Amsterdam Founders Club

The Strategy Behind $20M Exit and the Buy-and-Build Playbook No One Talks About

The Strategy Behind $20M Exit and the Buy-and-Build Playbook No One Talks AboutPeter Michels scaled his accounting and tax advisory firm from 0 to €20 million in yearly revenue.
Through organic growth,
a buy-and-build strategy,
and multiple acquisitions,
before successfully exiting the business.
In this new episode of the Amsterdam Founders Club podcast,
Marcel sits down with Peter to unpack the full journey.
From washing cars door-to-door at age 11 to building a multi-million euro firm.
Including what it really takes to find and acquire the right businesses.
 
What you'll learn:
- How to build a business from 0 to €20M using a buy-and-build approach
- Why Peter registered his company the same day his daughter was born
- The acquisitions playbook
- Why he never sells and what he does instead
- How to recognize when you're stuck and what to do about it
- The difference between goals and habits
 
Timestamps:
00:00 What you'll learn today
00:25 Welcome to Amsterdam Founders Club
01:02 Was Peter always an entrepreneur?
01:31 First business at age 11: car washing door-to-door
01:53 Second business: stringing tennis rackets
04:30 Starting the accounting firm
05:33 His wife pushed him to go for it
06:07 He registered the business the same day his daughter was born
06:44 On financial risk and the entrepreneur identity
07:43 First acquisition: €30K in clients, quadrupled within a year
08:33 How he found deals through his network
08:53 "I'm never selling, I'm always telling my story"
10:01 Hustling for clients: Chamber of Commerce lists and cold letters
11:12 On being good at sales without it feeling like sales
12:44 The SIMPLE framework
13:46 Focus on income first, everything else comes after
14:28 From solo to first team member
16:01 The fear of hiring and why you have to push through it
16:41 What Peter kept focusing on as the company grew
17:33 Culture change as you scale and what to do about it
18:56 Why first hires matter and how to get them right
19:29 Hire for what you're bad at, not a version of yourself
20:16 When to bring in your first manager
21:21 The four keys to growing a business: passion, plan, mindset, fun
23:19 How to write a job offer that actually attracts the right people
25:00 Sell the story to potential employees, not just the job
26:15 When it's not a fit: having the hard conversation early
28:56 The Formula of Happiness and letting people go with respect
30:21 The journey to private equity: feeling stuck pre-COVID
31:07 The moment he decided to sell
34:13 The Sunday that changed everything
35:18 Meeting the PE partners who shared his vision
36:31 How the deal was structured: cash, shares, and staying involved
37:26 Why he said no to the first buyer
38:41 Shared vision over price: what made this deal work
39:51 Advice on equity vs. cash deals for founders
41:13 How to value your business
43:07 Life inside the buy-and-build: scaling toward €50-70M
44:41 What they learned from acquiring businesses that were too small
47:16 How to choose the right businesses to acquire
48:22 Why people resist change after acquisitions -- and how to handle it
49:46 Should you be transparent with the team during acquisitions?
52:04 Preparing your business to sell makes it better to run anyway
52:50 Key lessons from 15+ acquisitions
55:15 Why Peter didn't want to be CEO 
58:06 "Don't become the manager"
58:48 What Peter is working on now: growth coaching for founders
61:21 What "stuck" actually looks like for an entrepreneur
63:24 Zoom out to see what you're missing
64:09 Peter's 5-year vision: speaking at Ahoy
65:23 His upcoming book: working title revealed
65:39 One message to every founder in the world
 
Connect with Peter Michels: 
Instagram : 
https://www.instagram.com/petermichels010/
 
Connect with Marcel Wijermars:
Superconnectedfounder.com
Amsterdamfoundersclub.com
https://linktr.ee/marcelwijermars
 
Apply to join Amsterdam Founders Club:
https://amsterdamfoundersclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamfoundersclub/
 
The podcast is produced by 301 Studios and Marcus Engel: https://www.instagram.com/themarcusengel/ - studiobooking@weare301.com

How Powerful Networks Are Really Built (Most Founders Do This Wrong) - Michelle Maree

In this episode of the Amsterdam Founders Club Podcast, we sit down with Michelle Maree, founder of The Nomad Escape, Entrepreneur Network, The Inner Circle, and the visionary behind Nomad Island Fest in Madeira. From building global communities to attracting world class entrepreneurs, Michelle shares how powerful networks are built through trust, value, and long term thinking.
 
Michelle breaks down how she went from being homeless to building a global business ecosystem by mastering relationships, intentional networking, and mindset. We dive deep into how founders can build influence without chasing clout, how meaningful introductions create million dollar opportunities, and why real success comes from giving before asking.
 
