Built to Sell Radio Ep 535 Inside the Mind of an Acquirer: When Your Buyer Is Risking Their House
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Feb 27, 2026 Joe Solberg, an acquirer who self-funded two buys including a 3D rendering firm and a branding agency. He talks about what individual buyers actually look like. Short takes cover deal structures, seller notes as credibility, testing proof of funds, personal guarantees, and strategies for keeping talent and culture after purchase.
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Leaving Corporate To Hunt For A Business
- Joe Solberg left a stable corporate career after seven years to pursue buying a business through a self-funded search.
- He had prior small-business experience, an MBA, paid off student loans, and used savings to finance the search full-time for six months.
Self-Funded Search Keeps Control Intact
- A self-funded search gives the entrepreneur full ownership and avoids investor control and staged vesting common in traditional search funds.
- Joe chose it to avoid ending up with ~25% personal ownership and a de facto boss in the investors.
Approach Owners With Curiosity Not Posturing
- Be genuine and curious when approaching owners; owners respond to sincere interest rather than inflated titles or false wealth.
- Joe used simple curiosity and questions to build rapport rather than pretending to be a big-shot buyer.