186: Buying & Selling Businesses w/ this International Man of Mystery – Thomas Smale of FE International

Thomas Smale - FE International Interview

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Background on Thomas Smale of FE International:

As a serial business entrepreneur and expert, Thomas Smale began his career in the early 2000s when he began building and selling small online companies. This turned into a full-time career when he founded FE International in 2010, growing the business with zero funds from the ground up and consistently doubling annual revenue, as well as the average deal size.

Thomas specializes in advising in the M&A of SaaS, e-commerce, affiliate, and content businesses. Throughout his career, he has consulted thousands of internet entrepreneurs on exit strategy, growth, and business development. He is also a weekly contributor to Entrepreneur.com and a member of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Council.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

  • [1:19] Ten years ago, Thomas Smale started a company called FE International, which is based in New York and consists of a team of fifty people. They help people sell or buy online businesses.
  • [7:31] They moved their main office to the US for several reasons. Thomas is originally from London.
  • [9:54] In the UK, people are not as direct as people in the US. This is one of the reasons why Thomas likes working in the US.
  • [14:23] Thomas explains the different types of buyers they encounter in their business.
  • [19:20] According to Thomas, buying an online business is still a new concept for banks and lenders.
  • [22:13] Graduating from college, he had no idea that he would have a successful business after ten years.
  • [24:33] It can be hard for Thomas to find people who are trustworthy but there are some indications that could tell him if a person cannot be trusted.
  • [26:51] During college, he started making extra money by buying and selling domains.
  • [30:37] Thomas shares the story of how he actually started FE International.
  • [35:15] As the company grows, the work ethic and expectations would definitely change.
  • [36:31] For the first two years of the business, Thomas paid himself $20,000 each year. It’s just about enough to pay Thomas' rent in London.
  • [39:12] When his co-founder and CEO joined the company, the business became more efficient and their revenue increased.
  • [46:17] Knowing when to hire and manage cash flows are just one of the challenges they experienced in the previous years.
  • [48:12] Thomas offers his suggestion regarding cash flows and cash in the bank.
  • [55:46] In terms of work-life balance, Thomas offers his own insight and perspective on this topic.

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Fabulous 4 Questions:

  1. 📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
  2. 🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Bose Noise-Cancelling Headphones – for focus when travelling constantly
  3. 🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Microsoft Office – we use a number of their products which really help us keep things centralized as our team grows
  4. 💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? The biggest challenge we are facing is hiring more great people to our team. It is challenging to know who the right fit will be and if they can bring what we need to the team to ensure we can continue growing as a business.

Key Point from the Interview:

  • “In general, as a business owner, if there are no problems you’re working on, then you’re either not looking hard enough for the problems or you are ignoring them.”

Resources Mentioned:

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