andersen and Enron, and what solving ground transportation for NetJets taught him first.Hosted by Ryan Harper and Lane Carrick. Produced by Harper Belmont Media.CHAPTERS0:00 Intro2:01 Sponsors3:17 Starting a thing that should already exist3:53 The 200 to 250 mile problem6:50 Downtown terminals, not airports10:01 $1.2 million a coach, and why the IRR works11:21 The first two coaches, 12 years later11:56 The original plan was charter13:18 "I'll just sell you one that's empty"15:07 Competing on productivity, not price16:59 How a route gets chosen18:35 Buckhead instead of Hartsfield20:00 COVID cost them two and a half years21:29 Two weeks from Nashville, then March Madness died26:14 Six weeks dark26:32 Vista Bank's first Main Street loan27:53 Maintenance and a 0.04% month29:27 Two years on a 45 foot coach, no exceptions35:51 "People thought I was crazy"39:35 Sixty percent book inside seven days41:48 Fifty-fifty business and leisure, NPS of 9042:37 The shutdown sent them 30% more riders43:37 He wants DOT hours, not a driverless bus48:56 Raising the money: one call, ten minutes50:42 No institutional money, ever51:57 $99 to $129, in very small steps54:01 The library voice policy56:21 225 employees, and Miles the AI agent1:00:16 When a coach goes down in Waco1:04:30 The endgame: an exit, not an IPO1:06:35 Andersen, Enron, and staying private1:09:48 Events are the business1:14:15 Before Vonlane: Y2K and the road1:15:31 Solving what NetJets could not1:19:39 What people get wrong1:21:31 CloseSPONSORED BYCapital Southwest | https://capitalsouthwest.comSecurity National Bank | https://securitynational.bankBlockchain.com | https://www.blockchain.comVonlane: https://www.vonlane.comThe Deal Table: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-deal-table/Ryan Harper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryansharper/Lane Carrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-lane-carrick-65a728/Lane's book, The Optima Advantage: https://amzn.to/48nLElW

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  Episode #51

  #51 Allen West | Our P&L Statement Was in Lives

  Sep 14, 20261h 21mS3

  His P&L was measured in lives, not dollars. Allen West commanded 650 soldiers in Iraq, then carried the same leadership system into Congress and into business.More on Allen West and this episode: https://www.thedealtablepodcast.com/episodes/allen-westWest spent 22 years in the U.S. Army, commanded an artillery battalion out of Fort Hood, and advised the Afghan National Army in Kandahar. He then spent two years in Congress on the Armed Services and Small Business committees. Most of this conversation is him teaching.The five C's of leadership: courage, competence, commitment, conviction, character. Commander's intent broken into purpose, method and end state, and why an operation briefed that way survives the plan falling apart. Why the 100 percent plan always gets beat while the 65 to 70 percent plan wins. Why every company should run a weekly after action review, good, bad and ugly. Why the leader's job in an ambush is to get off the X and decide, and why refusing to decide is the worst option available.He is direct on what government owes a business owner, which is conditions and a level playing field rather than a definition of success. He is just as direct on quarterly earnings myopia, on why a company aiming at the 25 yard target loses to an adversary thinking in 50 to 100 year cycles, and on why the military is bad at helping veterans translate what they did into a resume a hiring manager can read.He still carries the worn 3x5 cards he carried as a battalion commander. Cool heads always prevail. Soldiers don't care what you know, they want to know that you care. Issues come with two recommendations. Leaders take responsibility, never credit.ABOUT THE GUESTLt. Col. Allen West (Ret.) is the executive director of the American Constitutional Rights Union, founded by Ronald Reagan's attorney general Ed Meese. He served 22 years in the U.S. Army and led 650 soldiers in Iraq. Elected to Congress in 2010, he was the first African American Republican to represent Florida since Reconstruction. He is a former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, hosts the weekly Steadfast and Loyal podcast, and is the author of three books.KEY MOMENTS00:00 Intro04:05 The five C's of leadership08:23 Commander's intent, in three parts20:13 Get off the X and decide24:00 Why quarterly thinking loses33:58 The weekly after action review36:40 The perfect plan always gets beat51:39 What government owes small business1:13:09 Hiring veterans, and why it worksLINKSAmerican Constitutional Rights Union: https://theacru.orgSteadfast and Loyal: https://allenwest.substack.comGuardian of the Republic: https://amzn.to/4iMJO4rWe Were Soldiers Once... and Young, Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway: https://amzn.to/4xw3QnjThe Law, Frederic Bastiat: https://amzn.to/3UW2F2SDeal Table newsletter: https://share.hsforms.com/1Tfx_WobCTPuXWenG1-69EQoavsdFOLLOW THE DEAL TABLEYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedealtablepodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-deal-table/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedealtablepodcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedealtablepodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedealtableX: https://x.com/thedealtablepodProduced by Harper Belmont Media: https://www.harperbelmont.com/Sponsored by:Capital Southwest: https://www.capitalsouthwest.com/Security National Bank: https://securitynational.bankBlockchain.com: https://www.blockchain.com

