Before acquiring a company, the most valuable preparation is to work as a "right-hand person" to an existing small business owner. This apprenticeship provides crucial, ground-floor experience with the operational realities that financial models and spreadsheets completely miss.

Luxury properties with obvious but superficial flaws, like bad lighting or cheap finishes from a poor flip, can deter less-savvy buyers. This creates an opportunity to purchase a property well below its potential market value, as the cost to fix the flaws is often minimal compared to the value added.

Businesses like jewelers mistakenly dismiss LinkedIn as purely for B2B. This is a flawed view because every professional on the platform is also a consumer ('a C'). This creates a significant, overlooked opportunity for direct-to-consumer sales in a less saturated environment.

Large media companies are slow to adopt new platforms like Substack. However, once one major player makes a move (e.g., Bloomberg launching Substacks), it triggers a "fast follow" reaction from competitors. This predictable herd mentality creates strategic windows for creators on those platforms to pursue acquisitions.

When M&A negotiations stall, the root cause is often sentimental, not financial. Uncovering a seller's personal attachment (e.g., hunting rights, a favorite truck, community sponsorships) allows for creative, non-monetary solutions that have high emotional value for the seller but low cost for the buyer, getting the deal across the finish line.

The most lucrative exit for a startup is often not an IPO, but an M&A deal within an oligopolistic industry. When 3-4 major players exist, they can be forced into an irrational bidding war driven by the fear of a competitor acquiring the asset, leading to outcomes that are even better than going public.

Frame marketing strategy not as managing channels, but as "day-trading attention." Identify platforms where user attention is high but advertising costs are low due to a lack of saturation from major brands. This arbitrage opportunity allows smaller players to achieve outsized results before the market corrects.

SellRaise begins as a utility, helping sellers easily list items across multiple marketplaces like eBay and Poshmark. By aggregating a critical mass of sellers (the supply side), it can eventually attract buyers directly. This strategy allows it to leverage existing platforms to solve the chicken-and-egg problem before ultimately aiming to replace them as an AI-native marketplace.

Small RV parks, often owned by retiring baby boomers with no online presence, are highly profitable assets. You can acquire them with minimal capital by negotiating seller financing, where the owner holds the note. This allows you to use profits from improving the business to pay for the asset itself.