Kaustubh Deo and Sam Rosati unpack the complicated balance between transparency and confidentiality as small business owners managing growing teams. They explore how much financial and operational information should actually be shared with employees, where the line exists between helpful transparency and unnecessary stress, and why many owners unintentionally create confusion by failing to define what information is confidential. The conversation moves beyond theory into practical examples from their own businesses, including SBA debt, KPI dashboards, compensation structures, equipment purchasing decisions, and the realities of managing perception inside small companies. They also discuss how the search fund playbook has changed dramatically since 2021 and why many traditional acquisition assumptions no longer work in today’s market.

They discuss:

• The tradeoffs between transparency and oversharing with employees•

Why KPI visibility should align directly with what each team member can control

• How SBA debt and rising interest rates shape owner decision making• The danger of employees making assumptions when owners communicate too little

• Why equity compensation often fails to create “owner mentality” in small businesses

• The importance of clearly defining what information is confidential internally

• How today’s acquisition environment differs from the low-rate search fund boom years

• The four “horsemen” of bad deals in the current ETA market

This episode is valuable for operators, searchers, and small business owners trying to build trust with teams while navigating the financial realities of ownership.

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Have SMB questions for Kaustubh and Sam? Email them to kd@sunthra.com and they will answer them on the Pod!

Links:

Kaustubh on Substack - https://bigdealsmallbusiness.substack.com/p/read-me-first

Sam on X - https://x.com/Sam_Rosati

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