rust but verify."

The words that today's guest will live by going forward.

Now, you're probably thinking they apply to the seller of the business that he bought.

But this is a story where our protagonist's partner is the culprit.

It was the eleventh hour in Josh Key's acquisition of a small plumbing company, and his SBA lender springs on him that they want to see a master plumber on the cap table.

He's left scrambling, but he recalls meeting a plumber through his church.

This plumber was in his early 60s, so years of experience, and eager to be an entrepreneur himself.

A perfect fit for what Josh needed — it would seem.

Flash forward: the business has been run into the ground, and Josh has had to file for Chapter 7.

And much of this fiasco he attributes to his — now ex — partner.

To be sure, there were missteps by Josh. He is open & self-critical about those.

Indeed a lot of this interview is an autopsy of what he could have done better, the woulda-shoulda-coulda decision points.

And you'll hear that much of it boils down to those 3 words that we started with.

If you're partnering with someone you don't really know, you need to diligence that individual just as thoroughly as you diligence the business you're buying.

As with other Acquiring Minds guests who share their stories of acquisition-gone-wrong, we thank Josh for his courage to come on stage here so that others might learn from his travails.

Here he is, Josh Key, former owner of a small plumbing business in Dallas-Fort Worth.