In episode 130, I sit down with Peter Lang—co-founder of Digital Agency Business and AVA, and longtime agency acquirer—to unpack how agency owners can use M&A as a growth superpower. Peter shares the seven-day deal that doubled his agency’s revenue, the due-diligence signals that actually matter (talent, client stickiness, and contracts), why most M&A fails on culture not math, and how AI is reshaping hiring and service models. We also get into founder identity after the sale, what “professional maturity” looks like, and why many owners are really capital allocators in the making.
Key Bytes
• M&A can compress years of organic growth into months—if you underwrite people, clients, and terms before the numbers. • Culture fit and integration planning beat fancy spreadsheets; most failed deals are value misalignment, not valuation. • AI is wiping out entry-level tasks first; the winners redeploy A-players and teach clients how to use AI, not hide from it. • Founder-led sales can’t be the only engine; build repeatable sales capacity that survives distractions. • You already “work for” whoever pays you—selling changes the customer, not your agency DNA. • Treat time like capital: budget it, forecast it, and review it like an effective executive.
Chapters
00:00 Cold open, quick re-intro 01:08 The seven-day deal that doubled revenue 03:32 Doing three deals in 90 days during COVID 06:36 Common seller misconceptions and Peter’s deal lens 09:19 Endurance mindset, calendars, and operating like an athlete 13:46 What buyers actually look for beyond the numbers 17:43 AI’s impact on talent, delivery, and survival to 2027 22:10 Life after the sale and “professional maturity” 24:51 Rapid fire: celebrating wins, the race that changed him, dream acquisition 27:45 Where to learn more (digitalagencybusiness.com)
Resources Mentioned
• Effective Executive by Peter Drucker (time tracking and retrospective) • GrowthHackers community (context on Peter’s portfolio) • digitalagencybusiness.com (Peter’s M&A training and upcoming book)
Peter Lang is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist with over 15 years of experience building, buying, and selling companies across online publishing, media, advertising, e-commerce, and consulting. He’s the co-founder and Chief M&A Officer at AVA, a fast-growing digital agency holding company acquiring businesses in the $1–10 million range.
Peter also runs Digital Agency Business (DAB), an e-learning company that trains entrepreneurs to launch and scale their own agencies. A former CEO of Uhuru Network and advisor to multiple companies, Peter’s passion lies in using mergers and acquisitions to accelerate growth. An endurance athlete and family man, he lives by the belief that anything is achievable with hard work.
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