Construction businesses can be hard, as you know. Subcontractors who don’t show up, or who take your money and don’t pay their vendors. Tools that walk off job sites. Working capital that gets squeezed when business is good. Today’s guest bought one anyway, and from the other side of the country. Jason Leisey was trading in Manhattan and living in New Jersey when he bought a majority stake in a general contractor based in Las Vegas. At the time it was about $1m in revenue: just two guys, their pickup trucks, and a handful of 1099 laborers. A fragile business. And then two months later, COVID hit. But — three years after that, revenue was $14m, and Jason had built it largely from a distance, running the finance and back office while his partners ran the work. Listen for the deal structure, which was designed to keep everyone pulling in the same direction and was key to Jason taking the bet he did on this tiny construction business. Also listen for the conversation with a nurse at Walter Reed that set Jason on this path. Here he is, Jason Leisey, majority owner of Aventus. 00:00 Jason's Background 06:30 Why Buy a Business 11:34 Finding the Vegas GC 21:18 Deal Structure and Earnout 29:23 Veteran Status Advantage 31:48 COVID Shock and Survival 36:20 Team Dynamics in Crisis 43:44 Breakout Wins In 2021 53:48 Remote CEO Operating Model 01:04:03 Family Time And Stepping Back 01:10:53 Plateau And Exit Plans