Podcast Summary: Acquiring Minds

Episode: Building Trust as New Owner of a $3m Business

Host: Will Smith
Guest: Ruchik Gandhi, Owner, Window25
Date: October 20, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Will Smith interviews Ruchik Gandhi, a former private equity diligence professional who transitioned from a white-collar career to ownership of a $3M revenue business specializing in custom window treatments, upholstery, and furniture. The focus centers on Ruchik's unique immigrant journey, the critical leadership challenges and breakthroughs he faced as a first-time owner, and the dynamics of finding and acquiring the business through an unusual “LOI handoff” from another searcher. Ruchik shares candidly about building trust with a blue-collar team skeptical of a “Wall Street guy,” structuring the deal, and his plans for organic and inorganic growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Ruchik's Backstory: From India to Business Owner

[03:07–13:00]

• Born and raised in India; earned a scholarship to study in Australia, became a CPA, and navigated personal family financial hardships after losing his father at 19.
• Moved to the US to be closer to his wife's family, worked at Kohlraznik and later RSM, deepening exposure to private equity rollups, particularly in home services.
• The allure of entrepreneurship grew as Ruchik witnessed the “multiple arbitrage” model in private equity rollups, but ETA (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) was a foreign concept.

“There was always an itch of, you know, entrepreneurship … If they can do it at a higher level, I can potentially replicate that at a lower level.” — Ruchik Gandhi [10:01]

Inspiration from Private Equity Rollups & Identifying the Opportunity

[09:01–15:32]

• Observed large-scale rollups in HVAC and landscaping, fueling his entrepreneurial curiosity.
• Learned about the “multiple arbitrage”—paying lower multiples for smaller businesses, rolling them up, and exiting at a higher multiple.
• Identified a “sweet spot” (businesses with $700K–$1M EBITDA) neglected by PE, but still significant for individual operators.

“They were passing on these opportunities, which are not bad opportunities … if I do the right steps in the right order, it is possible.” — Ruchik Gandhi [11:52 & 13:04]

Starting the Search: From Part-Time to Full Commitment

[20:39–22:54]

• Began with a part-time search while working full-time—a struggle due to slow response times and missing deals.
• Made a deliberate decision (with spouse’s support) to switch to full-time search, budgeting for 6–12 months without income.

“If I don’t do it now, I’m not gonna have another opportunity to do it. So this is the time I have to do it.” — Ruchik Gandhi [21:44]

Finding the Business: The LOI Handoff

[24:25–27:26]

• Active on Searchfunder, Ruchik spotted a post from fellow searchers seeking to transfer an LOI for a business in Northern New Jersey.
• The business: a “workroom” specializing in fabrication and installation of window treatments, upholstery, and custom furniture—completely unfamiliar territory for Ruchik.
• The pre-diligenced, pre-negotiated nature of the deal, with a committed seller and clean terms, made it appealing despite the industry learning curve.

“It was a pre-negotiated deal which would have taken me at least a month or two to get to that point … a shortcut in my mind.” — Ruchik Gandhi [43:18]

Understanding the Business: The Workroom Model

[27:29–34:49]

• What’s a Workroom?: A manufacturer/fabricator for interior designers and millwork companies, focused on custom window treatments, furniture, and upholstery.
• Clientele: Primarily trade professionals (designers, architects, millwork contractors)—not direct-to-consumer.
• Unique angle: Exclusive contract with Home Depot for installation services in NYC/Northern NJ, providing diversification and recurring revenue.

“If you can envisage it, we can make it, essentially.” — Ruchik Gandhi [30:23]

The Deal Structure: Finder's Fee, Seller Holdback, and Equity

[37:16–49:00]

• Paid a 1% “finder’s fee” to the original searchers (approx. $20K), who wished to monetize sunk time rather than close the deal themselves (due to geographic fit and discovering a better opportunity).
• Deal Structure: ~9% owner equity retention (with 3x EBITDA call option), 19% seller note, 10% buyer cash, remainder SBA loan.
• Seller involvement: Retained minority share as a risk-mitigator/guidance source, with structured, time-bound buyout option.

“For me to do that, I needed to give that time to it, which I did … I’m able to focus more on the business aspect now, which I wasn’t able to before.” — Ruchik Gandhi [62:37]

Transition & Team Trust: Earning Buy-In from a Blue-Collar Workforce

[50:25–59:19]

• Early challenges: The staff, having deep ties to the previous owner (who shared their cultural background and language), viewed Ruchik, an outsider, with suspicion.
• Realized building trust required authentic engagement—doing entry-level tasks, fixing trucks, shadowing the installation crew, attending employee family events, and learning Spanish.

