How We Bought 35 Businesses and Built a $700M HoldCo | Jesper Søgaard Interview

My guest today is Jesper Søgaard, co-founder and CEO of Better Collective — a global leader in digital sports media and sports betting information, with over 400 million monthly visits, 1,200+ employees, and 20 international offices.

Founded in 2004, Better Collective has grown into a powerhouse through a disciplined mix of organic growth and over 35 acquisitions, including major deals like Playmaker Capital and AceOdds in 2024. The company now owns 11+ media brands, including Action Network, SoccerNews, and HLTV.

In this episode, Jesper shares:

• The founding story of Better Collective

• How to scale a media company globally

• His M&A playbook and how to integrate acquisitions

• How to think about capital allocation with €111M in EBITDA

• Building a 20-year co-founder partnership

• Operating in highly regulated markets across the globe

• And why staying in one industry can unlock massive long-term success

If you're an operator, investor, or builder who’s thinking about scale, strategy, and sustained leadership—this conversation is a masterclass in all three.

----------------------------------------------

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:22 - The early days and how everything got started

00:02:35 - Realizing this could actually become a real business

00:05:13 - Was it difficult, or were you just having fun?

00:06:33 - Partnering with co-founder Christian: strengths and weaknesses

00:11:55 - The decision to start acquiring other companies

00:17:14 - Revenue streams and how the business makes money

00:20:05 - Growing through acquisition — why they wish they'd started earlier

00:22:40 - Deal structures: how some acquisitions were put together

00:24:57 - Lessons from 35 acquisitions — deals that didn’t go as planned

00:27:26 - The strategic thinking behind specific acquisitions

00:30:36 - Growing the company has felt like starting a new job every 2–3 years

00:33:23 - How Jesper thinks about acquiring a business

00:35:49 - Jesper’s approach to capital allocation

00:39:32 - Deciding when to reinvest profits vs. paying dividends

00:41:07 - A great example of someone who stayed in one industry for decades

00:43:43 - What keeps Jesper up at night

00:45:07 - Staying humble, but always driven to do more  

00:47:30 - Think long-term and always act with decency

----------------------------------------------

Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy⁠

Jesper on Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/jespersoegaard⁠

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.