ames Bloom bought small.

The commercial HVAC business he acquired in 2019 was generating less than $400k SDE and had only 8 employees.

It also had heavy customer concentration, with 2 clients representing a significant share of revenue.

But James saw both of these features — the small size, and the 2 big clients — as opportunities, not deal breakers.

Being a quite-small business meant there was likely more runway for growth, growth that James would be rewarded for.

And the 2 clients were household names, which suggested that the company he was buying had the capacity to satisfy demanding customers. It was a signal that there was a really strong team at the business.

Well 4 years later, and James' insights have delivered.

Revenue has grown 8 times, to a projected $25m by the end of 2023, and a large part of that growth was enabled by the high competence of the core team that James inherited.

So, this is a $25m business that James acquired for just $785k, just 4 years ago.

Today's conversation is a deep dive into how he's done it.

Enjoy this interview with James Bloom, owner of Excel Mechanical Contractors.