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  Episode #50

  #50 George Baker | Private Equity Rarely Loses

  Sep 7, 20261h 7mS3

  "Private equity rarely loses." George Baker says it as a director of the company he founded, watching his own shareholder value climb. Lane Carrick, who sells founder-owned businesses to private equity for a living, pushes back: you think it's about the math? "I know it's about the math."George Baker Sr. is the founder of ParkHub, now JustPark, and the founder and managing partner of 2 the Moon Ventures in Dallas. He swept his father's commercial parking lots downtown at 12, founded ParkHub in 2010 to attack cash leakage in a $40 billion industry that had seen almost no technology, and built it into a B2B parking and mobility platform serving stadiums and airports. Jerry Jones was an early investor. LLR Partners put in $100 million of growth equity. More than 20 bolt-on acquisitions followed, then a merger with UK-based JustPark and an FTV Capital recap that moved Baker from chairman to director.The mechanism was boring and enormous: digitize the cash. Parking operators saw revenue lifts of 30 to more than 50 percent. Inside the venue the transaction fell from over 20 seconds to under five, congestion dropped and food and beverage sales rose 19 percent. In 2014, reading the consumer window closing, he shut down his own reservation engine, called Ticketmaster, and rebuilt the entire company as B2B software. Growth ran 400 percent, then 300, then 200.What he gave up was not the money. "We were a band of brothers. I don't think I will ever have that much fun." He has not seen much private equity put weight on culture or job creation, and he does not believe founder culture survives the invitation. He has made peace with that, and he is specific about the trade: four years of school runs and family dinners after a decade of not being around.Also in this episode: why an operator turned investor now buys Texas consumer brands instead of software, why western wear is a $130 billion market, how he judges a founding team in a single conversation, and the advice he gives anyone entering a transaction, which is to write down what success looks like in one sentence, date it, and seal it in an envelope, because the deal will take two to three times longer than the LOI says.Hosted by Ryan Harper and Lane Carrick. Produced by Harper Belmont Media.CHAPTERS0:00 Intro1:40 Sponsors3:35 Sweeping his father's parking lots at 126:02 The problem statement was cash leakage18:29 Revenue lifts of 30 to more than 50 percent20:07 Destroying his own business model21:12 Shutting it down and calling Ticketmaster21:39 Jerry Jones invests, then 400, 300, 200 percent growth22:20 EOS, traction, and a band of brothers23:26 A $40 billion market with zero technology28:28 Twenty seconds to five, and what it did to the venue30:06 More than 20 bolt-on acquisitions31:17 The JustPark merger31:52 The FTV recap, chairman to director32:27 Founders backing founders at 2 the Moon36:23 From parking software to boots and cookies39:12 Western wear is a $130 billion market44:20 "You think it's about the math?"44:49 "Private equity rarely loses"44:55 Can founder culture survive private equity?46:26 Contact tracing and reopening Live Nation47:07 The capital he had to give back47:41 Making peace with it not being his baby48:19 The trade: four years of school runs and dinners52:09 Write it down, date it, seal the envelope1:02:10 It is not the company, it is the entrepreneur1:03:40 Book recommendations1:07:03 CloseSPONSORED BYCapital Southwest | https://capitalsouthwest.comSecurity National Bank | https://securitynational.bankBlockchain.com | https://www.blockchain.com2 the Moon Ventures: https://2themoon.venturesThe Deal Table: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-deal-table/Ryan Harper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryansharper/Lane Carrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-lane-carrick-65a728/Lane's book, The Optima Advantage: https://amzn.to/48nLElW

