How We Left PE, Bought a $5M Business and Scaled To $21M in 2 Years (M&A and Organic) | Johannes Hock Interview

Johannes Hock, a former private equity associate left his high-paying job to build wealth through acquisition. In 2022, Johannes and his partner acquired DFW Turf, a fast-growing artificial turf installation business.

After leaving a prestigious private equity firm, he went on to review over 200 deals in just a few months, submitted 10 LOIs, signed 3, and ultimately closed on one.

In just two years, they scaled the business from $5M to over $21M in revenue—leveraging both organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:31 - Where it all started
00:02:09 - Being an associate at a PE firm and quitting — best decision ever
00:05:18 - Why the 10-10-10 model in private equity wasn’t attractive enough
00:07:31 - Underestimating the actual risk of acquiring a company
00:09:25 - Johannes’s financial position before quitting his private equity job
00:10:32 - First acquisition details (looked at 200–300 deals in 2–3 months)
00:12:26 - Chasing the perfect deal vs. getting something done
00:15:18 - The conversation with the lender that closed the acquisition
00:18:15 - Why recurring revenue is overrated (and how to create equity value)
00:21:51 - Why cash controls are the #1 focus post-acquisition
00:25:29 - Only one person wasn’t a good fit post-acquisition
00:27:31 - One regret: not adding more cash to the balance sheet
00:29:00 - Cap table structure and the importance of raising smart money
00:33:42 - Organic growth and hiring 30 people
00:37:56 - Risks of buying a company growing 40–50% per year
00:40:54 - Reinvesting in growth while staying profitable
00:41:57 - The story of the first add-on acquisition in 2024
00:44:19 - The thought process behind add-ons (51% to 100%, with flexibility)
00:47:29 - How they finance future acquisitions
00:51:18 - Trucks break down, people don’t show up, customers get angry — Johannes has seen it all
00:54:37 - The plan: open 3 new locations and do 1–2 acquisitions per year
00:59:31 - Industry is growing 50% annually (with 20% growth, it would’ve been a different story)
01:00:40 - The happiness of pursuit

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