Nick McLean, From Engineer to Deal Junkie - His Four Pillars of Success, Being The Most Boring Guy in Private Equity, and Learning Entrepreneurship Through Company Acquisitions

In this episode, I sit down with Nick McLean, co-founder of Four Pillars Investors, a Kansas City-based private equity firm focused on founder and family-owned businesses. Nick’s journey from industrial engineering to private equity wasn’t a straight path—he meandered through consulting, corporate roles, and entrepreneurship before finding his true passion: buying and growing businesses.

At Four Pillars Investors, Nick and his team operate with a values-driven approach:

Relationships as a Cornerstone for Success – Building trust with business owners and partners.
Challenge the Status Quo – Pushing businesses to think bigger and grow strategically.
Servant Leadership – Supporting teams by removing obstacles and empowering employees.
Persistence – Staying committed in an unpredictable deal-making environment.

We also discuss:

- The evolution of Four Pillars Investors and what sets them apart in the private equity space.
- How Nick transitioned from consulting and corporate life to buying and running companies.
- Lessons learned from leading a manufacturing company at age 36.
- The biggest mistakes business owners make when preparing to sell.
- Why culture and relationships matter just as much as financials in a successful deal.
- His insights from hosting the Ambition podcast and growing a YouTube channel with over 30,000 subscribers.

Nick’s perspective on business, leadership, and strategic growth is invaluable for entrepreneurs, business owners, and anyone interested in private equity and M&A. If you’ve ever thought about buying, selling, or scaling a business, this episode is a must-listen!

Tune in for an insightful conversation on deals, leadership, and what it takes to grow a business.

 

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Nick's bio: ​Nick McLean (LinkedIn) is a co-founder of Four Pillars Investors, a lower middle-market private equity firm based in Kansas City. Four Pillars targets founder and family-owned businesses with revenues of at least $10M. Nick did not take a straight path to the private equity world, instead meandering through a variety of entrepreneurial and corporate endeavors. Through this journey, Nick has evolved his definition of success while also getting a bit too familiar with failure. He describes himself as a “deal junkie” and is truly doing what he loves. When working with their portfolio companies, Nick often stresses the importance of building out the sales and marketing function. Partly to practice what he preaches, Nick hosts a podcast titled Ambition: The Challenges, Risks, and Rewards of Business Growth (available on all major podcast platforms and at https://www.AmbitionWithNick.com), publishes a weekly newsletter called the Mid Market Insider (https://www.midmarketinsider.co/) and creates videos for his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@NickFourPillars) that now has over 30,000 subscribers. He also published a book titled How to Sell Your Business to Private Equity (available on Amazon.com).