Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Sachs

Hi Andrew, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in San Diego, attending La Jolla Country Day School and playing Torrey Pines Golf Course for $5. My dream was to become a professional golfer, and I often battled with a young Charley Hoffman at Stone Ridge Country Club. However, destiny had other plans for me, and I was fortunate to be blessed with a talent for math and problem-solving.

I attended the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service and earned an MBA through a five-year program, along with a General Course degree from the The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Initially, I envisioned a career as an economist or lawyer, but my path took an unexpected turn when I started my career in private equity at Morgan Stanley Capital Partners in New York. At the time, it was the second-largest buy-out fund in the world, led by Alan Goldberg and Frank Sica. My time there was brief because my first cousin, Kevin McCollum, a budding Broadway producer, won his first Tony with RENT. Together, we launched KMS Investments, marking the beginning of my entrepreneurial investment career.

The next chapter was Capital Investors II, an early-stage venture capital fund with LPs that included many of Greater Washington, DC’s leading entrepreneurs and financiers. Founded by Senator Mark Warner and Russ Ramsey, the fund also boasted names like Marc Andreessen, Ted Leonsis, Jeong Kim, and Michael Saylor among its backers. At Morgan Stanley, I was fortunate to learn and become immersed in the traditional private equity model, with a strong focus on free cash flow and valuation. At KMS Investments and Capital Investors, I experienced the exhilaration of early-stage venture capital, complete with its extreme ups and downs.

Subsequently, I co-founded Bethany Partners, LLC, a private equity boutique, with Joshua Freeman of Carl M. Freeman Companies. We embraced a simple thesis: investing in local, growing companies with quality management teams. Less than five years into our journey, the world lost a remarkable spirit, and I lost a friend, mentor, and business partner when Joshua was tragically killed in a helicopter crash. This was the time when Sachs Capital (now named Mauloa) was founded.
Prior to Sachs Capital, I ran three funds, investing in numerous companies using varying investment strategies. This journey ultimately led me to the idea of applying the venture capital investment structure to smaller, profitable private equity companies. I thought of it as “venture cash flow investing,” and I loved it because it aligned and incentivized all stakeholders, with our capital in a preferred position to protect the downside. This approach included minority governance protections, allowing owners to keep control of their destiny while generating annual cash flow to LPs.

Over the first 15 years, mostly through failures and YPO learnings, I refined my investment strategy, eventually realizing that regardless of one’s quantitative prowess, an investment’s success is mostly driven by the character of management. Not coincidentally, this realization coincided with changing our name from Sachs Capital to Mauloa, which means “endless” in Hawaiian. I deeply believe small to middle-sized businesses are the backbone of America’s $27 trillion GDP. Mauloa believes that providing strong owners and entrepreneurs with patient growth capital makes our country stronger. The current ecosystem for private equity is the complete opposite: short time frames, lots of debt, and a focus on investors rather than employees, with IRR as the main indicator of investment success. Mauloa supports “authentic” American capitalism and seeks to build endless streams of cash flow by investing in and supporting companies and their people for the long run.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

It is never a smooth road in an investing career. Even the greatest investors encounter a lot of failure. It took decades for me to make enough mistakes to refine my investment approach. My largest struggle along the way was people. I have a very analytical perspective and it took a long time for me to realize that fundamentally long term success in investing and business is partnering with people of character. I can trace every failed investment to my mistake of supporting the wrong leader and entrepreneur.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

At Mauloa, we think that cash flow is sexy and invest in service-oriented businesses that can produce endless streams of it. Without using debt or taking control, we serve as a strategic capital partner to companies that generate over $3M in free cash flow from at least $20M in revenue, boast strong corporate cultures, and are led by people that we “like, trust, and admire.” Preferably the first and only outside investors, our typical check size is between $15 million and $30 million in exchange for a minority stake in the business, with the funds commonly used for owner liquidity, partner buyout, growth equity, acquisitions, refinancing or working capital. Because our companies generate annual cash distributions for both business owners and our investors, we do not have a predetermined exit timeline or even a typical holding period. We are content owning our companies indefinitely, thanks to the properly aligned interests of all stakeholders, which is why our firm is named Mauloa: “endless” in Hawaiian. We feel that this approach to private equity is the best way to fulfill our purpose of helping build outstanding companies that are not only great places to work but also strengthen their local communities and the U.S. economy as a whole.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?

I say that I have never had a bad meeting. Showing up and making an effort is most the battle.

I am also fortunate to have met many people through my passion for golf.

In addition, I think meeting people in person is still very important and I typically schedule a few breakfasts a week to network.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mauloainc.com