Leveraging Acquisition in Entrepreneurship with Walker Deibel

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Walker Deibel is an entrepreneur, mergers and acquisitions advisor, creator of Acquisition Lab, and author of "Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Walker grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He was influenced by his father and paternal grandfather, who both owned companies, and his mother's side of the family, which was filled with academics and artists. He married those early influences by pursuing an undergraduate degree in English Literature and Religious Studies and later earning an MBA. His career followed a winding route - with stops as a stockbroker, film producer, and in startups. Along his journey, he always asked questions and tried to understand the business side of the industries where he worked.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Walker became more integrated into the startup community, he realized that most of the conversation in this space centered around creating new businesses….. or, as he refers to it: innovation. But what about purchasing existing, cash-flowing businesses to decrease the owner’s risk? Then apply business skills and know-how to grow the company’s revenues and increase cash flow for the new owner and dramatically increase its value while adding to the overall economy.  He realized the acquisition side of the conversation was rarely discussed. In response, Walker spent years researching – talking to stockbrokers, business owners, and investors – and over four and a half years, he outlined the steps and principles for business acquisition, “Buy Then Build.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Walker Deibel believes that acquiring a business is the fastest way to grow your wealth. Because the major risk, business startup failure is already rung out of the equation, for most people, acquiring a business is a safer and more viable option for long-term success than starting a business. To help people succeed in business acquisition, Walker founded t