Who here has bought a tiny project or small business and been successful in growing or scaling the company?
Not interested in companies acquiring other companies, but solo entrepreneurs or small teams acquiring a pre-built product or service business.
I bought a small B&M business--a bar--in 2010. I had 2 partners, which quickly became just one partner.
The existing business was using a small bar area, but the building had a much larger back room with a separate bar which we planned to move into after we got it ready. (The building was previously a VFW). The existing business was also poorly ran, dirty, and the customers frequenting it were not very--desirable? Lots of silly practices were occurring--for instance, if you did the math on the pitcher, it was more per ounce than the mug.
Over time we did move into the back, and after a few years of sticking it out, having good food, good service, and a good atmosphere, we had a nice steady business. It's doing quite well now, and I've mostly eliminated my own role there, whether via trustworthy staff, or automation (I'm a developer as well).
For numbers, I think our sales have scaled roughly 20x from the time of acquisition. Possibly a bit more, I am working off memory for the original sales. We also scaled from working it entirely ourselves, to having about 10 staff members--6 bartenders, 2 cooks, and 2 door people.
The Built to Sell podcast often features these types of stories from the sellers perspective > https://builttosell.com/