joke with today's guest about how much went right on his journey of business acquisition.

The business had over $1m of earnings.

The entry multiple was good.

The sellers wanted Adam Vandermyde so badly that they agreed to a purchase price and to hire him as CEO so he could de-risk the opportunity in his own mind before committing to close.

Adam liked what he saw as CEO and did commit, then proceeded to improve the company's revenue mix and professionalize operations over the next few years as owner himself.

When PE took an interest in the category, the big regional footprint of Adam's business made it strategically desirable.

He ran a process, and exited for $14.5m. He owned 80% of the business.

So a lot did go right for Adam—but of course it wasn't all roses.

On the contrary, there were months on the knife's edge.

We spend time on what was the most dire stretch of his ownership, when the company had to completely rip up and redo a multi-month project. The ensuing cash crunch led to five separate instances of Adam's CFO sounding the alarm that there were only 2 weeks of cash left.

"It was the scariest, toughest, hardest thing I've ever done without a doubt," says Adam.

This interview is a great study in de-risking your acquisition on the way in, adding value to a B2B blue collar business, and recognizing a good time to sell.

Here's Adam Vandermyde, former owner of Petro West.