Sneak Peek of Amplify’s Sessions at The Car Wash Show

Well, folks, The Car Wash Show is just around the corner, taking place May 8-10 in Las Vegas! If you’re attending, be sure to listen to this episode for a sneak peek of the timely and highly relevant car wash market insights members of the Amplify Car Wash Advisors leadership team will share during various sessions and speaking times during TCWS.

Hear Chris Jenks on Monday, May 8 at 1pm in a Pitch 20 Session talk about “Optimizing Operations by Partnering with Technology Solutions Providers.” Attend the education session, “M&A Trends in the Car Wash Industry, The Great Market Reset,” with Jeff Pavone and Paul Sigfusson on Tuesday, May 9 at 9:30am. And catch Jeff on the CAR WASH Magazine Live Stage in a panel hosted by Matt DeWolf, “So, you want to sell your car wash” on Tuesday, May 9 at 2pm with David Miller from Zips and Dave Dalesandro with Jet Brite.  

Come by our booth, #811, located just inside the West Hall Atrium Entrance (W1) by the main entrance, to speak with the Amplify Car Wash Advisors and Commercial Plus team about how we can help sell or scale your car wash business. For car wash owners and industry professionals interested in booking a private meeting time, please reach out to Jessica Kortas at Jessica@CommercialPlus.com for more information. See you in Las Vegas!  

For a full transcript of the episode and more, check out the post.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to Car Wash MA, the podcast, brought to you by Amplify Car Wash Advisors, the number one advisors of car wash chains nationwide on mergers and acquisitions in capital advisory services.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Hi, I'm Lenise Barnett, Vice President of Business Development at Amplify Car Wash Advisors, and your host of Car Wash MA, the podcast. Here we'll take a deep dive into the current mergers and acquisitions activity of the car wash industry with the goal of keeping car wash owners informed on where the market is today and where it's going tomorrow so that you can make informed decisions about your business. We'll help you answer the question should I sell my car wash now or should I enter growth mode and really scale my operation? Each month, I'll speak with industry experts who will share practical advice on how to sell or scale your car wash. While the industry is undoubtedly changing, what remains constant is the need for solid information so you can evaluate where you are and chart the course for the future of your business. And for those of you who haven't joined before, it's a great show. And it's the largest one in the US for the car wash industry specifically, followed by the Southwest Car Wash Association Expo. That's a regional trade show that, in my opinion, is also another really great one to check out. But in talking about the car wash show Las Vegas, we have several sessions where our team is talking about various things going on in the industry, a lot of which we talk about here on this show. But I have my team members that are going to join us and just share a sneak peek about what their sessions are about and give a little insight on that. But I'll go through some of the things I'd like for you to know in preparing for this trip, going to Las Vegas. So the dates of the International Car Wash Association trade show is uh it begins on Monday, May the 8th, and it wraps up on Wednesday, May 10th. So on Monday, uh May the 8th, we have Chris Jinx, who is the chief operating officer of Amplify Car Wash Advisors. He has a pitch 20 session, which is entitled Optimizing Operations by Partnering with Innovative Solution Providers. That is on Monday, May 8th at 1 p.m. to 1.20, and it's located in the pitch 20 theater. And then on Tuesday, May 9th at 9:30 a.m. to 10 30 a.m. We have Jeff Pavone, partner at Amplify, along with Paul Sickfison, who joined our team earlier this year and was formally with KKR. Paul is our head of Capital Solutions, and they will be talking about MA trends in the car wash industry, the great market reset. So this is a really, really timely topic for us to reflect on what the last year has meant for MA activity and uh different options for funding growth and also what that translates to as far as the look ahead for the rest of this year and going into next year. Love to have you guys come out for that. It's always a very well-attended session. And for the for the folks that attend in person, you can look for a copy of the deck that I will send out or that someone from my team will send out following the presentation. So it's great information that you can take home with you. And um we really encourage you to attend that. It's again very much anticipated, and there's just jam-packed with information that is super relevant and superly timely to car wash owners and to all of those involved in the industry. First up, I have Paul Sigvison. He is going to share an exclusive sneak peek about the education session that he and Jeff are speaking on on Tuesday, May 9th at 9:30. This session is MA trends in the car wash industry and the great market reset. Okay, so Paul, you are joining us at the Car Wash Show in Las Vegas, brought to you by the ICA. And this year, you are going to join Jeff Pavone in his educational session that he's done the last couple of years about M ⁇ A trends in the car wash industry. And I was wondering if you could share with us a little bit more about the perspective that you're hoping to add to this session.

