Kevin Bibelhausen
@bibelhausen
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Investing in Acquisition Entrepreneurs @fruitioncap . Raising capital for a deal between $1-2m in EBITDA? I've been both a sponsor and investor. DMs open.
Charlotte, NC
Joined June 2009
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Two years ago on NYE, I went all-in on my dream of acquiring an existing business. It was anything but a linear or traditional path.
I had recently been accepted into the MBA program at Fuqua and was planning on continuing my path in healthcare leadership.
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I proved dozens of bankers wrong.
My journey of convincing the SBA to allow subordination of business assets for a line of credit wasn't easy.
After appearing on Acquiring Minds, I spoke with many of you and you continued to ask about the conclusion to this story.
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SMB ownership is a roller coaster. The highs are incredible and the lows are extreme.
Earlier this week was a low point. This community rallied behind me to help solve working capital issues and offer support for the related emotional stress.
I don't come from money. I grew
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@dieworkwear
Right is handmade. Left shows machine perfect stitches and right is softer and imperfect.
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Wonder what it's like to acquire and operate an SMB?
Here are the first 100 days of my experience of acquiring and running Heritage Fabrics.
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Last year, I was admitted to the hospital for a heart condition due to Covid. After 5 min in the ER, a physician told me I would need a heart transplant. I was 30.
I spent 2021 in and out of the hospital with a continuous IV infusion and a weekly visit from a home health nurse.
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After being dropped by an equity partner 3 days before my LOI was signed, I was faced with a choice: tell the broker and spike the deal or put on my big boy pants and figure it out.
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🚨We did it SMBTwit🚨
Equity raise is oversubscribed! It took roughly 5 weeks with commitments totaling $800k
Without this community, I'd be nowhere.
Keep grinding, everyone!
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@lawyer4SMBs
I feel like I understand the heart of this crowd.
It’s less about jealousy and more about tax policy. Why should the effective tax rate be lower for HNW individuals than the people they employ?
I honestly think if the effective tax rates of both groups were logically aligned,
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Why invest in self funded searchers?
We're a scrappy bunch. Many of us maintain jobs while we search for 40+ hours a week and are the kind of people who will crawl over broken glass for our dreams.
Don't count us out.
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SMB bros when an HVAC company hits the market with a 3x EBITDA asking price.
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@CFO_PE_VC
@luke_brocks
@SMB_Attorney
Took the words right out of my mouth. This is typical corporate bullshit.
1. The executives decided to approve the extra headcount based on some PowerPoint.
2. They did not realize the projected results.
3. Interest rates rose and suddenly cash was more valuable. This
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I started my MBA, bought a ranch, and in less than a week, I'll close on my SMB.
@SBibelhausen
and I are starting a new chapter living in DFW and Charlotte. We'll figure it out. Always have.
If there's anything I've learned, it's that we're capable of far more than we think.
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Move to Florida they said.
It’ll be fun they said.
Let this be a lesson to any of you nice midwesterners: Florida man syndrome is real and anyone can be infected.
Exhibit A: a Michigan man who moved to Florida for a better “quality of life”.
Or so he thought.
Now he’s a
I don’t want to pay capital gains tax on invested money that was already taxed.
I don’t want to pay property tax on the home I “own” forever.
I don’t want to pay estate tax when I die on what I’ve saved.
I understand we’re now stuck with these.
But, they make zero sense.
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My toxic SMB owner trait is I always feel like I'm going to run out of cash.
Anybody else as neurotic as me?
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I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t buy a home services business… all I’m saying is that if you think a bit more broadly, you can do cool stuff like travel to an international trade show in business class on Singapore Airlines.
But plumbing is cool, too.
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What’s closing an SBA loan like as a borrower?
It’s like waking up every morning and getting repeatedly kicked in the balls until it’s time to go to bed. Then you get up and do it again.
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Ladies and gentlemen, we closed!
🍾🥂
Big day tomorrow… we’re closing on Project Fabric and starting a new chapter.
