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From the Publisher
Buy Then Build- Walker Deibel
Walker Deibel is an entrepreneur and investor who has co-founded three startups, acquired seven companies outright, and has consulted or participated in over 100 business transactions. After the success of Buy Then Build he started an elite accelerator for acquisition entrepreneurs - the Acquisition Lab - to assist business buyers with world-class education and a vetted community. He is a Certified M&A Advisor and was awarded Thought Leader of the Year by the Alliance of M&A Advisors for his work on Buy Then Build, its impact on entrepreneurship, and its adoption into business schools.
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Buy an existing company rather than starting from scratchWalker Deibel spent 10 years acquiring companies outright, starting with less than 100,000 dollars and ultimately acquiring over 16 million in revenue, gaining access to millions along the way simply by leveraging an existing company’s track record. He took the risk and spent the time so you don’t have to. With Buy Then Build, his mission is to “democratize the private capital markets for entrepreneurs,” so they can learn to accelerate impact, growth, and value with this unconventional approach. |
Use ownership as a path to financial independence and impactThe fastest way for most people to gain autonomy and earn generational wealth is via business ownership. However, many realize these are only side benefits with the understanding that owning a business creates a vehicle for making an impact. |
Spend a fraction of the time raising capitalWhy give away the most valuable thing you have and reduce your control by selling equity? Why spend years convincing angels to invest instead of focusing on your business? Business acquisitions are based on solid economics, existing infrastructure, and historical earnings. This means bank loans are readily available and close in 2-3 months. So you can focus on building value. Even Gary Vee started with his parents’ wine shop and YouTube, not a SaaS innovation. #BuyThenBuild |
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Discover how to generate your own deal flow, and see new listings early to bypass the common struggles in searchBypass the common struggles of the search process by learning how to analyze and evaluate deals, as well as locating where the best-sellers are, and how to engage them. “A deftly written, exceedingly thorough, and highly informative business guide.” -Kirkus reviews |
Igniting a trendWalker’s expertise has attracted the attention of the media. He’s been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc., and Fast Company, triggering one of the hottest topics in entrepreneurship. He has spoken at multiple entrepreneurship conferences and graduate business schools including Columbia, Northwestern, and “Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition” Keynotes at Duke and MIT. |
Navigate the acquisition processThe private capital markets are an opaque and fragmented process. Buy Then Build will help you master the economics, benefits, and “how to” of entrepreneurship through acquisition. Our frameworks will help you source the right opportunities, get them funded, and get you building faster. |
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Verne Harnish“In Buy Then Build Walker Deibel creates a framework for entrepreneurs to capitalize on the biggest transfer of wealth in human history.” —Verne Harnish, Founder of Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO) and author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) |
Codie Sanchez“Buy Then Build should have been taught in every MBA program.” —Codie Sanchez, Founder of Contrarian Thinking, private equity investor, and owner of 26 businesses. |
Joe Valley“Buy Then Build is a total game-changer. I wish all entrepreneurs would read this.” —Joe Valley, Managing Partner, Quiet Light. Best-selling author of The EXITpreneur’s Playbook. |
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Customer reviews
4.7 out of 5
We don’t use a simple average to calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star. Our system gives more weight to certain factors—including how recent the review is and if the reviewer bought it on Amazon. Learn more
1,619 global ratings
Reviews with images
Definitely re-wiring my odds of doing business after reading this!
As I prepare to go to the Invest Like a Boss podcast meetup here in Chiang Mai on Jan 3, 2018 - I felt I should catch up on some reading about investing and this one was a new one with amazing reviews so I couldn’t help myself.Buy Then Build is a book about what the author calls a new trend for entrepreneurs - to be Acquisition Entrepreneurs.To start off the book, he makes the case that something like 90% of startups fail, and those that you say succeed simply become small to medium sized enterprises with nothing special. That the ones who win in the startup game are not the entrepreneurs, but the investors. They get to spread their bets across multiple startups and just need one to win, while the entrepreneur is all in on 1 startup with a 90% chance of failure.So Walker, the author, says to instead skip past the startup phase and buy an existing business with positive cash flow.It makes sense - as he shows the numbers of failures in this stage is something like 5% (95% success rate) so the complete inverse of the startup phase.Plus, it seems cheap! Paying 2 to 4 times of SDE (seller discretionary earnings) for a company that already has product market fit and is earning positive cashflow - compare that amount of investment with what you would need to do it from scratch.The real eye opener for me was that you can finance these acquisitions with the bank. And then pay yourself salary while also paying back the bank loan - and keep 100% of the company /equity (as its a loan not equity investment).Throughout the book you get step by step instructions and almost the exact wording to use when talking to brokers and the other players in the acquisition game.My favorite part is that the author says there is tons of opportunity to be creative in these companies you acquire - and that you need to know yourself and your own strengths. Not to look for a company by industry, but more for what suits your needs as an entrepreneur / investor.And what is even cooler, you can use that cashflow to invest in growth and leverage the existing customer base on a new technology. As all so many times when starting a company you are scrambling to get customers why not by an existing company, get financing, and then plug in your technology idea into it with its existing client base.Seems like a fun game that can be repeated every five years or so (plugs into a recent post I talked about 5 year plans 999999) and you can focus on your own strengths each time - applied to existing customer bases which need your skill set.My only concern, as an American in Asia, I probably can’t tap into these bank loan options. But for many of you reading this - if you have good credit and maybe a home to put up and your personal guarantee (as a US person) it can be a great way to jump right into entrepreneurship.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019
Buy Then Build is a book about what the author calls a new trend for entrepreneurs - to be Acquisition Entrepreneurs.