If you’re a founder, entrepreneur, digital nomad, or creator looking to grow your business through authentic connections, this podcast is packed with real stories, practical networking frameworks, and mindset shifts that can change how you approach business forever.
 
Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction: Building a Global Network
02:08 – The Ken Honda Story & Leading With Authenticity
09:13 – The Power of Community Builders
14:46 – From Homeless to Home Free & The Triple Growth Formula
16:47 – Vision Clarity: You Can’t Scale What You Can’t See
20:50 – Global Tax Strategy & Location-Independent Business
24:05 – How to Build Strategic Relationships the Right Way
30:10 – Give First: The Foundation of High-Level Networking
42:39 – The Practical Networking Event Playbook
49:59 – The Strategic Network Tracking System
55:44 – Why Micro Events Are So Powerful
01:02:03 – Designing Interactive, High-Impact Events
01:13:42 – Energy, Attraction & Showing Up With Confidence
01:29:07 – How to Organize Your First Event (Even If You’re Not an Expert)
01:39:58 – 10-Year Vision, Impact & Legacy
 
Connect with Michelle Maree : 
 
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/michelle.maree.official
 
Website : https://thenomadescape.com/
 
 
Connect with Marcel Wijermars:
 
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelwijermars
 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcelwijermars
 
Apply to join Amsterdam Founders Club:
https://amsterdamfoundersclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamfoundersclub/
 
The podcast is produced by 301 Studios and Marcus Engel: https://www.instagram.com/themarcusengel/ - studiobooking@weare301.com

His Marketing Funnel Took Mindvalley from $25M to $75M ARR - Alessio Peroni

In this deep dive episode of the Amsterdam Founders Club Podcast, former Mindvalley CMO Alessio Peroni reveals how he helped Mindvalley scale from $25 million to $75 million in annual revenue through smart marketing decisions, funnel optimization, and audience first growth strategies. This podcast breaks down the real systems behind one of the most successful online education companies in the world and what actually drove Mindvalley’s explosive growth.
Alessio Peroni shares behind the scenes insights into Mindvalley’s marketing strategy, including the shift from evergreen courses to cohort based programs, the rise of community driven learning, and how improving course completion rates directly impacted revenue. The discussion covers YouTube advertising, paid traffic, funnel design, membership models, scarcity, and why most online courses fail to scale while Mindvalley succeeded.
This episode is essential viewing for entrepreneurs, marketers, founders, and course creators who want to understand how to grow an online education business sustainably. If you’re interested in digital marketing, funnels, subscriptions, brand trust, and scaling to seven or eight figures, Alessio Peroni’s real world experience at Mindvalley offers practical lessons you can apply immediately to your own business.
Episode Timestamps
(00:00) – Intro: Scaling Mindvalley from $25M to $75M ARR(05:00) – Alessio’s journey: from small-town Italy to global brands(12:00) – Joining Mindvalley & learning marketing at scale(18:00) – The key growth levers behind Mindvalley’s 3× revenue(25:00) – From evergreen courses to cohort-based programs(33:00) – Why completion rates matter more than content volume(40:00) – Scaling paid ads & why YouTube became a breakout channel(48:00) – Moving to a membership model (and the risks involved)(56:00) – Community, retention & why most subscriptions fail(1:05:00) – How to reach your first $1M in online education(1:15:00) – Pricing, funnels & low-ticket vs high-ticket offers(1:23:00) – Final advice for founders & course creators
 
Connect with Alessio Peroni : 
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/alessio_pieroni
Website : https://withalessio.com/
 
Connect with Marcel Wijermars:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelwijermars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcelwijermars
 
Apply to join Amsterdam Founders Club:
https://amsterdamfoundersclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamfoundersclub/

The Origin of Amsterdam Founders Club | The Founder’s Journey of Marcel Wijermars

Welcome to the first episode of Amsterdam Founders Club. I am Marcel , Your Host for the Amsterdam Founders Club  podcast , but on this pilot episode, Marcus Engel hosts the Episode and I will tell  the origin story of how dinners in Bali grew into Growth Nights, organizing events for more than 2,000 founders, and our new mastermind program. If you’re building a startup, scaling revenue, or planning founder led events this episode is for you.
 
We dig into founder community building, event curation, selling out events, avoiding pitch heavy networking, and the exact criteria I look for in my mastermind.  Expect practical insights on organizing founder events, personal brand for founders, strategic partnerships, and scaling to €1M.
 
Want in? Apply for the mastermind: https://amsterdamfoundersclub.com/mastermind/, or learn how to run your own founder events at https://amsterdamfoundersclub.com/. 
 
Subscribe for founder stories, Growth Night recaps, and playbooks to scale your business. 
 
 
Connect with Marcus Engel :
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-engel-301studios
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/themarcusengel
 
Connect with me :
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelwijermars
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/marcelwijermars