Episode 411: Think Like a Buyer Not an Owner with David Horwich

From co-managing the Odwalla IPO at Van Kasper & Company to raising $100 million with Lehman Brothers for a Pacific Northwest workers comp captive when insurance was unavailable at any price, David Horwich shares why thinking like a buyer, understanding the three ways to grow a business, and building optionality matter more than chasing any specific exit.

In this episode of the DealQuest Podcast, host Corey Kupfer sits down with David Horwich, the founder of Horwich Strategic Advisors (HSA) in Los Angeles. David spent 13 years at Van Kasper & Company before its 1999 sale, retired from banking in 2010, and spent nearly nine years at GHJ before spinning out his own firm about a year ago. Across his four decade career he has been exposed to somewhere between 5,000 and 5,500 companies.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

Why running a market check with five investment banking firms and five private equity groups produces a real world valuation, how the three ways to grow apply to almost any company, and why selling new stuff to existing customers is by far the easiest path. David also shares how the workers comp captive he raised $100 million for is still operating today.

DAVID'S JOURNEY:

After economics at UC San Diego and an MBA at Berkeley, David spent five years at a transportation equipment leasing business in San Francisco. He then joined Bruce Emeluth as the first hire at Van Kasper & Company, where he stayed 13 years and chaired the firm's fairness opinion committee. Van Kasper was sold in 1999 to a bank out of Salt Lake City that Wells Fargo later acquired, making the group the first incarnation of Wells Fargo Securities in the fall of 2000. David left in 2003, retired from banking in 2010, spent nearly nine years at GHJ, and spun out Horwich Strategic Advisors about a year ago.

KEY INSIGHTS:

Not all revenue is created equal. Repeatable revenue beats one-off revenue. Higher margin beats lower margin. Revenue that requires no working capital beats revenue that ties it up. Most owners street fight for the next million dollars of revenue without asking whether it is good revenue or bad.

There are three ways to grow a business and the second is easiest by far. Sell what you have to more customers. Sell new stuff to existing customers. Sell new stuff to new customers. David is emphatic that you should almost never attempt the third. Existing customers have already crossed the Rubicon with you, so every cost is lower.

Build optionality before you build an exit plan. Before running any analysis for owners unsure what to do, David sends them to their investment advisor to get their financial goals clear first. Then he outlines every alternative. Keep it. Sell it. Recapitalize it. Gift some but not all. The toolkit is small, but choosing well requires clarity first.

Perfect for privately held business owners who want to know what their company is actually worth, entrepreneurs weighing whether to buy or build, and leaders in a transition moment who need optionality before an exit.

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