Finance 101 Episodes

Host Pete Moore sits down with Sam O'Keefe to delve into the (often confusing!) world of HSA (Health Savings Accounts) and FSA (Flexible Spending Accounts) and their intersection with the HALO (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoors) sector. In a market worth nearly $150B, Sam shares her expertise on how fitness-related expenses, including gym memberships and fitness programs, can become eligible for reimbursement under certain conditions. We'll explore how Flex, Sam's fintech company, is making it...

James McGinniss is the Co-Founder and CEO of David Energy, a technology-enabled electricity provider that caters primarily to multi-location businesses, quick-serve restaurants, and fitness brands, with a special emphasis on the latter. A mechanical engineering Master's graduate from the University of Texas, James was drawn to the renewable energy sector during a significant solar and wind power boom in the state. Witnessing firsthand the economic opportunities in solar, he recognized this as a ...

Pete Moore, Founder & Managing Partner of Integrity Square recounts a conversation he may or may not have had at one point or another in his investment banking career. These types of discussions may or may not also take place daily in investment banks and M&A firms everywhere. As he's often fond of saying, "Finance is basic math. It's not hard, but the people in the sector love to make it sound hard." That's one of the (many!) reasons you need a firm like Integrity Square if you're ever going t...

Live from the floor of the March 2023 IHRSA Trade Show in San Diego, host Pete Moore welcomes back Andrew Menter, CEO and Founder of Physmodo. (If you missed his first show, check it out here.) Physmodo uses computer vision to deliver a quick, objective, automated and easily repeatable movement assessment to quantify how your body moves. It's a must-have for any fitness facility that offers personal training! Andrew and Pete chat about the latest advancements in software and how it can impact...

Eric Epstein is a seasoned private equity professional with over 30 years of experience. He began his career at the prestigious Blackstone Group in New York City, where he honed his skills for a few years before moving on to work with various private credit funds. Afterward, Eric joined the private equity group at Cerberus Capital and spent a decade working in their New York and Los Angeles offices. Currently, he operates as an independent sponsor. Eric has built strong relationships with family...

In this engaging podcast, our guest Brian Socolow from Loeb & Loeb, LLP shares his insights on the psychological and legal components to consider before jumping into a private equity deal in the "post-COVID new normal." With a focus on protecting and monetizing technology ideas in the sports and health and wellness industries, Brian reveals the checklist of factors to consider when seeking investment or selling a company. He also offers valuable advice on legal protection, insights for entrepre...

"People are more likely to trust a business that has been recommended by a friend or family member, or that has positive reviews online. Nielsen did a survey with 30,000 people and found that approximately 92% of decisions regarding which businesses to patronize are based on other people's opinions, recommendations, and reviews," states Andre Cvijovic - Founder and CEO of Referrizer, an extremely robust marketing automation platform that helps businesses grow by generating leads and increasing s...

Brandon Cullen is a former professional hockey player and one of the Founder's of MADabolic. (Fun fact: MAD stands for Momentum Anaerobic Durability.) Along with his partner Kirk Dewaele, "The duo founded MADabolic after noticing a hole in the fitness market. There were no high-quality group fitness training systems for people who prioritize strength, value structure, and demand results…everyday people, and people past their sport looking to age athletically…people, it turned out, like them." T...

Kaumil Gajrawala is the author of a seminal, recently released (April 6, 2021) initiating coverage report from Credit Suisse titled, Wellness Sector Initiation: An Apple a Day which can be downloaded here. "We think HALO will be a $7 trillion industry. Not every piece will be a winning piece . . . but at the end of the day you're talking about something growing very significantly on a global basis," he states. Integrity Square views this as a critical milestone for the industry in that it's th...

"We're going into these deals with the intent of partnering with Founders, that they're going to continue to be involved, and the last thing we want or need is for them to be surprised or disappointed with something along the way," states Rob Fioretti, Managing Director of Palladin Consumer Retail Partners. Rob has been in the private equity space for more than 25 years and in this chat with Pete, he provides extremely valuable information on what Palladin looks for in companies as well as the ...

Live Oak is a niche lender in 30 different industries. "We're niche lenders within a niche space. . . focusing more on tried and true, well rounded fitness concepts and established, multi-unit borrowers and providing them with a debt platform to allow them to grow," states Aaron DiGregorio who focuses on the HALO sector. Learn more about tranche financing, leverage ratios ("we don't like to go beyond 4x") and how its changed during COVID, his thoughts on boutiques versus the larger facilities, h...

"Brands are very powerful. It is the ultimate moat. When someone has built something that resonates with a lot of consumers and drives passion, that's when something is investible," states Jon Canarick. North Castle is one of the first, and most highly regarded private equity investors in the HALO sector. Pete and Jon discuss how North Castle evaluates a company, what they track, how to approach, criteria, why valuations these days tend to be very overblown, some fundamentals of finance, and mor...

First Credit is a leading company in the Accounts Receivable space with an impressive, 25 year history. They work with over 4,000 clubs and have integrations with all the main point of sale providers. "This is usually only a $100-$200 bill. It just needs a talk. We're a non-threatening, consultative, member engagement retention model with a soft approach. We never threaten legal issues. We're against arguments!" states CEO Raj Chhabria. With a refreshing difference in an industry that (may) not ...

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