And just to underline the numbers here, there was six or seven multiple on three to four of EBITDA. Sounds like that could be anywhere from high teens to... mid 20s does that sound yeah right yep you're right in the ballpark there okay okay on an investment that was you didn't give us the exact number of equity put in but we have a sense so this was an a an incredible really return and of course…
Acquiring Minds
Buying and Building a Xerox Dealer to $30m
Excerpts · 274 segments · ~1:20:39 long
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Yeah, not only me, but when I bought the business, there was some partners that I assumed. I should have mentioned that earlier, but the seller didn't have 100%. He had almost 85% to 90%.
And I tell you, of all the things that I've done in my business career, when I bought that business and assumed those, I think it was three partners at the time, you know, look in those partners and said, Hey, we're going to achieve something.
I mean, they don't know you at all, but to do that for them and to see the smile on their face when we exited in 2017, that was, yeah, that, that felt really good, you know, to be able to help them do that as well. And so, um, I was excited about that.
Well, we're gonna close in just a minute here, hearing about what you're doing today, which is as an investor, basically a professional investor. And so now you have a lot of your own LPs and investors. So I guess you really liked the feeling of deploying other people's money successfully, because here you are doing that full time.
Tell us just before we move into that, why you think you were able to knock it out of the park on the first try? You take all this risk, you buy a business, with this vision. And lo and behold, the vision comes to pass, basically.
And I don't mean to simplify or make it sound like those five years were easy, but you really did knock it out of the park on your first try. What do you ascribe that success to?
Well, I don't know. I mean, I think several things. Number one, we worked hard. I mean, I worked hard.
I mean, it was a... You know, when you're out proving yourself for the first time, you know, I was definitely in an uncomfortable zone and, you know, I had a lot of desire to achieve and to prove not only to myself, but to others that I was fully capable of doing that. You know, number two, I bought a good business. I mean, I can't stress that enough, you know.
I didn't let, Hey, I want to be in business for myself overshadow the fact that, Hey, I need to start with a really good business, you know? And, and, and two, I, you know, I need to work with a business owner that is a good person and has great character and all that. And, uh, you know, I think, I think sometimes people can overcomplicate things and they, you know, lose sight of, Hey, I just…
I'll take any business or whatnot, or I'll do this or, you know, I'll do that. And I just, I think you really need to, I think you really need to think long and hard and be willing to be disciplined on, you know, what you may enter or what, what you don't enter. Sometimes your best decisions are what you don't enter.
And then I picked a business that fit my skillset. You know, I didn't try to go, you know, you know uh you know do something you know be a plumbing service which i couldn't do anything you know uh and so i uh you know pick something that matched my skill set and uh and so and then to you know have the support of your family as well and all of that i think played a part so i think it's a little…
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