Acquiring Minds

Will Smith

Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs.

  • 1 hour 45 minutes
    When You Buy a Glorified Job, Not a Business

    Tato Corcoran packed a lifetime of learning (and tears) into 18 months when she left tech & bought a tiny manufacturer.

    Topics in Tato’s interview:

    • Connecting with sellers through direct mail
    • Her “Say yes and figure it out later” approach
    • Difficulty in hiring unskilled labor
    • How she solved her labor issue
    • Being a single woman in a male industry
    • Learning Spanish to communicate with her employees
    • Hemorrhaging money the first 8 months
    • Raising prices 40% without losing customers
    • The difference between good growth and bad growth
    • Doubling top line revenue

    References and how to contact Tato:

    Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

    Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

    Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    24 December 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 54 minutes
    Getting Unstuck by Buying a Business

    The construction services business Christian Bateson bought will do $7.5m in 2024. It also rescued him from the depths.

    Topics in Christian’s interview:

    • His front row seat to the 2008 financial crisis
    • Qualities of a top salesperson
    • Business acquisition as a way out of a miserable career
    • Shopping around for an SBA loan
    • Choosing to play to his strengths and outsource his weaknesses
    • Difficulty in hiring for construction
    • Bouncing back and growing after Covid losses
    • Red flags he ignored when acquiring his second business
    • How his finance background benefited him
    • His $100 million goal

    References and how to contact Christian:

    Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

    Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    22 December 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 17 minutes
    How to Buy a Generational Brand with $20m in Sales

    Respected consumer brands are not common in lower middle market acquisitions, but Philip Hussey and Chenmark bought one.

    Topics in Philip’s interview:

    • Chenmark’s acquisition of Thomas Moser
    • Leading a furniture business as a non-craftsman
    • Chenmark’s hold-forever intention
    • Wait times for custom, hand-made furniture
    • Long tenure of craftsmen
    • Commitment to world-class quality
    • Getting away from offering discounts
    • Building talent through their woodworker school
    • Running a company with a strong legacy behind it
    • Downside to owning your manufacturing

    References and how to contact Philip:

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

    Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

    Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    18 December 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 36 minutes
    Reward for 17-Month Deal: $1.8m of EBITDA

    Robert Gayden worked for over a year to buy a home care business. Revenue kept growing but the price remained the same.

    Register for the webinar: 

    Topics in Robert’s interview:

    • Influence of his late father
    • The “go bigger” search philosophy
    • Appeal of the home health care industry
    • 17-month acquisition process
    • Choosing to operate “in the weeds” of the business
    • Leading with high expectations
    • Focusing on increasing sales
    • Achieving 15% growth in 8 months
    • Working capital dynamics in home care
    • Investing in employees

    References and how to contact Robert:

    Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

    Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

    Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    15 December 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 39 minutes
    The 7-Year Collapse of an SBA Acquisition

    Scott Duncan endured brutal ups & downs — and personal depression — during his ownership of a doomed tool & die business

    Register for the webinar: 

    Topics in Scott’s interview:

    • Wishing he had listened to his gut
    • The risk of EBITDA (vs. revenue) concentration
    • Managing highly skilled primadonnas 
    • Employee theft
    • Losing key employees
    • Long sales cycles and fixed quotes
    • Forced Covid shutdown
    • Razor and blade business model
    • Facing aggressive creditors
    • Filing Chapter 7

    References and how to contact Scott:

    Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

    Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

    Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    11 December 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 27 minutes
    SBA Acquisition to $9m Cash Exit in 5 Years

    Andy Rougeot launched remote territories of the blue collar business he bought, which led to $1.7m of EBITDA and an exit

    Register for the webinars: 

    Topics in Andy’s interview:

    • His experience as an Army intelligence officer
    • When in doubt, do the dirtiest job
    • The military concept of “left seat, right seat” training
    • Searching from the public library
    • Veterans are well-suited to blue-collar leadership
    • Rewards of leading young men
    • Gaining warm leads in new markets
    • His team’s competitive edge
    • Exiting his business to run for mayor of Denver
    • Investing in self-funded searchers

    References and how to contact Andy:

    Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

    Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    8 December 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 42 minutes
    ETA Unicorn: $1 Billion in Revenue in 5 Years

    Steve Carroll started as an SBA searcher before pivoting to a PE-backed roll-up. It's gone better than he ever expected.