I want to contribute more to the community and would love to hear what SMBTwit would like to hear from a new CEO. I’m planning to write and document the journey.
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Day 1 in the books.
Who you buy from matters. The relationship I’ve built with the owner and the mutual trust we have gives him the confidence to pick up the phone and tell customers “Kevin is our kind of guy”.
Can’t imagine a better compliment.
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Well this is quite the headline! 🎉💥
I’m incredibly honored (if not surprised) to be at the top of this list among other incredible M&A lawyers, but it’s a testament to the incredible team we’ve built at
@smblawgroup
.
And to our incredible clients!
And we have this entire
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@alexforbes__
Personally, I think this is the easy button when you don’t feel comfortable doing interior design. It can be nice/high quality, but a bit sterile and soulless.
I’m curious, do you typically work directly with consumers or designers?
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SMBtwit, if you’re home for the holidays and getting side eyes and shaking heads about buying a business, you’re not alone.
I’m proud of all of you out there chasing your dreams and building the lives you want.
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@emilykmay
No, no, no. You’re not understanding.
When government power is wielded like a theocracy that ascribes to the very specific creed I adhere to, then it’s very legal and very cool.
Otherwise, keep the government out of our lives!
Unless, you know, it supports Christo- Fascism.
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Does anyone think there's a market for an SMB fractional CTO?
I'm thinking like a "done for you" digital transformation service and ongoing technology consultant.
I've got an enterprise IT executive background and I'd love to apply those skills more broadly.
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Day 58:
Hey Twitter, help me find this kid and in addition to sending him free fabric, I’ll hire him to help make products to sell online.
Go, go, go!
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I promise it gets easier once you’re in the game and you buy your first business.
Deals chase you.
I’ve got a deal on the line which will add $2m in revenue for 80% seller financing.
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Anybody in the SMB search community feel like sharing some positivity? I’m struggling today and I could use an understanding ear or even a recent win in the comments section 👇
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@SMB_Attorney
This is the type of due diligence I expect from
@SMB_Attorney
. Nothing gets by this guy.
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Getting our first e-commerce order after spending a year building the website from scratch.
$1,300, baby. A brick in the wall.
We haven't even publicly launched yet 👀
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I’ve replaced the “Sunday Scaries” from my corporate days with “Friday Freakout” as an entrepreneur.
I worry about HR issues, cash forecasts, growing top line, creeping expenses, etc.
It’s a super fun ritual I’ve developed. 10/10. Do not recommend.
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@3YearLetterman
Coach, this guy deserves a contract for your youth football team. He’s in game shape already.
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If you buy a company in your late 20s or early 30s, your employees may not tell you the age disparity bothers them… but it’s certainly the case for some of them.
When tensions flare, it doesn’t take long to be compared to their similarly aged children.
Tough.
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Raising money for an acquisition?
Raise more than the 10% you think you need.
It doesn't have to be a lot, but having extra cash on your balance sheet is CRITICAL in the early days post-close.
Worried about giving up additional equity? Get over it.
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@SullyBusiness
Honestly? Rich Dad Poor Dad. He's gone off the deep end and the book is fiction...but it's a great way to introduce someone to a new way of thinking.
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Day 10:
What does my business have to do with the hit TV series
@Yellowstone
?
We provided the fabric for the chairs on the front porch.
Is Heritage Fabrics responsible for the massive success of the show? Who’s to say…
Yes.
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If you acquire a business with a long sales cycle, it can be hard to know if what you're doing is effective.
A long sales cycle feels like you're blindfolded and trying to navigate a large room.
You just have to trust your instincts.
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Ladies and Gentlemen: We have Q1 growth YoY 🚀
Last year was the lowest year we've experienced since Covid. It was a blood bath in the home industry. Just ask
@huntercdurham
.
To remain profitable and even grow EBITDA margins while experiencing declining revenue and no working
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With the encouragement of several mentors, I successfully raised $800k in 5 weeks from “public domain” investors. This was Q4 of 2022, which means my holiday season was spent on my phone dialing for dollars.
