Raising capital from family offices
How Olympus Pines Raised $500M to Build a Car Wash Platform
$0 to $500M Raised in 4 Years: Building the Fastest Growing Car Wash Platform in the U.S.
Founders and operators building a roll-up or platform business, and investors who want to know how to vet an operator.
What stood out
- Prove the model before big money. Trevor and his partner turned down a $15 million term sheet to build six washes. They had never done real estate or operated anything. They raised friends and family money first so the economics would be better once the model worked.
- Investors back operators. Trevor says people want to invest in operators. Trevor says institutions have cheaper access to capital, but a car wash in the DC area can take six city council meetings and four years. In his view, that is the kind of work an operator is often better placed to do than a fund.
- Low fees, more upside. Early on, the team took very low fees and asked for more on the back end. Trevor took a 50% pay cut when he left his job. Trevor says larger institutions often read that as the founders betting on themselves.
- Track record lowers the cost of debt. After opening 12 washes in about a year, the team had a track record to show lenders. Trevor says the cost of debt almost halved at that point. That was when they felt they could take off.
- Find the deal, then the partner. Olympus Pines finds the deal first and then matches it to a family office. They ask what the office is looking for this year, such as cash flow or upside. These relationships are built over sometimes years before a deal is ready.
The short version
Trevor turned down a $15 million term sheet for six car washes before he had built a single one. He and his partner chose to raise friends and family money first, about 4 or 5 million, and prove the model. Their first 110 million came at an average check size of about 140,000. The total has since passed 500 million.
Trevor says investors backed the team in part because it was an operator in a hard market. The founders took low fees and asked for more of the upside. They also gave investors a long look at the business, flying them through seven markets in four days. The talk covers site selection, deal matching with family offices, and one costly mistake about exit plans.
From the source
- Olympus Pines turned down a $15 million term sheet to build six car washes and raised friends and family money first.
- The first 110 million raised had an average check size of about 140,000, and total capital raised has passed 500 million.
- Trevor says 65% of car wash revenue is recurring monthly and a wash needs only three employees at a time.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: $0 to $500M Raised in 4 Years: Building the Fastest Growing Car Wash Platform in the U.S.. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around sponsor fee structures, investor exit rights and offering documents. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Quotes from the session
"we found something where the operator actually matters, and where we can create a lot of value."
"A false sense that money is going to solve an operations problem. At the end of the day, especially in competition, it's going to come down to who out-operates."
"you have to know the deal. And you have to know the operator."
- 1Study 2008 to 2011 retail by zip code
- 2Run regressions on top zip codes
- 3Identify five or six key factors
- 4Build their own scoring systems
- 5Drive the area and visit sites
Related questions
- Do family offices co-invest alongside other investors?Yes, many family offices invest alongside other investors, and they often feel more comfortable when another respected investor is already in the deal.
- How do I find the decision maker at a family office?Start by meeting the family through advisors, events and the people who manage their investments.
- What is the difference between single and multi-family offices?A single family office works for one family and is built the way that family wants.
Questions about this video
How did Olympus Pines raise its first money?
Trevor says the team raised about 4 or 5 million from friends and family after turning down a $15 million term sheet. They then raised their first 110 million with an average check size of about 140,000.
Why did Trevor choose car washes?
He saw a large, fragmented industry that institutional money struggled to enter. He also cited that 65% of revenue is recurring monthly and that a wash needs only three employees at any given time.
What was the costly mistake Trevor named?
The team did not give investors a firm exit plan. Trevor says some groups were fine with options such as going public, selling to private equity or holding forever, but others wanted a very clear plan from the start.
Put this into practice with the family office fit check. See all raising capital from family offices resources.
