About this podcast
Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs. Learn how to buy a business from the entrepreneurs who have already done it. 2x per week: stories, insights, & valuable advice about acquisition entrepreneurship. Hosted by Will Smith, who is on his own path to acquire a business.
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Episodes
The newest 50 of 510 episodes
- Personal Guarantee Insurance: How It Works · 53 minJason Hunt unpacks PGI, the new product category built for SBA buyers deterred by the risk of losing everything. Register for the webinars: • The Wake-Up Call: From 'Someday' to…
- She Wanted to Run a Factory, So She Bought One · 1 h 13 minLeyla Sudbury left BCG after a decade and bought a printed circuit board assembler in Austin with $2–3m of EBITDA. Register for the webinar: • The Wake-Up Call: From 'Someday'…
- Growing a GC from $1m to $14m, Remotely · 1 h 24 minJason Leisey bought a two-truck federal contractor in Las Vegas from New Jersey, two months before COVID hit. Register for the webinar: • Franchisor Diligence 101 for Searchers…
- When the Business Is Just You: A $650k Garage Biz · 1 h 23 minMarco Hsu took over a Porsche upgrade maker run by one person, and now faces the same limits its founder did. Register for the webinar: Franchisor Diligence 101 for Searchers…
- Run It for 6 Months Before You Buy It · 1 h 15 minJeff Thompson took over an unprofitable elevator company as GM, with a pre-agreed right to buy it in pieces. Topics in Jeff’s interview: • Why elevator companies attract private…
- Zero to One, Then 1 to 4 by Acquisition · 1 h 14 minRahib Diwan started a short-term rental company, then bought another one 3x its size without having to use more cash. Topics in Rahib interview: • From healthcare to short-term…
- Buying a 138-Year-Old Navy Bell Maker · 1 h 25 minJon Hyatt was under LOI on a dental practice when a late-night Craigslist search turned up one he couldn't resist. Register for the webinar: • Structuring LOIs: Competitive…
- Take Over the Business Before You Buy It · 1 h 20 minElias Youssef stepped into an unprofitable plumbing company as its GM, grew it 6x, then got an SBA loan to buy it. Register for the webinar: • Structuring LOIs: Competitive…
- Buying a 1-Product Business, Building It to a Big Exit · 2 h 7 minJay Boren bought a tiny grease tool business run out of a living room, then grew it into a brand with 250 products. Register for the webinar: • The Small Things That Sink…
- Side Hustle Acquisition to $5m in Revenue · 1 h 21 minBrendan Guerin was 21 when he and 3 friends bought a dog daycare on the side. Today: 6 Midwest locations. Register for the webinars: • Debt Financing Your Deal (SBA &…
- The Roll-Up with No Investors & No Clock · 1 h 42 minTyler Hoffman has bought 4 telecom companies with no outside equity, and works 15 hours a week to get to $50m. Topics in Tyler’s interview: • Lessons from being fired repeatedly…
- $33m Holdco: Teddy Bears to Insurance Claims · 1 h 2 minColin King and his 50/50 partner have paid themselves little since 2018, reinvesting profits back into their businesses. Topics in Colin’s interview: • Growing Circle City…
- The $150k Hiding in the Business He Bought · 1 h 30 minPatrick Dunphy acquired a low-seven-figure interpreter agency, then halved its collection times in year one. Topics in Patrick’s interview: • From Army aviation to business…
- How to Buy a $2.1m Business Without the SBA · 1 h 28 minJack Rauch left politics for a niche Florida business no bank would finance. He's doubled revenue twice since. Register for the webinar: • Sizing an SBA Loan to the Cash Flow…
- Buying a $7.3m Golf Course with No Money Down · 1 h 30 minKyle Holmes spent 8 years running Quail Ridge for its investor owners. Then they asked if he wanted to buy it. Register for the webinars: • Protect the Business: How to…
- Buying a $12.5m Contractor to Create 1,000 Jobs · 1 h 30 minManolo Diaz Corrada came home to Puerto Rico to build for decades and keep the wealth from leaving the island. Register for the webinars: • Working Capital: What Buyers Need to…
