“I went in knowing nothing. I could not have dreamed of where I am now”

Happy Friday!

Earlier this week, I told you about Adam, a laid-off tech professional who submitted five accepted LOIs, watched four of them fall apart, and closed on the world’s largest pet sitter membership association using a HELOC for his down payment.

Today, you’ll get his biggest lessons from that deal, and access to our full conversation about how he pulled it off. 👇

Before sharing Adam’s top 3 takeaways, here’s a great Acquisition Ace community success spotlight story.

Kris bought a $2.6M oil field service company while keeping his full-time job at Chevron, and he’s now making $250K/year in passive income.

He went from knowing nothing to closing a multi-million dollar deal in 5 months.

👉 Want to learn exactly how to navigate lenders and close your first deal? Book a call with our team here.

“I went in knowing nothing. I could not have dreamed of where I am now. If I could do it, I promise you can do it - you just have to take the leap.”

That’s what Adam told me after closing his first acquisition, co-founding an investment company, and accumulating ownership stakes in six businesses…

All within just two years of getting laid off from a tech job.

3 key takeaways from our conversation

1. A discrepancy in the SDE can be used as leverage

Adam discovered the stated SDE of $450K was actually closer to $350K once he identified an operational role the seller had quietly removed from the expense calculation.

Rather than walking away, he used that gap to negotiate a $230K seller note on full standby, which brought his required equity injection down and made the deal’s economics work.

Finding problems in due diligence isn’t failure. It’s how you protect yourself and improve your terms.

2. Your personal capital structure matters as much as the deal structure

Adam used a HELOC instead of personal cash for his down payment, because his HELOC carried a lower interest rate than the SBA loan.

He consciously chose the cheaper cost of capital to prioritize business cash flow and DSCR.

Most buyers don’t think about their personal capital this strategically. Adam did, and it meaningfully improved his year-one returns.

(Adam’s fifth accepted LOI was his first closed deal. Inside Acquisition Ace, members develop the persistence and deal evaluation skills to keep going when earlier deals fall apart. If you’d like access to our community too, book a call with our team here to see if it’s a good fit.)

3. Don’t fall in love with a deal

Adam had five accepted LOIs, but four of them didn’t close.

So, he kept refining his criteria, learning from each process, and applying it forward…

And the deal he eventually closed was the best one he’d seen.

This week’s action item

Pull up the SIM or financials on any deal you’re currently evaluating and look specifically for roles or expenses that seem to be missing.

Ask yourself: who is actually doing this work right now, and is that cost reflected in the SDE?

If the answer is no, you’ve found a conversation worth having before you go any further.

To hear the full story of how Adam closed this deal and built a portfolio from scratch…

Watch our full interview here.

P.S. Adam said he could not have dreamed of where he ended up, and that none of it would have been possible without Acquisition Ace.

Two years ago he knew nothing about acquisitions…

Today? He owns six businesses.

If you’re ready to start that journey…

👉 Book a call with our team here to see how the Acquisition Ace community could help you acquire your first business.