    Register for the webinars: 

    Topics in Steve’s interview:

    • Experience working for WalMart corporate
    • Searching while working full time
    • Myth of passive income
    • Large dead deal costs from a failed acquisition
    • Partnering with his childhood friend
    • Underestimating working capital needs
    • 100-hour weeks away from his family
    • Rapidly scaling through M&A
    • Beware owners who leave quickly
    • Achieving $1 billion in revenue in 5 years

    References and how to contact Steve:

    Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

    Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

    Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    4 December 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 40 minutes
    Buying for $600k, Selling for $35m

    Jake Bittner bought an unprofitable carve-out doing $3m. A key pivot grew revenue to $20m and got the attention of PE.

    Register for the webinar: 

    Topics in Jake’s interview:

    • Building a nest egg before leaving his job
    • Fallout from his father’s failed businesses
    • Calculating the value of a business losing money
    • Disliking the bureaucracy of large companies
    • Joining his friend to run a distressed company
    • Employee war stories
    • Changing the service they offered
    • Achieving 60% margins 
    • Boosting customer retention
    • Selling the company for 11x earnings

    References and how to contact Jake:

    Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

    Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    1 December 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 15 minutes
    When a $2.8m Acquisition Is More Like Zero-to-One

    Dave Gilbert spent 2 years fixing the model and customer concentration of the $750k SDE family business he bought with SBA debt.

    Topics in Dave’s interview:

    • Leaving tech to buy a white collar business
    • Meeting with 120 owners while searching
    • Buying a business he initially passed on
    • Risks of family members as employees
    • Financial surprises after the transition
    • Losing 23% of revenue when clients left
    • Accountants do not like change
    • Recruiting top talent
    • Importance of listening to employees
    • Transferring his zero-to-one skills

    References and how to contact Dave:

    Get a complimentary IT audit of your target business:

    Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

    Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    26 November 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 21 minutes
    When to Buy a Large Consumer Business

    Taylor Mattingly found high-quality revenue in an unusual and sizable B2C business that he happened to be a customer of.

    Topics in Taylor’s interview:

    • Being Co-CEO with his best friend
    • Buying a business he was a customer of
    • Acquiring a business in his hometown
    • Confusing, deregulated Texas energy market
    • How Energy Ogre differs from a typical broker
    • Keeping his call center in Texas
    • “Set it and forget it” model
    • “Listening tour” in the first 100 days
    • Adopting the EOS model
    • Higher leverage deal structure

    References and how to contact Taylor:

    Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

    Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:

    Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    24 November 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 53 minutes
    The Dream Outcome: From $300k to $5m EBITDA

    From the acquisition of a tiny refrigeration business, Linh Tran has built an enterprise that earns millions annually.

    Register for the webinar: 

    Topics in Linh’s interview:

    • The "Three Rs" search criteria
    • Being an undercover owner for 18 months
    • Eliminating 70-hour workweeks for his techs
    • Struggling with work-life balance
    • Implementing value-based pricing
    • 80% rule for delegation
    • Why he doesn’t want to exit
    • Fostering deep employee loyalty
    • Corporate philanthropy and legacy
    • What money can’t buy

    References and how to contact Linh:

    Learn more about Walker Deibel's done-with-you buy-side advisory:

    Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:

    Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):

    Connect with Acquiring Minds:

    Edited by Anton Rohozov
    Produced by Pam Cameron

    20 November 2025, 8:00 am
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