SPEAKER_04 5:12

Yeah, look, I'm really excited to get on stage in a couple of weeks here. And we've been doing a lot of work to prepare for it. Look, it's been a really interesting last 12 months. And uh, you know, we're looking forward to sharing our views around the changing landscape, the seismic changes that are happening in the industry. You know, there's been a global reset in cost of capital and in how businesses are being funded, how businesses are being financed. And we're looking forward to talking a lot about, you know, the those changes and how we see the evolution of those changes coming through to the specifics around the car wash industry itself.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

What's one takeaway that you hope that car wash owners in particular as attendees can leave with armed with this information?

SPEAKER_04 5:54

Yeah, look, I mean, I think the way that people have operated over the last several years is not going to be the case going forward. And I think people need to understand that the landscape is changing. It's changing rapidly. We're entering a more restrictive credit environment. You're already seeing some of those things sort of come through. So the way that people have thought about their sources of growth capital are evolving. And we're having a lot of conversations on a week-to-week basis right now about that evolution. I look forward to sharing our point of view around, you know, what's happening and how that's going to impact the industry over the longer term.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Well, we appreciate you joining us, and it's so valuable having your perspective on our team. And so thank you for that. Kind of switching gears a little bit. What are your thoughts leading up to attending this show, kind of on the other side, if you will, uh, now that you're inside of the car wash industry full-time, do you have any different feelings towards it or more of the same? What's what are your thoughts on it?

SPEAKER_04 6:47

Yeah, I think I'm looking forward to seeing some from some friendlier faces these days, uh, to show up and and have some friends versus uh being an outsider. So it's been really fun to to build and grow some of the relationships. I think this is an absolute unbelievable event to continue to network and and grow uh you know with with the relationships you have and form some new ones. And uh it's always fun meeting people and and seeing familiar faces as you're walking the floor. This is a very well-attended show. Uh, there's a lot of relevant content that gets produced and a lot of relevant conversations that are happening. We, you know, we've been very busy in Q1, we continue to be very busy in Q2, and you know, we'll look forward to sharing more about that with some of the conversations we have and some of the relationships that that continue to grow in the space.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

You know, you brought up an interesting point because we talk a lot and I talk a lot about the communal nature of the car wash industry and how this is such a tight-knit group of folks. But the flip side of that is if you're not inside of that tight-knit group, you're you're the other. So now you are inside. So we're happy to have you. But um, but I agree. I love the I love these shows that are a place to have your your friends and your colleagues come together and you get to have that in-person time, whether it's specifically talking shop or you're just kind of catching up and uh building those deeper relationships on a personal level. So there's a nice bit of fun mixed in, and then you know, having your your yearly get togethers and and having those opportunities to talk business. The last thing I want to ask you is okay, so I asked you how it would be different, but is there anything in particular that you're personally looking forward to or excited about other than you know, seeing people?

SPEAKER_04 8:21

Yeah, no, I I think people is people is the the number one thing for me. I think it's a great time to check in with individuals who you don't get to speak to regularly. And then, you know, I'm always I'm always intrigued by some of the new and and wrapping evolution, you know, that's happening in the space, whether that be technology, some really exciting, sort of newer, you know, technologies that are out there that I think you know are beginning to sort of rear their head and and come into the forefront. So I'm excited to keep seeing those as they evolve. We're obviously you know very relevant in in a lot of those conversations between some of the partnerships that that we have as as a firm have implemented and look forward to seeing others as they pop up.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yeah, definitely. Thanks for sharing, Paul. We're uh we're looking forward to seeing you in person. I am too, since our team is largely, you know, kind of spread around the country. Thanks for your time this morning. See you in a couple weeks.

SPEAKER_04 9:12

You got it.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Bye. So that was Paul sharing with us about MA trends in the car wash industry and the great market reset, the educational session that will be on May 9th from 9:30 a.m. to 10 30 a.m. In addition to Jeff and Paul's session, I also want to draw your attention to a car wash panel that Jeff will be participating in with Matt DeWolf. And this takes place on the car wash magazine live stage on Tuesday at 2 p.m. So Tuesday, May 9th at 2 p.m. And this is a panel that is entitled, So You Want to Sell Your Car Wash. And we have Jeff Pomone at Amplify speaking with David Miller, who is the senior vice president of business development at Zips, along with Dave Dalessandro, who's president at Jetbright Car Wash. And they are going to talk about why JetBright, who historically was not interested in selling, took another look at that and ended up having a really successful transaction with SIPs car wash, and how our role as Amplify Car Wash Advisors helped inform Dave and his team about what his options are and what that could look like for the future of him and his team inside of the car wash industry that may not have been top of mind when he had previously been approached about selling. So this will be a really cool behind the scenes into that transaction and kind of what each party's perspectives and thoughts are and how it ended up being a win-win-win all the way around. So really encourage you to check that out. Again, that is on Tuesday, May 9th at 2 p.m. in the Car Wash magazine live stage with Dave, David, and Jeff. Here's Jeff sharing a sneak peek about that panel. So you think you want to sell your car wash with Matt DeWolf, as well as the session that we spoke about with Paul earlier, MA trends in the car wash industry. And Jeff also shares a little bit about his just general overall feelings of the show and his excitement to uh see friends and colleagues and uh meet with people. Thank you, Jeff, for joining us again. I cannot believe that the car wash show in Las Vegas is just a few short weeks away. One of the things that you have spoken about for the last several years is trends going on in the MA space in the car wash industry and then also financing trends. And so this year you will not disappoint and you will be hosting an educational session that's called MA trends in the car wash industry and the great market reset. So could you tell us a little bit about what attendees can expect to learn from that session of yours?

