question_answer ANECDOTE Direct Mail Found The Deal
- Jesse found ABG Print after sending a direct-mail flyer early in his search campaign and nearly forgot about it.
- A broker called 1.5 years later with the business because the flyer had been left on his desk.
volunteer_activism ADVICE Choose Simplicity In Deal Structure
- Keep deal structure simple when possible; avoid complex seller debt and earn-outs that complicate SBA 7A financing.
- Lowering purchase price can be cleaner than loading short-term seller debt that worsens debt-to-EBITDA.
insights INSIGHT Small Fixes Yield Big Returns
- Early operational fixes reveal hidden value and can quickly lift revenue.
- Small fixes like expanding AdWords targeting yielded a 25–30% uplift in Jesse's first nine months.
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Get the app9 months after Jesse Safir bought a printing biz, Covid cratered it. 3 years later, sales are nearing pre-Covid levels.
Topics in Jesse’s interview:
- Finding ABG Printing by sending direct mail
- The value of having a “forgettable” business
- Renegotiating his deal before acquisition
- The changes he made in the first 9 months
- Cutting 80% of his staff during COVID
- Managing cash flow after revenue plunged 95%
- Staffing post-COVID
- How their printing projects have diversified
- The landscape of the printing industry
- Jesse’s vision for a holdco
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