Buying Family Businesses to Hold for 50 Years — Inside the North Park Group Model

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Summary 
This guy’s bought SIX companies in just THREE years. And he’s not flipping them. He’s holding for 50 YEARS.

In this episode, I sit down with Ryan Sullivan from North Park Group—and if you’re in the M&A game (or want to be), you need to hear this.

Ryan’s not chasing shiny objects. He’s quietly building a portfolio of small, family-run manufacturing businesses—with one goal: long-term, boring, predictable cash flow.

We’re talkin’:

How to build real trust with sellers (not just “run the numbers” and throw out LOIs)

Why SBA loans are a powerful tool if you know how to use them

The surprising red flags he watches for in deals (like customer concentration and operational chaos)

Why they only target businesses with 30+ employees (and you probably should too)

The emotional side of buying businesses—and how to handle it when stuff hits the fan

You’ll also hear why patience beats pressure, how to manage investors the smart way, and why some owners just want a better life… not a better EBITDA.

If you want to buy a business—and actually sleep at night after you do—this conversation is for you.


Chapters

00:00 Introduction to North Park Group
01:33 The Formation of North Park Group
04:10 Philosophy of Long-Term Ownership
08:50 Funding and Investor Relations
12:09 The Unique Partnership Model
15:59 Acquisition Strategy and Deal Sourcing
19:02 Evaluating Potential Acquisitions
24:34 Challenges in Small Business Acquisitions
33:13 Navigating Business Acquisitions
34:51 Understanding Valuation and Offers
37:27 The Importance of Patience in Acquisitions
40:33 Identifying Consistency in Business
43:39 The Lifestyle of Business Owners
46:31 Financing and Managing Investors
48:25 De-risking Acquisitions
54:14 Top Rules for Debt Management
58:00 The Emotional Side of Acquisitions