“They see you as a white collar hot shot from Wall Street that walks in and starts barking orders.” — Ruchik Gandhi (manager’s input) [54:24]

• Key insight: “Throwing money” (raises) was not a silver bullet. Presence, humility, and personal involvement mattered more.
• Promoted two internal employees (installers) to supervisor roles, leveraging their respect and bilingual skills to integrate the team.

Lessons from People Management

[65:46–69:26]

• Missteps: Initially brushed off team grievances, dismissing a skilled worker who then had to be humbly re-hired after realizing their critical value.
• Takeaway: Blue-collar management requires a more “personalized approach,” with more emotional intelligence and less transactional thinking compared to white-collar environments.

“The good thing about what I realized about myself is I can own up to my mistake pretty easily as well. So I sucked it up … and brought them back.” — Ruchik Gandhi [68:01]

Seller Transition & Communication

[69:42–74:48]

• Staff took the sale personally; some felt ‘betrayed’ by the seller not sharing intentions earlier, revealing the deep emotional bonds in smaller, closely-knit businesses.
• Wisdom: Avoid informing employees of a sale until post-close, to limit anxiety/disruption. Building trust as the new owner is ultimately the buyer’s responsibility.

Growth Strategy: Organic & Inorganic Paths

[75:02–79:56]

• Ruchik’s focus: Inorganic growth—acquisitions of small, mom-and-pop shops to expand adjacent service lines and geographic reach. Many such owners are boomers nearing retirement, making consolidation opportunities plentiful.
• Organic growth: Delegated to a sales manager with expertise in customer development and marketing.
• Business can serve clientele nationally/globally, as many clients are top-tier designers with national projects.

“We call ourselves an end-to-end service provider—a solutions provider, not just a service provider.” — Ruchik Gandhi [79:25]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “There are a lot of responsibilities … there were times when we struggled to even pay the fees … but sometimes, you know, things just worked out.” — Ruchik Gandhi [07:06]
• “They see you as a white collar hot shot from Wall Street that walks in and starts barking orders.” — [54:24]
• “You can outsource the bad cop to the previous guys and you just get to be good cop.” — Will Smith [44:08]
• “The business is a workroom … fabricates window treatments, drapes, curtains, and does upholstery services and reupholstery services.” — Ruchik Gandhi [27:36]
• “If you can envisage it, we can make it, essentially.” — Ruchik Gandhi [30:23]
• “It’s been a roller coaster ride … I did not have any understanding of this industry … it took me a while to get on my feet.” — Ruchik Gandhi [50:25]
• “I always had that attitude that everybody is together here for one simple reason: company success… but it wasn’t showing.” — [59:36]
• “The sooner you can get into the industry and sooner you can get a deal done, the better it is.” — [43:03]
• “The dream is alive.” — Will Smith [83:33]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–03:15: Intro & Ruchik’s background
• 03:15–13:00: Immigrant journey, family hardship, early career
• 13:00–16:03: Observing private equity, multiple arbitrage, sweet spots in the market
• 20:39–22:54: Search strategy—part-time to full-time commitment
• 24:25–27:26: Discovering the business (LOI transfer via Searchfunder)
• 27:29–34:49: What’s a workroom? Business model explained, client segments, Home Depot contract
• 37:16–49:00: Deal structure—finder’s fee, seller equity, call option mechanics
• 50:25–59:19: Transitioning into leadership, earning blue-collar team trust, learning hard lessons
• 62:37–65:35: Delegating, elevating supervisors, reducing owner’s in-the-trenches role
• 65:46–69:26: Turnover, mistakes with people, lessons in humility
• 69:42–74:48: How and when to communicate a sale to staff
• 75:02–79:56: Growth strategies: one-stop-shop, acquisitions, vision for scaling up
• 79:56–83:30: Industry landscape, opportunities for future acquirers

Takeaways for Listeners

• Trust-building is slow and deeply personal in small, blue-collar businesses—success hinges as much on emotional intelligence as technical skill.
• Deal structures can flex creatively—a partial seller holdback can smooth transitions and align interests.
• Seizing pre-vetted opportunities (like an LOI handoff) can be worth a significant up-front fee.
• Growth can be both organic and inorganic; within fragmented, local services industries, rollups remain a path, especially where there’s a generational shift among owners.
• Searchers should look beyond industry comfort zones—transformative opportunities hide behind unfamiliar jargon (e.g., “workroom”).
• Cultural fluency matters: Ruchik’s story underscores the value of humility and adaptation, especially for outsiders stepping into established teams and industries.

Guest info:
Ruchik Gandhi, Owner, Window25
LinkedIn | window25.com

Host: Will Smith