SPEAKER_02 11:57

Sure. Uh what we really want to make sure we cover is where is the market value today, right? And you know, at the end of the day, there's a lot of information floating around. First off, our deals getting done, uh, who's buying, who's not. And I can tell you the the the reset has got a couple of components to it, right? One is uh sort of what are valuations. So we want to we want to dive in uh deep into valuations and what they're what they're currently trading at today. Two, who's buying? When you look at the who was buying a year ago, different than who's buying today. Right now we're in a we're still in a highly fragmented business industry where we're still there's still a lot of deals getting done, but I can tell you the players have changed. And so, you know, it's really helpful to understand who's who. Next, we're gonna cover what are the other, what are the options? Because when I look at the market today, I and I'd say you got different camps. You got groups that wanna they want to sell, their their timing is just ready to go, but we also have another group that they're continuing to develop out their chain. And so where do we how do we finance that growth? What does that look like? You know, and then we'll talk a little bit about more just trends and and and and where do we see this business going, you know, beyond this year? You know, what does it look like next year? And and and so, you know, really it's it's meant to give as much data points as possible so we can uh inform our audience about what to do and how to manage their business, and then you know let them decide where to go from there.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

For the last two years that I've been along with you and with the team, this is a really well-attended session because there is so much depth of information included there. And I think this year will be no different. And one of the changes to the format this year, or the evolution of the format, is you're having another one of our team members, uh Paul Sigvison, join you and talk about uh options for funding growth and um things from his perspective as well, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:51

Yeah, I'm super excited to have Paul alongside me. You know, Paul is probably the most informed guy in the country as far as where the capital markets are. And so, you know, what does it mean to you? It really what it does for you is first off, it'll tell you sort of what are the the dynamics going on behind the scenes, you know. So when you look at these large platforms and chains, what what are their challenges? Where's where's the capital coming from? Can talk really intelligently about that, but but more importantly, is sort of what what are your options from a capital perspective? I can tell you they're changing they're changing rapidly by the day. And Paul is Paul is the guy that on our team that you know comes from Wall Street, he's got his fingers on a pulse. He does, he's researching this on a on a daily basis. So we really think uh again, the audience is gonna come away with some really good insights on on where the capital markets are uh today for whoever could be buying, and also just what are their options going to be from a from a financing standpoint?

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Yeah, Paul's expertise in domain authority adding to the team has been really interesting to just showcase that bigger picture. Even in our monthly newsletter, I was working on the draft this week and having some more data points to include in there on a regular cadence that's supplied from Paul's research that's really helped paint that broader picture of what's going on, what does this mean for car wash owners? And that's been a great asset for us to have on the team. So I'm excited to have him along with you and to just continue building out that information that we can share with them. And as we've done for years past, after the session, for those folks that attend, you know, we're happy to send out the deck with the supporting materials in there. And we encourage and welcome people coming by the booth if they want to talk with us there or set up a private meeting uh beforehand, they're welcome to reach out as well. You can email uh info at amplifywash.com or reach out to me directly. But Jeff, on a personal note, what are you looking forward to most about our time in Las Vegas with the car wash show?

SPEAKER_02 15:54

You know, I'm always really looking forward to meeting meeting with the operators, right? Hearing their stories, you know, and uh I gotta tell you, this this is the year that we all got to work a lot harder, right? I think that we had a couple of years, call it almost full sculpt. So I'm really looking forward to meeting with the operators and and really hearing hearing their stories of what their challenges, what their successes are. And it's the one place where you know everybody comes. So, you know, I'm I I can tell you, I think uh this is gonna be a really important uh couple days there to really dive into deep deeper with with with I think the operators to figure out what challenges they have. Now, the good news is our team is, you know, we've been building out our team aggressively over the last year or two to address some of these issues, right? We brought in a capital markets expert. We brought in, you know, some operating uh real operating strength in our team. You know, we've got involved in some venture products and services that will help manage your the car wash. So beyond MA, I just think, you know, we've been advocates for a while now about operations. So it's really being able to connect with uh the operators, talking about some of the successes that they're having. And then, you know, is there a way we can help and be a good partner? We'd love to, we'd love to have the discussion.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

