Hello, I'm James
I spent 20 years in corporate building products for other companies — SaaS, consumer brands, Fortune 500s. Now I'm doing it for myself: actively acquiring my first small business, the boring, cash-flowing kind.
Along the way I'm building the tools I wish existed for first-time business buyers — buy box builders, deal math, diligence checklists, LOI templates — and giving them away free as I learn what actually works (and what the gurus get wrong).
Acquisition Focus
The small businesses we're looking to buy
Sub-$5M deals. Established, "boring" service businesses with durable cash flow, happy customers, and a legacy worth continuing.
Seller's Discretionary Earnings
Consistent, provable cash flow with clean books.
Location
Ideally Broward or Palm Beach County, or relocatable.
Track record
Established operations with a stable team or General Manager in place.
Industries
Health & wellness, home services, personal care, experiential B2C, or niche B2B services.
Free Tools
Free tools for first-time business buyers
Everything in the Buyer's Toolkit was built for my own search — then cleaned up and shared. The core tools are free to use; when you're deeper into a real deal, optional paid packs add full deal analysis and the complete Acquisition Playbook.
- Buyer profile & buy box builder — know exactly what you can buy and run before you talk to a broker
- Deal analysis worksheets — honest SDE math, multiples, and debt service so listings can't fool you
- Due diligence checklists — what to verify before and after the LOI
- Templates — LOIs, broker outreach, and the documents buyers get asked for
Background
20 years of operating experience, now applied to buying
I'm not a guru — I'm one step ahead of you in the same journey, with an operator's toolkit:
- Product leadership at Aiwyn — a KKR and Bessemer-backed SaaS company serving the Top 100 accounting firms.
- Leadership roles at CashCloud, Citrix, Symantec, and Royal Caribbean, managing complex B2B and B2C initiatives.
- Founded and scaled a creative agency specializing in digital marketing, web development, content, SEO/SEM, paid social, email automation, and branding.
- Built and operated consumer ventures including a DTC apparel brand and e-commerce business.
That experience shapes how we evaluate businesses — operational efficiency, performance marketing, customer retention, scalable teams — and how we'll grow the one we buy while protecting its legacy.
FAQ
First-time buyer questions
The questions I had when I started — answered the way I wish someone had answered them for me.
How do I start buying a small business for the first time?
Define your buy box first — the size, industry, and location of business you can realistically buy and run. Then get your financials ready: personal financial statement, proof of funds, SBA pre-qualification. Most first-timers do this backwards and waste months chasing listings they can't close. The free Buyer's Toolkit walks you through both.
What is a "boring business" and why buy one?
An established, unglamorous service company — landscaping, home services, health & wellness, niche B2B — with years of steady cash flow and loyal customers. They're ideal for first-time buyers because you're buying provable earnings history, not a startup's promise.
How much money do I need to buy a small business?
Less than most people think. With an SBA 7(a) loan you can typically buy with 10–20% down. A business earning $300K in seller's discretionary earnings might sell for ~2.5–3.5x SDE, so you could need roughly $100K–$250K in cash plus working capital — not the full purchase price. Every deal is different; run the real math before falling in love with a listing.
What's in the free Buyer's Toolkit?
Tools built during my own acquisition search: buyer profile & buy box builder, deal analysis worksheets, diligence checklists, and LOI/outreach templates. The core toolkit is free at start.launch021.com — optional paid packs add deeper deal analysis and the full Acquisition Playbook.
Let's talk
Selling a business and considering succession? A broker with a deal that fits the buy box? Or a first-time buyer on the same journey? I'd love to connect — buyer resume, thesis, and proof of funds available on request.