Surviving Search, Closing the Deal, and Scaling a Business for the Long Haul

In this episode of The Intentional Owner, Sam Rosati and Kaustubh Deo dive deep into the journey of buying and running a small business—specifically, Kaustubh’s experience acquiring and growing Blooma Tree Services.

Kaustubh shares how his path from private equity to entrepreneurship was shaped by a desire for ownership, control, and long-term equity building. He opens up about the reality of searching for and buying a business, including the setbacks of a failed deal, the learning curve of running a trades business, and the unexpected challenges of owner dependency in a company where the sellers were still climbing trees daily.

Other key insights include:

What it’s really like to transition into an owner-operator role
The importance of hiring and structuring a team post-acquisition
Navigating the growing pains of shifting from survival mode to scaling
Why location and community connections matter more than you think

Whether you’re considering entrepreneurship through acquisition or are in the trenches of running a small business, this episode is packed with real-world lessons from an owner who’s lived it firsthand.

Links:

Kaustubh on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaustubh-deo/

Sam on X - https://x.com/Sam_Rosati

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:03) - Kaustubh’s journey to ETA

(00:13:50) - Going under LOI on a business and losing it

(00:20:39) - Expectations vs. Reality in the day to day of running an acquired business

(00:27:53) - Discovering owner dependency

(00:32:21) - The importance of control in ETA

(00:35:19) - The Whack-a-Mole method

(00:40:47) - Sustainability is a false pretense early in ownership

(00:46:17) - Life owning a small business in your hometown

(00:52:37) - Tactical tips