Right. And um, what our goal has been since the beginning is helping car wash owners maximize the value of their business, whether that's whether they're looking to make an exit, they're looking to stay in, they're looking to grow, whatever it is, we want to come alongside as advocates for helping them achieve that maximum value through streamlining operations and all these different products and services that we can point them to. So I think that even though our scope of work or our services have expanded, the core nuts and bolts in the mission of it is still the same.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

Well, yeah, Lydia's and and there's a lot of people that got in the space when because there's there's so much money. When there's money, you're gonna find because we make it look so easy. Yeah, and it's like, you know, we're just there's inundated guys knocking at our door, and and there's a lot of promises and false promises out there. And you know, for us, it we're we're staying very true to our mission of just being really relationship-driven. We want to be good partners. We'll tell you, we're gonna be fully transparent, give you, give the honest truth about what you know. We're gonna give you facts uh based on on what's what actually is going on in the market. We're not uh gonna sit here and and inflate things. Uh, we're gonna not tell you what you want to hear. We're just gonna give good sound advice. And if you look at the team, we've got really high quality people that that we're we look to add uh value along the way to to all of our clients.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Yeah, for sure. Thank you for sharing that. And it's definitely true that we are all very relationship driven and we care deeply about our fellow colleagues in the car wash industry and our friends. So this is a chance for us to get together with them. And you know what, Vegas isn't that bad for two, three days that you know, have a lot of fun and see see friends, but also get ready to get out and get home and sleep in your own bed.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

Where would you rather be on Mother's Day?

SPEAKER_01 18:52

It's actually not on Mother's Day this year. So I had the the terrible idea of having my kids and my husband drop me off at the airport last year, a crying two-year-old and four-year-old with the windows down, going, mommy, mommy. I was like, why did I even think this would be something different? But not this year. So I'll just sneak out as per usual. Well, Jeff, thank you so much. And um, again, for folks listening, you can come by and see Jeff and our team at booth 811 at the car wash show in Las Vegas, May 8th through 10th.

SPEAKER_04 19:23

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Thanks to Jeff and Paul for popping on today to share a sneak peek of the car wash show in Las Vegas. Our booth number is number 811. We'll have people from both our Amplify Car Wash Advisors team as well as the Commercial Plus brokerage team. If you would like to learn more about scheduling a private meeting with either the Amplify or Commercial Plus folks, please reach out to Jessica Cortis before the show. Jessica's email is Jessica at commercialplus.com, and you can find her email info in the show notes. We have also done uh quite a bit of work with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital over the last year, and we've had the opportunity to partner with them on different things and become a partner with them. About four or five weeks ago, I attended their partner summit in Memphis and toured the hospital. And man, it is so amazing and uplifting to see all of the great research, development, and advocacy that St. Jude's does for children with childhood cancer and for children with other diseases of all kinds. They're just really amazing folks. And we will have two representatives that are from the St. Jude organization in our booth and kind of walking around, checking out the car wash industry and checking out the car wash show. They came last year when we presented a $100,000 check to St. Jude. And uh it was such a cool moment because as we were on the Car Wash Magazine live stage and we were presenting this check to St. Jude, our good friend Paul Fazio had made a very large matching donation as well on the spot. And it was just a really cool, special moment. But, anyways, we have two folks from St. Jude coming. Love free to come by and say hello to them. If you have any questions at all about different fundraisings that you could do or activations at your car wash or on a corporate level, they have a full plethora of different options that I just really feel like for the car wash community, these can be great plug and play or customized community engagement and customer engagement and employee engagement opportunities. That's all supporting such an amazing cause of ending childhood cancer. So come by our booth and say hello. Well, folks, look forward to seeing you at the Car Wash Show in Las Vegas. It will be here before we know it. Thank you for tuning in today. And uh please come by and say hello. I will be glad to give you some car wash MA magnets to take back to your place of business to proudly display as you're a frequent listener. Uh If you feel so inclined, go on to Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts and rate the show and leave some uh feedback if you'd like. But thank you so much for listening and again, look forward to seeing you in a couple weeks.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

Thank you for joining us on this episode of Car Wash MA, the podcast, with your host, Lenice Barnett. Like what you hear? Subscribe to our podcast feed and leave us a review or follow us on social media at Amplify Car Wash Advisors. Want more MA information? Visit our website at amplifywash.com and listen for new episodes on the last Thursday of each month.