Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game

Buy Then Build reframes entrepreneurship as an acquisition-first discipline. Instead of starting from zero—no customers, no revenue, and high failure odds—Walker Deibel makes the case for buying an existing small business with proven cash flow, then using innovation and leadership to grow value. The book positions acquisition entrepreneurship as an unusually powerful wealth-building vehicle because the buyer can use bank leverage, step into an operating platform on day one, and capture upside through operational improvement, sales growth, and add-on acquisitions.

Deibel lays out a full roadmap: how to develop a CEO mindset, define a target company using Seller Discretionary Earnings (SDE) rather than revenue, source deals by getting “upstream” with brokers and intermediaries, evaluate a business through financial statements and valuation multiples, negotiate with sellers effectively, and execute the acquisition process from LOI through due diligence, closing, and the first 90-day transition. The goal is not theory—it’s a repeatable operating playbook for becoming an owner-operator.

• Aspiring entrepreneurs who want ownership and cash flow without the extreme risk and long runway of a startup
• Professionals (operators, sales leaders, managers) considering buying a small business using bank financing
• Small business owners and investors exploring acquisitions, search funds, or growth through add-on deals

Walker Deibel is an entrepreneur and investor who has co-founded startups, acquired multiple companies, and participated in over 100 transactions. He holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, is a Certified M&A Advisor, and later founded the Acquisition Lab to train acquisition entrepreneurs.