- Losing a $1m SDE Business to Bankruptcy · 1 h 11 minMorli Desai bought an e-commerce brand with an SBA loan. Three years later: liquidation, Chapter 11, and gratitude. Register for the webinars: • Equity Financing: From SBA Deals…
- $340k to $1.3m of Earnings in 14 Months · 1 h 31 minRob Brooks bought a $1.9m Sarasota HVAC shop, then ignored the advice to wait 90 days before changing it. Register for the webinar: • Equity Financing: From SBA Deals to…
- Buy a Business with Your Tax Bill · 1 h 7 minAdam Whelchel paid himself instead of the IRS, putting $35k down on an escape room doing $365k with room to grow. Register for the webinar: • The Deal I Almost Bought (And Why I…
- First-Timer Buys a $15m Business in Distress · 1 h 23 minMike Bourgeois bought an HVAC company bleeding $3m a year, all cash and no SBA, then cut $1.4m of costs in 2 weeks. Register for the webinar: • The Deal I Almost Bought (And Why…
- An Engineer's Mini Berkshire: 2 Auto Shops in 1 Year · 1 h 45 minSujith Shankar left 25 years in corporate to buy cash-flowing businesses: a $1.2m repair shop and a $2m body shop. Topics in Sujith interview: • How Rivian layoffs changed…
- Right-Tail Outcome for a Husband & Wife Search Fund · 1 h 43 minCourtney and Jonathan Dunn bought a fast-growing SaaS at 3-4x ARR, doubled it, then merged for a life-changing exit. Register for the webinar: • Architecture of an…
- The Ferrari of Signage: $9.5m Pipeline in 6 Months · 1 h 58 minAndrew Sova and Alex Clark revived sales at a 40-year-old sign manufacturer, the first acquisition of their holdco. Register for the webinars: • New SBA Rules: What Business…
- 40 Schools to 130: The Roll-Up 2 Years Later · 1 h 18 minJeff Homer returns with an update: revenue past $100m, a new dance division, and 50% growth expected this year. Register for the webinars: • Licenses & Regulatory Issues When…
- From $700k Purgatory to $3m: A Mosquito Joe Update · 1 h 1 minNeil Finneran returns 3 years after buying a business so small it barely paid him a salary — now on pace for $800k. Register for the webinars: • Learn to Avoid the #1 Reason…
- 3 Years, $80k In: An Honest Update · 59 minJesse Sunquist put a GM in charge and stepped back to 5 hours a week — proud of the experience, restless about the outcome. Register for the webinar: • Learn to Avoid the #1…
- $400k Profit Fixing Church Pews · 1 h 9 minGreyson Boerner traded startup life for a 28-year-old niche business — now on pace to grow revenue 50% in year one. Register for the webinar: • Learn to Avoid the #1 Reason…
- Surviving a 2-Month Revenue Freeze in Year 1 · 1 h 9 minChibunna Chimezie's seller left $15k in the account. His post-acquisition liquidity is the only reason he made it. Register for the webinar: • Learn to Avoid the #1 Reason…
- Second-Time CEO Buys a $30m Title Company · 1 h 22 minRandy Rempp turned around a $17m insurance business as a rookie CEO, then used that track record to raise a search fund. Register for the webinar: • The 3 Paths to Franchising…
- Acquiring Isn't Always a One-Way Door · 1 h 36 minGabriel Cruz Avila bought a $1.4M remodeling business, weathered a divorce and burnout, then sold it two years later. Register for the webinar: • The 3 Paths to Franchising for…
- How 1 SBA Loan Brought Down 2 Businesses · 1 h 34 minEdgar Galindo and his partner bought 2 businesses with SBA loans. Now he's facing the consequences of shuttering both. Topics in Edgar’s interview: • Construction background in…
- 60% Concentration That Killed an Exit · 1 h 49 minRaj Mahajan bought a salon software business, tripled it to $11M ARR. Then his biggest customer launched a competitor. Register for the webinar: • Tax Issues: Entity and Deal…
- Product-Market Fit in the Trades: 4x in 2.5 Years · 1 h 38 minPatrick Beal left tech to buy an HVAC business with 90% seller financing, no SBA. He's on track to hit $3.5m this year. Register for the webinar: • Working Capital: One of ETA’s…
