Bot a small dying trades edu company, now trying to grow 100%

Joined February 2024
9 months post-close on first self-funded search deal, a $300k EBITDA professional edu company bought for 3x: -standard advice to buy >$500k EBITDA is totally right. I take out >$200k tc including family health insurance, and the resulting (slight) cash-burn is stressful + brutal
19
4
8
227
95,192
Gave $100 to great local dem in tight congressional race, first tiny political donation ever, as indy voter who despises trump (and commies). huge mistake! at least 10 spam texts daily from every horrible pritzer/warren type. STOP doesn't stop them. don't ever do it
164
Amazing hiring call, found perfect candidate for a top growth opp after dozens of easy No's over 3 months. V likely >10% revs boost. For one of the first times, feeling WAGMI, and 100% growth "guidance" achievable next year. Now my balls will probably get kicked again this pm.
2
1
298
Not the worst use for expiring GPT resets
1
187
After moving from investor to operator seat last year, increasingly judging most of my old investor friends as lazy, "low agency," and unaware of 99% relevant AI use-cases. And I was lazier than them when we worked together! RIP the vanishing beautiful long-only flaneur life.
1
7
492
mom and 3 cubs a mile away from my house on the run today
4
275
Long weekend with mom
2
3
270
this is why my ebitda is cash-flow negative
74
Bidding 2x on a shrinking bolt-on yesterday, with $40k LTM EBITDA down from $60k peak. "We turned down an offer twice as high before going to market" I don't believe you, but maybe somebody does want these and there is occasionally a tiny bit of competition
Replying to @Goulderbilt
tiny smb. I paid 3x really stupidly. nobody wants these, there is an infinite supply of them, you have no competition, don't pay 3x. or do this at all unless you have degen risk tolerance like me. -geographic search is tough in small market like mine (100k city), but so worth it
6
13
3,419
somebody in professional education searchtwit needs to take this one out
may i interest you in a shrinking dick pills drop shipper?
1
302
amazing one-star google review response from an irrigation contractor
1
4
484
may i interest you in a shrinking dick pills drop shipper?
1
1
1
686
no, prefer an onlyfans knockoff with no payment processing for $15k "The platform used to employ Stripe for processing payments, but this partnership has concluded, prompting the founders to consider selling the business."
117
my two real jobs as president of acquired co are automating systems and hiring. automating is just yelling at claude all day, and basic stuff like outsourcing materials printing vs. doing it all in-house on crappy slow consumer inkjets 🤡 hiring is really difficult and the most
5
8
696
he would start PT with us while continuing to run his own contractor. 20+ years experience, entrepreneur, top trade license in his state. our next hiring step is a visit to one of our classes and dinner. we book him two nights at hotel, send all materials for class, I get ready
1
94
to drive 7 hours RT to meet him and pack car. ...and he just completely ghosts a no-show back to drawing board. hotel costs not refundable. at a minimum, a future candidate will book his own hotel and only get reimbursed after showing up! will he steal our IP and compete now?
3
98
-if you buy from bad seller, but inherit great employees, and then you want to grow fast, you need to pay them a lot more immediately the ebitda your bid capitalizes should include higher-salary adjustments remember, no competition for tiny dying shitcos! did I do this? no
2
24
5,175
-I envy recurring revs. even our $100k +80% months have $0 days. I try not to stare at shopify like bloomberg, but it sucks. still believe remaining "search alpha" is project-based, ie roofing. with great reputation, SEO, marketing, sales are reoccurring enough, and mults lower.
3
30
4,435