Sunny Ray sits down with Mike Fineman, co-founder of Texas Business Brokers, to trace his path from a 12 year old dishwasher in Miami to a leading M&A advisor in Austin. Fineman recounts 20 plus years at Taco Bell, where he helped scale the brand from 750 million to 8.5 billion dollars in training and operations, then pivoted into the fitness industry with 24 Hour Fitness, Gold's Gym, and Bally's. After a stint in jewelry retail left him uninspired, a chance conversation with a business broker friend, who passed away from myeloma soon after, pulled him into brokerage work. In 2014 he launched what became Texas Business Brokers with partner Alex Kabas. The conversation covers his win win win philosophy for deals, lessons from mentor Mark Mastrov on founder leadership, and why letting go is often the hardest part of an exit. Fineman closes by describing an 18 million dollar circuit board company sale that took 18 months mainly because the owners struggled emotionally to release control.
A former Taco Bell exec turned business broker on why letting go, not the spreadsheet, kills most founder exits.
Can you give an elevator pitch for Texas Business Brokers?
We help sellers prepare for and complete an exit, and we help buyers find businesses, either doing it for them or teaching them our secrets of a business broker process my partner Alex Kabas started. We also do consulting, working with COOs, CEOs, and vice presidents on strategic planning, vision, five year milestones, strategies, and tactics.
What drove you to start working at age 12?
I asked my dad for money and he told me to get a job. I worked in his drugstore sweeping floors, then went to an Italian restaurant as a dish stacker, got promoted to dishwasher when the regular guy didn't show up, and started earning 20 dollars under the table. Everyone told me to get out of restaurants, but I didn't listen and spent 20 years at Taco Bell.
You helped grow Taco Bell from 750 million to 8.5 billion dollars. How?
I had various roles from running restaurants to becoming head of training when we were around seven to eight and a half billion. We trained 250,000 people a year, so we built highly effective job aids, even studying Betty Crocker mixes for visual instructions since our workforce was becoming bilingual. I wouldn't say I was the reason for the growth, but I contributed.
Why did you pivot into the fitness industry after Taco Bell?
Taco Bell shifted to quick prep with frozen bags and freeze dried beans, and I missed cooking from scratch. I'd also moved to Yum Brands overseeing standards across KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, which was tough since I ate healthy and didn't like fried food or pizza. A former Taco Bell colleague became COO of 24 Hour Fitness and recruited me, so I pivoted since I was already working out a lot.
What made you leave the corporate world to start a brokerage in 2014?
The fitness industry became commoditized with discount chains, and I later ran a jewelry company that just didn't excite me. When I left, I bought two restaurants, and the broker representing the seller, an old friend from the Pepsico world, invited me to Barnes and Noble and suggested I become a business broker. He passed away from myeloma within six months of meeting me, leaving me his files and this path.
What was the aha moment that showed you a real gap in the market?
My mentor Bill Holtzclaw told me my brokerage success would dwarf my restaurants, and I didn't believe him at first. My dad used to say he worked for the deal, not buyer or seller, so I added a third win: I want my client to win, the other side to win, and I win third. That win win win philosophy became our real competitive advantage.
When did you realize emotional intelligence mattered as much as deal spreadsheets?
My mentor Mark Mastrov, who built 24 Hour Fitness from an 11,000 dollar loan into a 1.8 billion dollar sale, taught me entrepreneurs need real leadership skill, not just financial acumen. Through 13 years as an M&A advisor I've seen founders struggle to let go, delegate, and step back. I just sold a circuit board company for 18 million dollars, and it took 18 months mainly to help the owner and his wife let go.
How did the recent circuit board company sale illustrate the challenge of letting go?
It took 18 months to get the owner and his wife to let go, even after we had the deal essentially ready. If a founder can't delegate or trust their people, the business falls apart the moment they step away, and then it isn't sellable. A lot of my job is coaching founders through that mental shift so the company can actually survive the exit.
Building something daring? Sunny talks to founders like this every day. Fifteen minutes to see if your story belongs on the stage.
Claim your pre-interview