Dave

Entrepreneur | Active in Lower Middle Market M&A | Happily married 22 years and father of 3 | LDS

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@pinpulleddrmf Let's chat @dmbkparker. Christian, shoot him my info

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@housleyd Ha! Not actually related. Funny enough, though my wife gets mistaken for his wife (same name) frequently as they are in our stake. They also have twin daughters as do we.

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@philly_smb West
Coast

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

Who are my turnaround PE Pros?
Acquisition Opportunity (Turn Around)

Equipment Leasing Turnaround Platform
Revenue: ~$10M+
Historical EBITDA: $5M+ range (pre-current situation)

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@Slackwatercap Well said Ben. I agree

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

Friday, we had to let one of our managers go.

He had been neglecting things for months, and we finally uncovered that he was the problem.

Saturday morning, his wife emails me....Yep, his wife!

She wrote how we better be a good reference and how terrible his boss is, and how his boss would ruin everything 🤯. We had loads of data internally and from clients that say otherwise.

It was one of the strangest emails I've ever received.

Who can top this...bring it.

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@tahoetreeguy @theownerop Congrats Leo! Not a bad place to start a biz. Tahoe is one of our favorite places.

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

💡Quick M&A tip:
Before you close, check the resumés of the “leaders” you’re inheriting.

Title ≠ qualified.

We’ve been burned before—sellers sometimes sneak unqualified people into big roles right before close.

Catch it early. Save yourself the headache

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

Yep.

I told them if people knew who they were and that this happened, they’d go bankrupt. They then said they’d refund my recent month's payment. Took them 17 hours to go through their org chart and logs to find their error.

They originally said they couldn’t change anything without authorization from the "Admin" 🤯

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

Had a SaaS company today (one we were testing in marketing) accidentally swap me out for another person outside our org as the main admin for users, billing, etc., and then wondered why I was canceling.

They thought it was no big deal 🙄

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@Tx_smb I should show the screenshots from my conversation with customer support. I was baffled.

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

Had one of those moments this week where a big New York tech client came back after leaving 2-months ago to find a “cheaper option” when we told him we needed to raise his prices.

Baulked at the higher price again this week but we stuck to our guns.

Just signed the new contract, which includes closing and cleanup of the last 2-months 😆

Know your value, others will too. Also don’t overcomplicate things.

I’m sure his VC is pissed that his books are now behind. For what? Trying to save a few bucks?

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@SBA_Matthias Thanks Matthias

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

Had a call yesterday with a potential acquisition target. Got their financials, they went from $16M -> $13M ->$10M on track to $8M this year.

After seeing their financials, I said "This is a turnaround, you don't want to sell now".

Their main problem is their comp model, paying consultants way too much, and their drop in revenue was from 2 customers leaving. Never done any sales or marketing for 30 years, their contractors just bring in leads if they feel like it.

So I said,
"Look let us help you get this turned around. Bring in a fractional CFO and right size your comp model, bring in a marketer so you have steady leads, and bring in a fractional CRO to get your sales process built out correctly.

Let's revisit in 2-3 years when your EBITDA is closer to $3M and you'll get a better multiple, in fact I'll be a buyer."

Turned a lost opportunity into a sales opportunity and helped the seller get more value.

Ended the call she said "Thank you so much Dave, you could have just said pass and went about your business but the advice you gave me is invaluable, let's do this."

This is how relationships of trust are created and you stand out as a buyer.

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@RoryRascal Make sure you’re following so I can send a dm

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

Spent the last 2 years aggregating acquisition resources, it took FOREVER! I compiled all my resources into one FREE spreadsheet for you.

Best Acquisition sites, lenders, investors, attorneys, due diligence providers, ETA events & more.

Like & comment, DM me for access!

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@Tx_smb Sent

[Dave @Dave__Gilbert]

@jnortonma John give me a call