Buying Small to Build for the Long Term ($300k SDE)
From Acquiring Minds by Will Smith
May 7, 2026 · 1h 24m
About this episode
Brendan Duebner discusses his journey of acquiring a $1.2m MSP to build a sustainable business.
Brendan Duebner's goal is to build a healthy, long-term business of 20-40 people. Buying a $1.2m MSP was his first step. Topics in Brendan’s interview: Learning to lead in the Army Summer internship with Josh Medow Cold calling is unpleasant but effective Living and acquiring in the Bay Area Working in the business before closing Signs of seller integrity 85% seller note with no personal guarantee Implementing EOS himself Choosing to only hire local His mission of building a tribe References and how to contact Brendan: LinkedIn IT Total Care Josh Medow on Acquiring Minds: How to Unlock Growth in a 40-Year-Old Business You Buy Abhi Ravishankar on Acquiring Minds: The $50m Lifestyle Holdco Work with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses: Pioneer Capital Advisory Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program: Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team Download the New CEO’s Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR: From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.com Connect with Acquiring Minds: See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn Follow Will on Twitter…
People in this episode
Host: Will Smith
Guest: Brendan Duebner
Topics covered
- business acquisition
- long-term business building
- leadership
- seller integrity
- local hiring
- entrepreneurship
Keywords
- business acquisition
- MSP
- leadership
- seller note
- local hiring
- entrepreneurship
- Bay Area
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: IT Total Care, Pioneer Capital Advisory, Oberle Risk Strategies, Aspen HR
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- Started as SBA Searcher, Built to a PE Fund · June 1, 2026 · 1h 46m
- Buying $1.5m of Earnings Without an SBA Loan · May 28, 2026 · 1h 23m
- The Magic of Low Multiple + Growth · May 25, 2026 · 1h 34m
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