To start off the book, he makes the case that something like 90% of startups fail, and those that you say succeed simply become small to medium sized enterprises with nothing special. That the ones who win in the startup game are not the entrepreneurs, but the investors. They get to spread their bets across multiple startups and just need one to win, while the entrepreneur is all in on 1 startup with a 90% chance of failure.
So Walker, the author, says to instead skip past the startup phase and buy an existing business with positive cash flow.
It makes sense - as he shows the numbers of failures in this stage is something like 5% (95% success rate) so the complete inverse of the startup phase.
Plus, it seems cheap! Paying 2 to 4 times of SDE (seller discretionary earnings) for a company that already has product market fit and is earning positive cashflow - compare that amount of investment with what you would need to do it from scratch.
The real eye opener for me was that you can finance these acquisitions with the bank. And then pay yourself salary while also paying back the bank loan - and keep 100% of the company /equity (as its a loan not equity investment).
Throughout the book you get step by step instructions and almost the exact wording to use when talking to brokers and the other players in the acquisition game.
My favorite part is that the author says there is tons of opportunity to be creative in these companies you acquire - and that you need to know yourself and your own strengths. Not to look for a company by industry, but more for what suits your needs as an entrepreneur / investor.
And what is even cooler, you can use that cashflow to invest in growth and leverage the existing customer base on a new technology. As all so many times when starting a company you are scrambling to get customers why not by an existing company, get financing, and then plug in your technology idea into it with its existing client base.
Seems like a fun game that can be repeated every five years or so (plugs into a recent post I talked about 5 year plans 999999) and you can focus on your own strengths each time - applied to existing customer bases which need your skill set.
My only concern, as an American in Asia, I probably can’t tap into these bank loan options. But for many of you reading this - if you have good credit and maybe a home to put up and your personal guarantee (as a US person) it can be a great way to jump right into entrepreneurship.
Definitely re-wiring my odds of doing business after reading this!
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019
As I prepare to go to the Invest Like a Boss podcast meetup here in Chiang Mai on Jan 3, 2018 - I felt I should catch up on some reading about investing and this one was a new one with amazing reviews so I couldn’t help myself.Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019
Buy Then Build is a book about what the author calls a new trend for entrepreneurs - to be Acquisition Entrepreneurs.
To start off the book, he makes the case that something like 90% of startups fail, and those that you say succeed simply become small to medium sized enterprises with nothing special. That the ones who win in the startup game are not the entrepreneurs, but the investors. They get to spread their bets across multiple startups and just need one to win, while the entrepreneur is all in on 1 startup with a 90% chance of failure.
So Walker, the author, says to instead skip past the startup phase and buy an existing business with positive cash flow.
It makes sense - as he shows the numbers of failures in this stage is something like 5% (95% success rate) so the complete inverse of the startup phase.
Plus, it seems cheap! Paying 2 to 4 times of SDE (seller discretionary earnings) for a company that already has product market fit and is earning positive cashflow - compare that amount of investment with what you would need to do it from scratch.
The real eye opener for me was that you can finance these acquisitions with the bank. And then pay yourself salary while also paying back the bank loan - and keep 100% of the company /equity (as its a loan not equity investment).
Throughout the book you get step by step instructions and almost the exact wording to use when talking to brokers and the other players in the acquisition game.
My favorite part is that the author says there is tons of opportunity to be creative in these companies you acquire - and that you need to know yourself and your own strengths. Not to look for a company by industry, but more for what suits your needs as an entrepreneur / investor.
And what is even cooler, you can use that cashflow to invest in growth and leverage the existing customer base on a new technology. As all so many times when starting a company you are scrambling to get customers why not by an existing company, get financing, and then plug in your technology idea into it with its existing client base.
Seems like a fun game that can be repeated every five years or so (plugs into a recent post I talked about 5 year plans 999999) and you can focus on your own strengths each time - applied to existing customer bases which need your skill set.
My only concern, as an American in Asia, I probably can’t tap into these bank loan options. But for many of you reading this - if you have good credit and maybe a home to put up and your personal guarantee (as a US person) it can be a great way to jump right into entrepreneurship.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2024
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2024
Top reviews from other countries
Raúl Cerón
the new economic limiter is uncovered in this book!
Reviewed in Mexico on September 27, 2022Amazon Customer
An outstanding how-to guide for acquisition entrepreneurs
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 4, 2020
Amazon Customer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 4, 2020
One of the best books I've read this year, I fully recommend it!
Images in this review
CG
A must read for everyone who seriously considers to become a self employed entrepreneur!!
Reviewed in Germany on January 31, 2019