Jared Johnson sits down with investor and operator Adam Markley to trace a winding path from nearly failing out of college to building and backing small businesses. Adam shares how a pivot into accounting and finance opened doors to hands-on work with small companies, a corporate run standing up deal-driven divisions, and ultimately his own acquisitions in the U.S. and U.K. He talks candidly about painful lessons (from paying loans out of pocket to a partner emptying accounts), why seller behavior is a leading indicator of post-close reality, and how his team now invests with a heavy emphasis on in-person site visits and back-office execution. Adam explains his four-pillar support model for new owners, common pitfalls in lender relationships, and where he thinks ETA is headed as underwriting tightens and off-market search professionalizes. Main Takeaways: • Curiosity and repetition win: reviewing dozens of deals monthly builds judgment you cannot shortcut • Seller character and the buyer–seller relationship are core drivers of post-close success • Site visits late in diligence provide a critical gut check before funding and close • The first 6–12 months are won by focusing on four buckets: people, operations, sales, and processes • Outsourcing or wrapping expert back-office support can save hundreds of hours during transition • Investor fit matters: clear expectations on equity step-ups, preferred returns, and long-term horizons • Off-market search is professionalizing; few individuals can excel at every part of the search lifecycle alone • Expect tighter SBA underwriting (e.g., DSCR definitions, post-close liquidity) to favor better-capitalized buyers • Personal financial discipline signals readiness to operate and builds lender and investor confidence • Under-levering and adding real balance-sheet cash can improve outcomes and optionality post-close Episode Highlights: • Background reset: from almost failing out to finishing an accounting/finance degree early and working with small-business clients • Early exposure: regional public accounting, seeing owners scale and realizing business + real estate wealth patterns • Corporate chapter: building deal-led divisions (JVs, partial acquisitions), then buying and spinning out an education company on acquisitions • Hard lessons: U.K. operating partner empties accounts; replacing a non-owner president post-close; paying loans personally • Portfolio today: eight active businesses, four acquired with SBA loans; shifting from primary acquirer to minority investor • Investment approach: won’t invest without a site visit; observe seller–buyer dynamics as a final diligence gate • Back-office leverage: running or wrapping accounting/finance/admin to free operators for customers, people, ops, and sales • The four-pillar support model: inner circle (family/peers), peer groups, strategic investor sounding board, and day-to-day back office • Working with lenders: create a real feedback loop; understand how banks calculate DSCR and post-close liquidity • Market outlook: more competition, more specialization in off-market sourcing, and likely stricter SBA expectations • Motivation: be the resource he wished he had—review deals freely, build community (Denver meetup; Rocky Mountain ETA efforts)