I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
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The hardest lesson I continue to learn as a new SMB owner & CEO is that managing my emotions is substantially more difficult than managing operations.
Operations are like riding a bike. Emotions vary wildly and nobody is better at psyching you out than you.
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Closed mouths don’t get fed.
I’m working with a searcher who found a business close to his heart: Behavioral therapy practice treating the same disorders his son has.
Broker listed it for 7x on 400k of EBITDA.
He has a 1:1 with the seller and she wasn’t aware of seller
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If you’re trying to get into the SMB game, I’m all for helping you on your journey… but don’t ask me to do your work for you.
There is more information out there than when I bought (nothing in 2018, growing community in 2021-2) and anything I didn’t know or connections I
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🚨 SMB Investment Opportunity 🚨
Fruition Capital has committed $1m to an independent sponsor deal with an EBITDA of $3.3m priced at 3.7x.
There is about $2m in equity remaining.
If you’re interested in investing $500k+ into an independent sponsor deal, this is a great
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Last night, I checked the business bank account and one of my first 6 figure invoices was paid by a national retail client.
I felt like a god.
I think I’ll keep chasing this feeling…
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Day 13:
“It’s like you’ve been here for years”
A compliment paid to me by the seller on the relationships I’ve already built with the team.
Legacy doesn’t always matter in a sale. When it does, sellers want to see you care about the people who built it.
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Are you under LOI on a B2B company producing $1-2m in EBITDA annually?
If you intend to raise capital for your deal, send me a DM. Fruition Capital had a couple of deals fall apart at the finish line.
Our check size is between $600-800k.
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Big day tomorrow… we’re closing on Project Fabric and starting a new chapter.
I want to contribute more to the community and would love to hear what SMBTwit would like to hear from a new CEO. I’m planning to write and document the journey.
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To that end, I’ve recently accepted an offer to become a GP for Fruition Capital, a firm focused on closing the equity gap for self-funded searchers who have equity needs larger than they’re comfortable raising from “friends & family”.
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How do you all have the time to go to every single ETA conference?
Is this what happens when you just hire an operator to run your 90% LTV PG'd company?
Has everyone but me reached step 4: Bro Down?
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🚨 SMB job alert 🚨
I’m hiring a controller (remote).
I’m wondering if there’s someone in the SMB community who would like to work with me on growing Heritage, working on M&A opportunities, etc.
I’m also considering offshore, but I think this would be a good opportunity for
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@SMB_Attorney
You’re an attorney but you bleed entrepreneurship. With everything you’ve gone through personally, I honestly don’t think someone deserves the success coming their way more than you. You’re the friend I brag about to other people.
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This platform is pretty incredible. You can ask for help and get dozens of helpful messages and friends checking in.
This shit is hard, but there’s nothing I’d rather be doing. I’m built for the tough times.
When my heart gave out, I told friends and family the only reason I
Does anyone see a therapist they’d recommend? I need to talk to someone and it can’t be a peer or employee.
Idk if I need a therapist or a business coach.
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Day 2:
As the former owner aged, the staff worried the business would be sold to a strategic acquirer who would relocate the business and cut jobs.
I could see the relief on their faces today knowing the future is clear.
The stakes are real in SMB. It’s a privilege.
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Utilizing an SBA loan to buy a business is one of the best opportunities for wealth creation available to my generation.
The risks of using 90%+/- leverage are worth it.
That being said, I can’t wait to own my business debt free.
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@BowTiedBroke
Honestly, I get it. I have an existential crisis every time I go into a Home Depot and wonder why I own a home.
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Working on submitting another LOI for a business this week.
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Will is an excellent interviewer and we had a lot of fun recording this.
I hope this is encouraging to anyone who comes from a non-traditional background and wants to jump in the SMB deep end.
If you want it bad enough, make it happen.
My takeaway from today's interview:
How quickly someone can transform their life when they buy a business.
