Tracy Britt Cool takes Berkshire’s playbook to family businesses

Building a Berkshire for the Middle Market – Tracy Britt Cool (EP.521)

The episode examines whether patient capital and hands-on operating support can offer midsized family businesses a durable alternative to conventional private equity.

3 key takeaways

1Tracy Britt Cool’s operating roles at Berkshire taught her that execution, culture, and people matter more than elegant strategy.
2Kanbrick pairs a 15-plus-year investment horizon with operating guidance, executive community, and support for family-owned midsized businesses.
3Its acquisition approach starts with listening, then aligns management, metrics, talent, capital allocation, and long-term growth priorities.

Don't miss

Cool explains why the Pampered Chef turnaround took nearly four years, because changing an organization and its culture proved harder than designing the plan.

The brief

Tracy Britt Cool traces her path from farm life and a carefully written letter to Warren Buffett to a decade at Berkshire, where investing led her into operating roles.

At Benjamin Moore and Pampered Chef, she learned that turnarounds take years: leaders must listen first, reset incentives, strengthen talent, and rebuild culture before results follow.

That experience shaped Kanbrick, the partnership she founded with Brian Humphrey to bring Berkshire-style patience and hands-on operating support to family-owned midsized businesses.

Kanbrick’s model combines a 15-plus-year structure, an executive community, and a business system covering talent, strategy, resource allocation, and execution.

The central discipline is selective ownership: find durable moats and capable management, co-create the plan after acquisition, and hold excellent compounders while the value case remains intact.

What was said on this episode

14 statements · 8 positive · 6 negative

Tracy Britt Coolon Undervalued companiesPositive6:07
Tracy favored investing in undervalued companies and building great businesses.
“building great businesses, finding companies that are undervalued, investing in them. That concept resonated with me early on.”
Listen at 6:07
Tracy Britt Coolon Operating value creationPositive10:02
Future investment value creation will increasingly come from operations.
“there was going to be more value created on the operating side going forward.”
Listen at 10:02
Tracy Britt Coolon Buyout multiple expansionNegative10:06
Buying businesses cheaply and selling them at higher multiples is probably no longer viable.
“the days of buying businesses for seven times and selling them for 12 a few years later was probably gone”
Listen at 10:06
Tracy Britt Coolon Benjamin MooreNegative10:43
Benjamin Moore deteriorated over the preceding decade.
“Over a 10-year period, it had lost its way.”
Listen at 10:43
Tracy Britt Coolon Benjamin MoorePositive11:06
Reinvesting in Benjamin Moore’s core business can make its stores category leaders.
“If we do that well, we can reposition the stores as leaders in their space.”
Listen at 11:06
Tracy Britt Coolon Benjamin MoorePositive11:14
Benjamin Moore’s earnings improved through channel strengthening and volume growth.
“Over the time, we significantly improved the earnings of the business while strengthening the channel, driving it through volume growth, not just financial engineering.”
Listen at 11:14
Tracy Britt Coolon Benjamin Moore management incentivesNegative11:40
Benjamin Moore management incentives favored retaining earnings over reinvestment.
“their incentives were misaligned. They were focused on how do I retain earnings versus how do I reinvest in the future of the business?”
Listen at 11:40
Tracy Britt Coolon Benjamin MooreNegative12:55
Benjamin Moore’s volume declined by more than 10% over ten years.
“When you look over 10 years, your volume's declined 10 plus percent.”
Listen at 12:55
Tracy Britt Coolon Sherman WilliamsPositive13:07
Sherwin-Williams performed well during the relevant period.
“Sherman Williams had done a great job during this time period as an example.”
Listen at 13:07
Tracy Britt Coolon BerkshireNegative17:56
Berkshire Hathaway’s growing cash balance makes meaningful capital deployment difficult.
“It was getting big in terms of capital. It had $150 billion in cash at the time. Now it's $300 billion plus. Hard to move the needle with that size of check.”
Listen at 17:56
Tracy Britt Coolon Family- and founder-owned midsize businessesNegative18:22
Many family and founder-owned businesses are too small for Berkshire Hathaway.
“They wanted a Berkshire-like home, but they were just too small.”
Listen at 18:22
Tracy Britt Coolon CanberraPositive18:52
Canbrick’s philosophy combines long-term thinking with a long-term structure.
“One is long-term thinking and a long-term structure.”
Listen at 18:52
Tracy Britt Coolon CanberraPositive19:04
Canbrick provides operating expertise to midsize companies.
“Second was providing that operating lens and that operating expertise.”
Listen at 19:04
Tracy Britt Coolon CanberraPositive19:20
Canbrick partners collaboratively with families and founders.
“Lastly was this partnership mindset. working with families and founders and coming alongside them.”
Listen at 19:20

Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.

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