I Analyzed 300+ Businesses and Found This KEY to Successful Acquisitions

Discover what really works in business buying from someone who’s analyzed over 300 small business acquisitions. Whether you're an entrepreneur or operator looking to scale through acquisition, this is your roadmap to success. Learn the key patterns, pitfalls, and strategies that separate thriving deals from costly mistakes.

In this episode, we sit down with Jason Ehrlich an investor who transitioned from LP to GP, built a fund for small business buyers and self-funded searchers, and is deploying capital into enduringly profitable B2B businesses across towing, logistics, manufacturing, and more.

This conversation is a playbook for anyone in the ETA (entrepreneuship through Acquistion) space, entrepreneurs, fund managers, and investors alike—who want to create serious returns by backing the right operators and structuring smarter deals.

We break down: 
✅ Why enduring profitability beats high-growth flash 
✅ What LPs need to know before backing a fund 
✅ How to screen operators for character, not just competence 
✅ The structure behind 35% IRR targets and preferred equity returns 
✅ Why brokered deals aren’t the enemy—and proprietary deals aren’t always better 
✅ How to avoid common traps in due diligence (customer churn, working capital shocks, seller misreps) 
✅ Scaling smart: From one tow company to a mini roll-up

If you're an investor, operator, or business buyer serious about building wealth through small business acquisitions, this is a must-watch.

00:00 Investing Shift: From LP to Building a Fund
02:00 Why He Bet on Self-Funded Search
04:20 The $5M Fund, $600–800K Check Sizes
06:30 What Makes a Business “Enduringly Profitable”
09:00 From Two Tow Companies to Roll-Up Value Creation
11:45 The Playbook for Finding Quality Entrepreneurs
14:30 Structuring Preferred Equity + Step-Up Conversions
17:00 The Screening Process: 325 Interviews, 6 Deals
21:00 Red Flags in Due Diligence: Churn, Revenue Misreps
25:00 Real ROI from Avoiding Bad Operators
28:00 Inside Their Ideal Investment Criteria
31:00 Working Capital, Debt, and CapEx Insights
34:00 Why Stability better than Speculative Growth in SMBs
36:00 Operator Incentives, Exit Rights, and Deal Flow
39:00 What Most Searchers Get Wrong
41:00 Brokered Deals vs. Proprietary—The Truth
45:00 Smart Deal Terms: Forgivable Seller Notes, Protections
47:00 Fund Structure: 24% IRR Target, 7% Preferred
50:00 The Next $20M Fund—And Who Should Join

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