In 2 years,
@bibelhausen
:
* Raised $800k from investors that he did not already know...
* To buy a business valued at almost $8 million...
and...
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If you’re modeling for an SMB acquisition and plan on using the SBA, you better take a sober look at the economic environment.
If your plan is hoping that interest rates go down in order to get some breathing room in your DSCR, you’re gonna have a bad time.
Hope isn’t a
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Wow! 3,000 followers — crazy journey from a couple of years ago when I learned about this community.
A quick introduction for new followers:
✅Bought a textile SMB in Charlotte, NC in January 2023 after trying and failing to acquire in 2018.
✅Moved from a 7 acre horse
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It’s a weird milestone, but there’s currently a closed door meeting happening in my conference room that I’m not part of.
This is a baby step in delegation and letting the team have more responsibility and control.
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One thing I wasn't prepared for before buying a business is the amount of time you spend networking.
When I was in corporate, I may have gone to a conference but my interactions were primarily internal and some select customers.
Now, I spend the majority of my day on the
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@SMB_Attorney
Remote work made corporate life more tolerable and I HATED commuting to the office and wasting my time.
Now that I own a company and live 5 min away, suddenly I enjoy being in the office. I think it’s 70% ownership and 30% proximity.
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Who has advice for the first few days/ weeks post acquisition? Anything you wish the seller did/ didn’t do? What did you say when you were introduced to the team?
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Your first CEO lesson? Outsource the things you suck at, hate, or just don’t have time for (often the same things!).
If you’re a searcher or investor and this resonates with you, I encourage you to reach out. As Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders said, “I ain’t hard to find”.
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I applied for b school at Duke while in the hospital. It gave me something to look forward to.
About this time last year, I recovered enough to have my PICC line removed. On NYE 2021, I decided in addition to starting my MBA, I'd quit my job and buy an SMB by the end of 2022.
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I’m still waiting for someone to tell me about a better way to catapult you on to another economic rung.
I don’t think it exists.
WSS: Bruce, I have executed an LOI to purchase a business for $6,400,000
I believe I’m the right buyer BUT my personal net worth is less than $100,000
Can I get an SBA loan to acquire this business?
So, what do you think ?
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Incredibly burnt out this Friday.
Feels like I’ve been living in Groundhog Day for the last month.
We’re so close to some massive breakthroughs but it’s exhausting to have to keep swinging until the ball breaks our way.
Patience is difficult in this game.
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It's not all sunshine and rainbows.
As a business owner, I find myself experiencing extreme mood swings as I react to the various things that come across my desk throughout the day.
Letting the roller coaster of emotions impact you too much feels like a new CEO trap.
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Make phone calls great again. Not everything has to be a video meeting.
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Day 7:
One of the things that attracted me to Heritage Fabrics was its global footprint.
We have relationships all over the world. We buy from India and Turkey and are a fixture at trade shows in Germany, France and Italy.
All of a sudden, my travel schedule is full ✈️
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Day 35:
One thing about being a new SMB owner, you tend to have shiny object syndrome for every problem that is brought to you. Then suddenly, you're doing ALL THE PROJECTS and you wonder, "why am I so busy?"
Ask me how I know.
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Sometimes in SMB land, you open the warehouse doors, roll out the grill and celebrate the long weekend with your staff and co-tenants.
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I developed a somewhat bifurcated personality. I was upbeat and personable on the phone and in between calls, I would stare at the wall while having an existential crisis. Thank god for
@SBibelhausen
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Never forget ETA is a lonely journey.
Everybody is excited and encouraging, but when the dust settles, you’re alone.
Do not delude yourself into thinking otherwise.
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Day 17:
Don't be afraid to buy in an unfamiliar industry
I recently had the realization the workflow of Heritage is remarkably similar to pharmacy operations, where I spent a large portion of my career.
Take lessons learned and apply them to your new situation.
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SMB searchers waiting for Monday to start making calls and submitting LOIs
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