AI Summary
5 min readHow to Start a Holding Company
Michael Gurdly describes a holding company as the opposite of traditional entrepreneurship: you own multiple businesses and you don't run any of them. He runs a holdco with about 600 employees across his portfolio, and he's been doing it for four and a half years. The conversation with Greg is a practical primer on what holding companies are, why someone might want one, and how to avoid the common mistakes.
What a Holding Company Actually Is
The classic entrepreneur owns one business, has 98% of their net worth tied up in it, and serves as CEO. A holding company flips that model. You own multiple businesses and you don't operate any of them day-to-day. The key distinction from being a venture capitalist or angel investor is ownership stake. A holdco owner holds a significant share—30%, 60%, 80%—in each business, with controlling interest or substantial influence. A 0.5% stake in 42 startups is not a holding company; it's a diversified investment portfolio.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **What is a Holding Company?** - The guest defines a holding company as owning multiple businesses but not running any of them, contrasting it with the classic single-business owner-operator model.
- 2 (01:15) **Episode Roadmap** - The guest outlines what listeners will learn: the holdco strategy, different types of holdcos, how to build one, common mistakes, and the right advisors to have.
- 3 (02:33) **Defining a Holding Company vs. a Traditional Business** - The core distinction: owning multiple businesses vs. owning and running one.
- 4 (04:00) **Two Real-World Theses for a Holding Company** - The host and guest share their personal investment theses.
- 5 (05:29) **Holdco vs. VC/Angel Investing** - The key difference is significant ownership and active influence vs. passive, small-stake investing.
- 6 (07:51) **What Types of Businesses Can Be in a Holdco?** - The canvas is blank, including tech startups, agencies, real estate, and more.
- 7 (10:13) **The "Why" Behind a Holding Company** - The most important step is understanding your own passion and designing the holdco to serve your ideal lifestyle.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
In this episode, I am joined by Michael Girdley, Chairman and CEO of Girdley Enterprises, as we discuss how to build a HoldCo. Michael shares his frameworks and best practices for structuring HoldCo’s.
Episode Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:25 What is HoldCo
07:22 Types of HoldCo
09:45 Why go HoldCo
12:56 Types of HoldCo Pt 2
15:27 Frameworks for structuring your HoldCo
19:16 7 steps of starting a HoldCo
23:47 Why HoldCo’s are awesome
36:12 HoldCo’s are antifragile
43:16 Make sure HoldCo’s are right for you
45:16 HoldCo Conference
1) What's a Holdco?
It's owning multiple businesses but not running any of them day-to-day.
Think Warren Buffett lite - you're the maestro orchestrating a portfolio of companies.
2) Why go Holdco?
• Diversify risk
• Create asymmetric bets
• Design your ideal lifestyle
• Leverage your passions
Girdley: "I tap dance to work every day, even when things are sucky."
3) Types of Holdcos:
• Roll-up (same biz, diff locations)
• Platform (related businesses)
• Pure Holdco (unrelated businesses)
• Conglomerate (big daddy version)
Pick your flavor based on your interests & expertise!
4) How to start your Holdco journey:
1. Have a plan
2. Define your goals
3. Design your org structure
4. Consult lawyers & tax pros
5. Build your all-star advisory team
6. Execute & iterate
7. Optimize for happiness!
5) The secret sauce? 🤫
• Low-cost tech makes it easier than ever to incubate new businesses.
• Girdley: "You can do that same business they built off the ground for a few $1000"
• Asymmetric bets FTW!
6) Centralize or nah?
• Depends on your asset types & personal strengths.
• Girdley keeps it "radically decentralized" - know thyself!
• "Don't try to do things that I know I suck at."
7) Who's it for?
Not everyone! But if you:
• Love variety
• Hate micromanaging
• Want to build long-term wealth
• Crave a custom-designed career
...Holdco life might be your jam!
8) Ready to dive in?
Start with ONE successful biz, then expand.
And if you're serious, check out Girdley's Holdco conference in Utah next spring!
Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)
Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
BoringAds — ads agency that will build you profitable ad campaigns http://boringads.com/
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Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.startupempire.co
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