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  Episode #49

  #49 Edward Crawford and Ralph Manning, Coltala Holdings: $400M, 24 Deals

  Sep 1, 20261h 19mS3

  Private equity principals do not say this out loud: "We need to sell this company before something bad happens." Ralph Manning did it for years, not because the market was right, but because he could not see far enough into his own businesses to know what was hiding.Edward Crawford and Ralph Manning are co-founders and co-CEOs of Coltala Holdings, a permanent capital holding company in Fort Worth and Dallas. Since 2017 they have deployed more than $400 million across 24 transactions in aerospace, home health, water, and engineering. No fund sits behind it, so there is no seventh-year clock and no forced sale to raise the next one.What replaced the fear is the Coltala Enterprise System, a lean operating playbook out of Danaher and Toyota by way of Larry Culp, who took Danaher's market cap from $3 billion to $30 billion and now chairs GE Aerospace. The proof is their aerospace business. Lead times sat at 164 days. Two weeks of kaizen on three bottlenecks, one an $80,000 paint shop, brought it to 32 days. Every employee at every Coltala company, forklift operator included, gets a quarterly check from 8 to 10 percent of after-tax profits.Crawford came to private equity from the Peace Corps, where he built a 300-farmer coffee cooperative, and from naval intelligence in Afghanistan, where he earned a Bronze Star with SEAL Teams 2 and 4, by way of Goldman Sachs. He is blunt about the fit: "If you want a guy from New York who has a Harvard MBA who's going to tell you how great they are, then you can maybe go work with them. But if you want a real partner, we're your guys."Also in this episode: why mission and margin are not opposites, what mission critical means after the pandemic, how defense tech changed once Ash Carter stood up Unit X, the knower versus learner test they run on every founder, and why yellow lights never turn green. The last twenty minutes go elsewhere, to Andrew Jackson at New Orleans and the banana peddler who overthrew a government.Hosted by Ryan Harper and Lane Carrick. Produced by Harper Belmont Media.CHAPTERS0:00 Intro1:44 Sponsors2:59 Ralph in the hot seat4:46 Where the name Coltala comes from7:48 The nonprofit that was going under9:34 Why mission and margin are not opposites13:18 What "mission critical" actually means19:31 Unit X and Ash Carter23:21 Where founders hit the ceiling25:03 The Coltala Enterprise System26:25 The $80,000 paint shop26:47 164 days down to 3227:08 The best ideas come from the people doing the work29:39 Profit share for the forklift operator31:45 Meeting Larry Culp34:09 Process is speed, not bureaucracy37:23 Three credit cards to $400 million39:22 "We need to sell before something bad happens"40:47 No fund, so no forced sale41:27 Growth makes complexity, complexity kills growth43:05 Going deeper beats being a generalist44:26 The MRO moat, $1.2 million and three years47:44 The anti private equity pitch48:27 30,000 subscribers and fifty relationships49:40 They are Luke Skywalker, we are Yoda52:37 Knower mindset versus learner mindset54:19 If the seller wants top dollar, it is not for us59:58 "Yellow lights don't turn green"1:00:49 Peace Corps, intelligence, and ground truth1:03:19 Andrew Jackson goes to the gemba1:06:16 Seabiscuit and walking the track at 2 a.m.1:07:27 The Banana King of New Orleans1:11:39 Jim Collins on being in frame1:14:43 Jiu-Jitsu, do not white knuckle everything1:16:58 Give and Take, givers, takers, matchers1:18:07 CloseSPONSORED BYCapital Southwest | https://capitalsouthwest.comSecurity National Bank | https://securitynational.bankBlockchain.com | https://www.blockchain.comColtala Holdings: https://coltala.comThe Deal Table: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-deal-table/Ryan Harper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryansharper/Lane Carrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-lane-carrick-65a728/Lane's book, The Optima Advantage: https://amzn.to/48nLElW

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