In The Trenches (Steve Divitkos)
At a Glance
Queue it the week you sign an LOI; it is the best free preparation for the job you are actually buying.
- Pricing
- Free, Free, with no paid tier, no course and no community. Note the address: a substack of the same name belongs to a different publication entirely, so link the podcast's own host rather than the obvious guess.
- Best For
- Searchers under LOI and owners in their first years post-close; it fills the operator-content gap that the deal-focused shows leave open
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Rare, sustained focus on operating after the acquisition rather than deal hunting
- Host credibility: he searched, bought, ran, and exited before becoming an investor in searchers
- Long-form depth (episodes run about an hour) with a consistent cadence since 2021
Cons
- Deal sourcing and screening are not the point; listen elsewhere for the buy side
- Roughly twice-monthly cadence is a slower drip than the deal-a-week shows
- Public rating volume is small, so platform ratings are a thin signal
What Searchers Say
Regularly recommended in searcher circles as the post-close complement to Acquiring Minds and Acquisitions Anonymous. Platform ratings are high but few (about 5.0 across roughly 31 reviews on Apple's US listing as of July 2026), consistent with a niche, senior audience.