►EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I TOLD MY MOM ABOUT HIS BAD DEAL ON EASTER — HE NEGOTIATED $1M OFF: Stanford grad, ex-military, buying his own supplier. Seller was lying about inventory, which meant blown COGS, blown EBITDA, blown working capital. He didn't want to hear it in March. In July he called to thank me — and to send me his next deal. EBITDA WITHOUT CASH FLOW IS A TRAP, AND MOST BUYERS CAN'T SEE IT: "You couldn't walk his warehouse and steal 10 pieces and he wouldn't know." That's not a vibe, that's a control failure. 17 years and 40 plumbing deals at the same EBITDA band means I've seen this exact movie — I know what's good, bad, and fatal. HE CHEATED ON ME WITH A CHEAP QoE PROVIDER AND LANDED IN DEAL HELL: Saved $5K in incremental fee, closed a deal I'd have flagged, and now he's paying for it in ways that don't show up on a fee schedule. Six months later he called to tell me exactly that. THE GUY I YELLED AT IS NOW MY #1 REFERRAL SOURCE: "Worst deal I've seen in 17 years." Tense for three minutes, then he killed the deal. Now his bank sends me deals and we talk 3-4 times a week. Find the advisor who'll risk the relationship to tell you the truth. AN $8K QoE BUYS YOU A REPORT, NOT A FIGHT: At that price nobody's calling you on Easter, nobody's yelling at you, nobody's talking you out of the deal that eats five years of your life. You're paying for judgment, not a PDF.