Two guys hated private equity so much they built the thing that hunts you. I got one of them on a call this week, and about ten minutes in he said something that rearranged how I think about founders, fear, and money.

This is the story of an operator who started a managed IT shop in 2010, built it customer by customer to 75 people and $12M a year, and kept getting the same call once a month: some firm he'd never heard of wanting to buy his life's work so they could "optimize" it. Most owners do one of two things with that fear. They ignore it, or they cave. He picked a third door. He became the buyer.

In this episode:

• The humility test: the one question to ask any buyer or capital partner, then shut up and listen
• Why "take the money, keep the controls" are two different products that come bundled, and how to buy them separately
• The vacation tell: the moment a seller checks out, even the ones who swear they're staying
• Operator vs checkbook, and why the best deals go to the most believable owner, not the highest bidder
• The second bite: why the quiet fortune is in the rollover, not the check at closing

Free essay (Weeks Weekly): https://substack.com/home/post/p-201129131 The 7 contract terms playbook (paid issue): https://substack.com/home/post/p-201436597

If this one lands, send it to one operator who needs to hear it. That's the whole marketing plan.

FIPO. Fuck it, press on.