Welcome back, Owners.
This week I sit down with Zach Mutnik, a Navy vet who left a stable career to buy an electrical business off Biz Buy Sell with zero ownership experience.
We get into the $1.7 million SBA deal, the lawsuits he inherited nobody warned him about, why he'd choose an asset purchase next time, and the working capital gap most buyers never plan for.
The lessons here are the kind you usually only get after paying for them yourself.
Most acquisition failures don't show up at close.
They show up eight months later when financing is locked, the team is inherited, and the operator finds the gap between the deal on paper and the business they actually own.
THE CORE INSIGHT
Diligence is usually treated as a financial exercise and the steps are - Verify revenue, Confirm the multiple, Sign.
That's not wrong. It's incomplete.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Structure the deal as an asset purchase by default. A stock purchase means you inherit the entity's full history, including undisclosed liabilities. An asset purchase ring-fences the past to the seller.
Get an itemized inventory, not a dollar estimate. "Equipment: $7,500" tells you nothing about condition or completeness. Verify it line by line before you sign.
Finance more working capital than the model says you need. Transition periods always cost more than projected. Unused capital is cheap insurance. A shortfall mid-transition can be fatal.
Separate real revenue from revenue that just happened once. Check for seasonal spikes, one-time events, and customer concentration before you price the deal off trailing numbers.
Lead with presence, not authority, in the first weeks. Work alongside the inherited team before changing anything. Early turnover after acquisition is one of the fastest ways to lose the value you paid for.
THE MECHANISM
Reputation and revenue quality are the two most commonly skipped checks during an acquisition because neither shows up cleanly in a financial statement.
A stock purchase carries the business's existing reviews and reputation forward, good and bad. And a strong revenue year driven by one event or one client isn't a trend, it's an anomaly wearing a trend's clothes. Both require direct verification: talk to customers, pull the receivables, ask what actually drove the numbers.
ONE THING TO DO THIS WEEK
If you're evaluating a deal, pull the seller's revenue by month for the last three years and flag any spike over 20 percent. Ask what caused it before you factor it into your valuation.
OWNABLE IDEA
Ownable Score: 73 / 100
Busy professionals want results but won't make time for the gym. You bring the workout to them - home or office, and get paid a premium for the convenience and the accountability.
$480 per client per month
$35 cost per session
$4,320 LTV based on 9-month average retention
Path to $10,000 per month at 25 clients
No facility needed to start. A set of portable equipment, a training protocol, and a LinkedIn outreach list is enough to book the first clients.
How would you fill your first 5 clients?
EXIT LISTING OF THE DAY
FlexCore Fitness Studio - Tampa, FL
Asking: $347,000
Revenue: $1,247,000
Profit: $136,170
Multiple: 2.5x
340 active members.
89% annual retention.
65+ weekly classes across functional training, yoga fusion, and specialized programs.
6 certified trainers plus front desk staff in place.
Owner exiting for health reasons - asset sale, financing available, 3 months of transition support included.
Prime Westchase location with limited direct competition, a proprietary training method driving retention, and established physical therapy referral relationships. Diversified revenue across memberships, personal training, nutrition coaching, and retail.
What would you check first before making an offer?
Join the wait-list for Bootstrapper ONE
You've been showing up.
Let this be my way of showing up for you.
— Chris Sacchinelli
P.S. If this is the kind of thinking that lands for you, forward it to one founder who needs ownable systems more than another hack.
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We actively invest in B2B service and SaaS businesses who prioritize building a long-term sustainable business.
