Stroke of the pen risk.

It's what you take on when the business you buy benefits from a law or regulation. Because a law can be unwritten.

‍Today's guest bought exactly that kind of business — then went to the state capitol to make the law better.

Jack Rauch and his brother bought Tew & Taylor in West Palm Beach, a "private provider."

That's Florida's privatized alternative to the building department for plan review and inspections. Most of you have never heard of private providers. Neither had I.

They bought it as a side hustle, and kept their day jobs.

That didn't last. Jack doubled revenue in his first year, doubled it again in his second, left consulting and New York behind, and today runs four offices across Florida.

As for that pen stroke risk:

Jack took leadership of the industry's trade association and lobbied Tallahassee, winning a mandated 50% permit fee discount for customers who use a private provider.

I haven't heard of searchers going on offense like this with regulation.

Also, Jack bought the $2.1m business with no SBA loan. No bank would touch him, so he had to find the money elsewhere. It's a great example of finding debt if your deal doesn't fit the SBA box.

Finally, listen for his in-house AI hire — a young developer building with Claude Code what Jack says would have cost millions pre-AI. This is a picture of where small business is going.

Here is Jack Rauch, co-owner of Tew & Taylor.