When Yannick Lorenz flipped the script and interviewed Peter Lang, the conversation wasn’t about tactics, it was about standards. Discipline over drama. Collaboration over ego. Pattern recognition over “gut feel.” It traced Peter’s evolution from operator to owner to educator and why the next decade of agency growth will be written by founders who learn to buy momentum, not just build it.

From Deal Flow to Discipline

Peter doesn’t chase deals; he filters them.

“I get what most people call a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity every month. That’s why I default to ‘no.’ Scarcity doesn’t drive my decisions, discipline does.”

The engine behind that confidence is simple: rigorous preliminary diligence. If a seller won’t provide the information needed to calibrate risk, the deal dies early: no emotion, no theatrics, just standards.

First Principles: Culture Before the Term Sheet

Ask Peter what turns a “good” deal into a “great” one, and he doesn’t say price.

“The number one predictor of value creation is cultural fit.”

Most founders can’t evaluate fit because they haven’t defined their own culture. Peter’s rule: articulate your values, your customer promise, and your operating cadence, then buy to strengthen that identity, not dilute it.

Collaboration Over Negotiation

Media glamorizes hardball. Peter rejects it.

“Negotiation is transactional. Collaboration is transformational.”

The work isn’t squeezing a seller; it’s co-designing a structure that de-risks integration and expands upside for both sides. That’s where creativity shows up—earn-outs, staged roll-ins, capability swaps, and role design that lets acquired founders keep doing their best work.

Aqua-Hires: The Quiet Force Multiplier

Yannick’s own journey at Veza Digital proved the point: aqua-hires are the fastest way to stack wins.

“Hiring a salesperson can take 12–18 months to pay off if they work out,” Peter says. “An aqua-hire can add 15–20 clients and a capable team in 90 days.”

It isn’t just revenue acceleration. Founders regain their zone of genius. Colin from Belt Creative moved into Head of Growth, finally doing the on-camera, community-driven work he loves.

Pattern Recognition and the Power to Walk Away

Reps create clarity. Clarity creates calm.

“I’ve seen enough to know when timing, truth, or values are off. That’s not conflict, that’s a pass.”

For first-time buyers, Peter systemizes what his pattern recognition provides instinctively: structured questionnaires, staged diligence, and explicit gating criteria so both sides know when to proceed and when to part ways.

Valuation Reality: The Fitness Analogy

Peter’s advice to sellers with inflated expectations (often broker-inflated): go learn your number.

“Know your liquidation value, fair-market value, and potential strategic value. It’s like training, if you’re 45 and try to hoop like a high-schooler, you blow a knee. Know your current state before you set the goal.”

Teach What You Do. Do What You Teach.

Peter’s playbooks were forged in the field, then pressure-tested by operators like Yannick.

“Deals are easy. Everything after close is hard. SOPs exist to prevent post-close casualties.”

The outcome: a repeatable model for 40–60% inorganic growth annually, without breaking culture or cash flow.

Lessons for Founders

• Define the target culture. Buy into it, not away from it.
  
• Default to ‘no.’ Standards protect focus and return.
  
• Structure > swagger. Creativity belongs in risk-aligned terms, not in hand-wavy narratives.
  
• Stack aqua-hires. Two smart books-of-business a year can beat any single sales hire.
  
• Learn to buy before you sell. The steps are the same, just in a different order.
  

One Action to Take Today

“Make it real. Google agencies like yours that have been acquired. DM the founders who sold. Ask what made them attractive and what they’d do differently. One candid conversation will beat ten podcasts.”

The Episode Reflection

For Peter, this isn’t about luck. It’s about doing the work others skip: defining culture, insisting on standards, collaborating on structure, and building the integration muscle that turns transactions into value.

“I’m here to make better buyers and better sellers. The rest is execution.”

Listen to the full episode to hear how Peter and Yannick turn collaboration into a competitive edge and why the smartest founders are planning their next 12–24 months around disciplined, programmatic M&A.

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