Hard to Kill: A Four-Part Framework for Evaluating Small Business Acquisitions

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As I’ve transitioned from operator to investor over the past 5 years or so, I’ve attempted to develop a general philosophy to guide my decision making, given that almost every investment decision seems to present me with a long list of reasons to be simultaneously hopeful and terrified.

The four-point framework that I present in today's episode is my attempt to add some structure and objectivity to these decisions. I’m not so vain as to think that my investment philosophy is one that ought to be emulated or studied by others (quite the opposite, in fact: I am a work-in-progress at best, and a complete novice at worst). Instead, I’ve decided to present this framework in hopes that:

1. Searchers might benefit from it as they evaluate potential investment targets without the years of context and hundreds of repetitions that are typically required to calibrate a sense of an attractive opportunity vs. a less attractive one
2. To keep myself honest, and to create a single place for me to go whenever I feel like I may be deviating from an investment philosophy that makes intuitive sense to me

Please enjoy!