We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Henry Iwunze. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Henry below.
Henry, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
Looking ahead, I see substantial expansion and advancement in the artificial intelligence and chatbot sector throughout the next five years. As artificial intelligence technology progresses, businesses will progressively embrace AI-driven solutions to improve customer service, optimize processes, and boost operational efficiency in many industries. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots into healthcare, real estate, oil and gas, finance, and education is expected to completely transform personalized interactions and automation, specifically designed to meet the changing needs of these industries. This goal is substantiated by statistics that demonstrate significant market expansion. Forecasts indicate that the worldwide chatbot industry will achieve a value of $102.29 billion by 2026, with a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.75%. Given the clear inclination of customers towards chatbots for efficient brand communication, it would be advantageous for companies in virtually all sectors to incorporate AI-driven customer assistance to improve operations and promote customer satisfaction.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I describe myself as a serial entrepreneur with diverse background in energy, real estate, and healthcare. I bring leadership and direction to several brands / business ventures including Integrity Health Group Inc. and Evolution Drilling Systems, LLC. As the CEO and Board Chairman of Integrity Health Group Inc., I lead a Houston-based corporation that focuses on unique investment partnerships in the healthcare and senior housing real estate sectors. The company’s strategic approach emphasizes acquisitions of other businesses with high recurring revenue, low concentration risks, and limited capital expenditure requirements. I bring over 20+ years of domestic and international business development, operations planning, coordination and management experience that has led to deep and diverse knowledge to every venture I am involved with.
I believe in acquiring or creating business ventures, building systems and processes for managing those ventures, and finally finding high and mid-level managers who get to partner with me, “own” the venture in question, and work as Presidents, operation managers, and coordinators. This strategy allows me to free up my time for the next venture.
I am dedicated to preserving wealth and maximizing returns through alternative investments in real assets and healthcare as evidenced by my work at Integrity Health Group Inc and FairShores Capital. My involvement in Evolution Drilling Systems, LLC underscores my expertise in the oil and gas sector, where I leverage technological innovation to provide cutting-edge solutions in drilling systems for the energy industry.
I believe that entrepreneurship is about seizing opportunities, preserving wealth, and maximizing returns through innovative ventures in sectors such as healthcare, energy, and real estate. For example, Integrity Health Group Inc. recently made news with the successful launch of a new $25 million acquisition fund targeting senior housing real estate properties. This strategic move reinforces my commitment to the healthcare management space and further solidifies my focus on real assets. When it comes to my investment in health care, my goal is to build a distributed healthcare ecosystem designed to expand access, improve equity and provide high value while delivering person-centered care. Investing in everything from in-home care to senior housing is one way to pursue that goal.
I frequently share my insights on alternative investments in the healthcare sector highlighting the importance of wealth preservation and maximizing returns in today’s evolving market landscape.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
When I first decided to launch Evolution Guidance Systems (now Evolution Drilling Systems, LLC), an oil and gas well drilling service company, I knew I couldn’t rely solely on traditional bank loans, especially as a new entrepreneur at that time with limited entrepreneurial history. So, I took a multi-pronged approach to gather the necessary initial capital, prioritizing personal savings, leveraging my network to secure funds, and partnering with another friend who brought several years of business development experience and part of the startup funds to the table.
I created a strict budget, meticulously tracking my expenses and identifying areas where I could cut back. Over several months, I diligently saved a significant portion of my income, focusing on building a dedicated “startup fund.”
I developed a concise and compelling pitch that outlined my business concept, market potential, and how their investment would be used. This included detailed financial projections and a clear explanation of the potential return on investment.
I also employed other strategies: Buying the needed equipment would have cost several million dollars to purchase upfront so I leased the same equipment instead. I actively researched and found a company that was willing to lease equipment to us and have us pay for the lease on net 45 days terms. I operated the business using leased equipment and contracted personnel until the venture made enough money for us to buy our own equipment.
To supplement my savings, I took on additional contract work in my field, allowing me to generate supplementary income while building my business. Maintaining strong relationships with my network proved crucial in securing goodwill where we did not have the funds compete.
By combining personal savings, strategic funding options, and leveraging relationships, I was able to gather enough capital to launch my first business (Evolution Guidance Systems) and hit the ground running. This approach allowed me to start with a solid foundation while maintaining a strong sense of ownership. Early cash flow from Evolution Guidance Systems, LLC enabled me to launch my second company, Integrity Health Group, Inc, a health care and senior housing real estate investment company. Some of our service brands include Senior Trade Shows (seniortradeshows.com), Bluevine Healthcare (bluevinehealthcare), Yes To Home care (YesToHomecare.com). I also own and operate Fairshores Capital a privately held investment company that focuses on acquiring and managing opportunistic and value-add multi-family properties (fairshorescapital.com).
Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?
I recently acquired Hospice care company in Houston, Texas. The main reason for the purchase was to leverage the client/patient pool from our existing Medical and non-medical in-home healthcare company. I have become passionate about providing innovative continuum of healthcare options to put my healthcare companies in the position to better help our patients while providing more robust support for their families. Part of my reason for making this acquisition is that the company had a lot of growth potential, and it bolted on nicely with our existing assets. I will attempt to sumarize the acquisition process.
The Acquisition Process:
I contacted the owner through a mutual connection and expressed my interest in purchasing the entity.
Due Diligence:
I created a due diligence checklist that addressed everting from the company’s legal standing, possible indebtedness, financials, client referral base, existing contracts, permits, and licenses, etc. I made sure to gather satisfactory evidence that all pre-closing debts of the company have been paid off and all liens on any of the assets of the company have been released with pay-off letters from all persons holding any indebtedness of the Company.
Negotiation:
• Offer: After conducting the due diligence, I presented a formal offer to the owner based on my findinds of the assessed value of the business.
• Counter Offers: We negotiated the purchase price, including the transfer of assets like brand name, contracts, permits, and licenses.
• Agreement and Closing:
• Once terms were agreed upon, we signed a legally binding purchase agreement that outlined all details of the sale. I then paid the seller 80% of the agreed purchase price, while holding onto 20% of his funds in escrow to ensure sellers post-closing obligations were met before paying the 20% balance 120 days post purchase.
• Transfer of Ownership: The necessary paperwork was completed to officially transfer ownership of the business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ihgroup.us
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/henry.iwunze/?next=%2F&hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BluevineHealthcare
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-iwunze-3752a933/
Image Credits
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