Stop Chasing Sexy Deals: Why This Buyer Chose Sheet Metal with Andrew Kurzrok
About this episode
Andrew Kurzrok discusses his journey in acquiring Hopewell Sheet Metal Manufacturing and the insights gained from his self-funded search approach.
In this episode of the M&A Launchpad Podcast, hosts Casey Minshew and Feras Moussa sit down with Andrew Kurzrok, owner-operator of Hopewell Sheet Metal Manufacturing in Hagerstown, Maryland. Andrew shares his unconventional path from national security to Fortune 500 manufacturing executive to self-funded searcher — and how he closed on a 45-year-old business with a 17-year average employee tenure. He breaks down why he chose a self-funded SBA deal over the independent sponsor route, how he found Hopewell through cold outreach, and what the first seven months of ownership actually look like. In this episode, we discuss: Why Andrew chose self-funded search over independent sponsor or PE-backed acquisition How he structured his search: cold outreach vs. broker deals, and what actually worked The deal structure behind Hopewell — SBA financing, equity strategy, and why he deliberately over-equitized What it was like to buy a 45-year-old business with a 17-year average employee tenure The biggest surprise in the first 30 days (hint: it’s HR paperwork) Why Hopewell’s “best value” positioning mirrors the connector industry he came from Plans to implement EOS and lean manufacturing —…
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