- No SBA, No Investors: The Liquidity Access Line · 1 h 16 minBrian Jungles bought a $400k direct mail business in Atlanta and skipped SBA by pledging his portfolio as collateral. Register for the webinars: • Don't Rush: How to Prepare for…
- Acquiring a $7m Niche Marketing Agency with 50 Employees · 1 h 22 minRob Belk networked his way to "the most caffeinated guy in town" searching for a local business — then found it online. Register for the webinars: • From Working IN the Business…
- Escaping the J-Curve in a $700k SDE Ecom Business · 1 h 30 minChris Farkas endured a 7-week fetal position moment when he finally found a website bug that had cost him $500k in sales. Register for the webinar: • From Working IN the…
- Never Worked Harder, Never Been Happier · 1 h 27 minAfter 25 years in corporate, Gina Rosen bought a jewelry wholesaling business with $635k in sales — now on track to $1m. Register for the webinar: • Finance Essentials Before…
- Career Consultant Who Bought a 7-Figure Manufacturer · 1 h 26 minBuying a metal fabricator with $1m in earnings pivoted Paul Callahan into the new entrepreneurial chapter of his career. Register for the webinar: • Finance Essentials Before…
- (replay) Art of the Roll-Up: 40 Businesses in 4 Years · 1 h 23 minJeff Homer bought a small local music school as a fun side hustle. It turned out to be the opportunity of a lifetime. Topics in Jeff interview: • Switching from high finance to…
- Growing a $5m Metal Business 40% in Year 1 · 1 h 36 minCaleb Standafer believed in manufacturing and wanted to spend his career there. A multi-year pivot and ETA got him in. Topics in Caleb’s interview: • Moving from tech to…
- How to 4x EBITDA in 3 Years Without Growing Sales · 1 h 23 minNed Tomasevic navigated an early crisis then grew EBITDA to $6m and exited at over 8x, four turns higher than he'd paid. Register for the webinar: • Transferable Skills…
- Leaving $700s/Yr to Buy an Underperforming Printing Business · 1 h 25 minDominick Smith left a lucrative track in PE to pursue a path that offered more meaning. Buying a business has delivered. Register for the webinars: • Overcoming Common Deal…
- From Software to Concrete Cutting (and $1.4m of SDE) · 1 h 38 minWhen the owner refused a seller note in the $6m transaction to sell his business, Tom McCormick had to get creative. Register for the webinar: • Understanding a Quality of…
- Good Bones: Saving a $3m Business in Decline · 1 h 49 minDespite his love of operations, Himmat Singh intended to own his acquisition passively. Then the lead sales guy quit. Register for the webinar: • Understanding a Quality of…
- How to Buy a $20m Business as a First-Timer · 1 h 31 minWhen Alan Turkus found a business with a mission, he knew he'd found the right fit for the final chapter of his career. Topics in Alan’s interview: • Background in book…
- How to De-Risk the Personal Guarantee · 1 h 11 minBrendan Burdette and Ryan Conner have launched personal guarantee insurance to enable more — and stronger — SBA buyers. Register for the webinar: • Score It or Skip It: A…
- The Origin Story of a Compounder ($80m and Counting) · 1 h 25 minGreg Shapiro & Zach Cooper-Vastola are building a long-term, compounding business they see as the anti-PE of the trades. Register for the webinar: Franchising for the ETA Buyer…
- Started as SBA Searcher, Built to a PE Fund · 1 h 46 minThe first business Joe Wechsler bought had $280k of SDE. Seven years later, he runs a fund with $50m of buying power. Register for the webinar: • Franchising for the ETA Buyer…
- Buying $1.5m of Earnings Without an SBA Loan · 1 h 23 minAs a South African in the US, Justus Luttig had to get creative to search then buy 2 trades businesses at the same time. Register for the webinar: • New $10m Limit for SBA…
- The Magic of Low Multiple + Growth · 1 h 33 minDavid Graf went after a business that had sat on the market, acquiring $750k of EBITDA for 2.7x. It's going well. Register for the webinars: • Negotiating Working Capital in SMB…
