The Holdco Guide
How Entrepreneurs Structure and Build a Holding Company That Lasts
A practical field guide for founders and operators deciding what to do with profits, ownership, and long-term growth.
Available in Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover
A practical field guide for founders and operators deciding what to do with profits, ownership, and long-term growth.
Available in Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover
Most business books focus on getting to profitability.
Very few help you decide what comes next.
The Holdco Guide is written for founders, operators, and operator-investors who are asking harder questions:
This book uses the holding company lens not as an ideology, but as a decision-making framework for disciplined capital allocation and durable business design.
This is not a finance textbook. It is not private-equity cosplay. It is not theory without application.
The Holdco Guide translates how real holding companies operate into practical models that everyday operators can use.
Understand the core holding company archetypes and how they behave across industries
Design simple, durable structures for governance, incentives, and accountability
Build capital pathways that support reinvestment, stability, and long-term growth
Use free cash flow, ROIC, ROIIC, and cash conversion as high-signal decision tools
Ring-fence operational and financial risk to protect the broader system
Evaluate opportunities across services, software, industrials, and more
Apply real-world examples, frameworks, and workshop exercises to your own situation
This book is especially useful if you are:
"The missing playbook for founders transitioning from operator to investor."
Having scaled an agency from $20M to over $200M in ARR, I've seen firsthand how a lack of clear business architecture creates a ceiling for growth.
"A smart, practical lens on what to do with profits."
The models are easy to follow, grounded in real businesses, and make capital allocation feel tangible.
"It answers the 'what's next?' question most profitable founders wrestle with."
The Holdco Guide helps founders turn scattered ventures into coherent, resilient systems built to last.
If you've ever asked, "What should we do with the profits?" This book is for you.
The Holdco Guide is a practical field guide that helps founders and operators understand how to structure and build holding companies. It focuses on capital allocation, business architecture, and long-term growth strategies for entrepreneurs who have built profitable businesses and are deciding what to do next.
This book is for founders who have built profitable businesses, agency owners exploring multi-business ownership, operators transitioning into investor roles, and leaders responsible for long-term capital decisions beyond quarterly results.
Peter Kang is the author. He is co-founder of Barrel Holdings, a holding company that acquires and grows specialized agency businesses. As a longtime agency operator and former CEO, Peter brings real-world experience from operating businesses in the middle market.
The book covers holding company archetypes, governance structures, capital allocation frameworks, financial metrics (ROIC, ROIIC, free cash flow), risk management, and practical examples across services, software, and industrial businesses.
The Holdco Guide is available on Amazon in Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover formats. You can purchase it on Amazon.
Yes, you can read an excerpt of The Holdco Guide to get a preview of the content and writing style before purchasing.