E50: From Acquired Founder to Serial Acquirer at Veza Digital

Description

In this episode, Yannick Lorenz uncovers his remarkable transition from building Shadow Digital to leading Vesa Digital’s aggressive M&A and growth strategy. He talks openly about the ups and downs of agency life, the importance of building a sellable business, and stepping into a strategic role in acquisitions—all fueled by lessons learned the hard way.

Key Topics:

How Yannick built Shadow Digital from a freelance side hustle into a successful agency
The pivotal moment when he realized the value of making his business sellable
The lessons learned from hitting rock bottom during a major agency crisis in 2020
The unique approach Vesa Digital takes to agency roll-ups and the concept of the VAN (Vesa Agency Network) strategy
Creative deal structures and the importance of leaving chips on the table during acquisitions
How Yannick is leveraging his CEO experience to now lead Vesa’s inorganic & M&A efforts
The impact of self-sourcing deals and avoiding traditional private equity pathways
Navigating culture fit, valuation, and deal negotiations with founders
Practical advice for founders about financial literacy, recurring revenue focus, and deal-making mindset

Timestamps:

(0:13) The rapid evolution of Claude AI and setting up local coding interfaces

(1:27) The magic of task stacking versus answer approximation in Claude

(3:05) Introducing Yannick Lorenz and his entry into agency growth and exit

(4:26) Yannick’s background: from Germany to founder in California

(6:10) Building Shadow Digital: from side hustle to agency

(8:38) The turning point: landing a $20,000 deal and scaling

(11:26) Navigating the 2020 crisis and the push toward specialization

(12:24) Scaling rapidly with Webflow before the crash

(13:47) A major realization: building a business to sell and the importance of cash flow

(15:15) How Yannick connected with Vesa during a cold outreach mistake

(17:19) The evaluation process: fit, culture, and professionalism