How We Bought 10 Businesses and Turned $20K Into a $200M HoldCo | Roman Khan Interview

Roman Khan is the co-founder of Peak21, a direct-to-consumer holding company that has scaled to an impressive $200 million in revenue—all while maintaining profitability.

Together with his wife Jennifer, Roman has acquired 10 companies, building a diverse and thriving portfolio of DTC brands.

In this episode, we dive into Roman’s entrepreneurial journey, including the challenges and strategies of scaling a profitable holding company, his approach to identifying and integrating acquisitions, and the unique dynamics of running a business with his spouse.

We also explore the future of direct-to-consumer businesses, lessons learned from building and buying brands, and what it takes to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.

Please enjoy this conversation with Roman Khan, co-founder of Peak21.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:00:30 - Starts his business career with $20,000

00:05:19 - Getting fired by his wife "go find other companies to buy"

00:06:55 - First success in business (paying 7-fig in dividends)

00:08:40 - "I'm an idiot, I made a huge mistake"

00:10:35 - The story of the first acquisition

00:13:40 - Investing in a very small companies and growing 10x or more

00:19:10 - Finding the first investor to start Peak21

00:21:31 - 5 acquisitions, the largest have been 8-figure investments

00:29:57 - Three key competencies

00:32:55 - Intensive work 6 hours a day

00:34:55 - "When we started 10 years ago, we had it easy"

00:38:28 - Looking at 80-100 deals per month

00:40:32 - Lessons from the oil industry

00:43:21 - Roman's best investment advice

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Roman on Twitter: https://x.com/RomanEcom

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.