Buy Then Build Book By Walker Deibel
November 21, 2019
by a searcher from Northwestern University in Melbourne, FL, USA
Any feedback on this book?
November 21, 2019
by a searcher from Northwestern University in Melbourne, FL, USA
Any feedback on this book?
from Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, MO, USA
Well, first, it's the best book my mother has ever read. ; )
I'll share that I first set out to buy a business in 2004 when I graduated from Olin and my very promising startup suddenly failed... the month of graduation. I failed that first time at searching as well--ETA was absolutely NOT part of what was going on at that time. I assure you no one in Missouri ever uttered the word "search fund" prior to###-###-#### I even had MBA professors proactively trying to talk me out of it.
I went corporate for a while, eventually bought a book printing company doing about $8 MM in revenue (with a big personal loan and a seller note). Ran it for 7 years as CEO, attempted to grow through acquisition but eventually exited to an acquisition target.
I co-founded another company and got everything right. I mean EVERYTHING. But... it failed. So I went back to buying and acquired 6 additional companies since 2013 and just really started feeling like I had figured out what all entrepreneurs were really getting backwards.
I just had my 3rd exit about 3 weeks ago (over 50% CAGR). I've had a lot of mistakes too--being a CEO is really hard and you can't really predict the future.
I started writing the book I needed in###-###-#### I initially started by interviewing others that had bought companies, hoping for a Jim Collins style result--but the examples had very few best practices. Everyone's experience was so anecdotal. Furthermore, EVERYONE started by saying "well I was looking for the same thing everyone else..." and then they would say completely different things from one another.
So, I decided to start building frameworks that I used, as well as others. Ultimately, I identified the things that all first time buyers seem to get wrong, and after 12 years of buying companies I easily saw why certain people were failing in their search--then built a process around removing those errors through proper preparation.
Then I started speaking at schools and working with buyers here and there, allowing the concepts and frameworks to evolve. Similar to the lean start up idea--but for concept vehicles.
Search funds and ETA as it's taught at the few schools that actually teach it, is a very institutionalized version compared to the experience of most acquisition entrepreneurs. Furthermore, as I was talking with Tim Bovard recently at Duke, he shared that only 5 of 150 applications were admitted to SFA. What about the other 145?
Buy then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game is simply a wake up call to entrepreneurs everywhere that there is a better way to "get on base" rather than swing for the fences. It's entremetrics (play on "sabermetics")! And the capital is readily available if you're ready to roll up your sleeves and accept the challenge ("challenge" and "risk" could be switched in and out there depending on your state of mind). ; )
I simply tried to put the theory down on paper the best way I could and hired a 4 time NYT bestselling author to help me make it good. So forgive the typos--they're Tucker's fault. ; ) We outline the business model, how to think about it as an entrepreneur, It took me 4.5 years to write that book with three full drafts from a blank page and chapters 1 and 3 got re-written probably half a dozen times. So, even if you don;t care for it, please know that over a decade of experience, millions of dollars in debt and my own earned cash, and years of commitment went into writing it.
Full disclosure: I will make about $4 if you buy the paperback version at full price. ; )
I'm currently working on a second book (why?!), a coaching program, and an online course curriculum built to university requirements but tremendously entertaining and interactive (current course on my site is an MVP--and priced as such).
I'll share this too: I work as an advisor as well for online businesses (via Quiet Light) and in my experience, search funds are really unable to move quickly enough on most deals under $5 MM--they lose them every time so far (not sure it's statistically significant yet). But they serve a very strong buyer pool in the $5 - $25 MM range (along with family offices). So I think it offers a different perspective for both entrepreneurs and searchers.
I hope the book helps you, Ryan. If you'd like a free copy just PM me your address and I'll get a signed copy in the mail for you.
Keep searching! All of you. You're the CEO already. Your first mission is to get out and find your company!
Best,
Walker
from Stanford University in Honolulu, HI, USA