{"podcast":{"title":"Acquiring Minds","slug":"acquiring-minds-3909119","podcast_index_feed_id":3909119,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/acquiring-minds","website_url":"https://acquiringminds.co","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/L4RqrWQWQ35dO2yrZK1oM8-GSsnKnU7x_9oLElypgrQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8zYjk2/ZDQwODk5YzNlY2Mw/MTIxN2FkMmYwZTRj/MjMwNS5qcGc.jpg","author":"Will Smith","episode_count":491,"summary":"Buying a business is an amazing path for many successful entrepreneurs. Learn how to buy a business from the entrepreneurs who have already done it. 2x per week: stories, insights, & valuable advice about acquisition entrepreneurship. Hosted by Will Smith, who is on his own path to acquire a business. Also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquiringMinds Sign up for episode summaries at: https://acquiringminds.co","last_synced_at":"2026-09-07T14:17:29.190427+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/acquiring-minds-3909119"},"episode":{"title":"First-Timer Buys a $15m Business in Distress","slug":"first-timer-buys-a-15m-business-in-distress","published_at":"2026-09-07T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/acquiring-minds-3909119/first-timer-buys-a-15m-business-in-distress","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/acquiring-minds-3909119","url":"https://acquiringminds.co/articles/mike-bourgeois-cardinal-heating-and-air","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/f03d30da/26147442.mp3","summary":"Mike Bourgeois bought an HVAC company bleeding $3m a year, all cash and no SBA, then cut $1.4m of costs in 2 weeks. Register for the webinar: The Deal I Almost Bought (And Why I Passed) - Thu, Sep 10 - https://bit.ly/4zKAGTN Topics in Mike’s interview: Led major Air Force medical practice Found a search partner with complementary skill sets Bet on distressed businesses with liquidation value Found a deal through veteran ETA Slack Speed beat the highest bid Immediately cut $1.4M in annualized expenses Raised gross margins from 7% to 49% Shifted from silos to teamwork Emphasis on ongoing staff training His goal of being a capital allocator/investor References and how to contact Mike: LinkedIn Cardinal Heating & Air Book: The Compounders: From Small Acquisitions to Giant Shareholder Returns The ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business: The Acquisition Lab Get complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program: Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund Team Get a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value): Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring Minds Connect with Acquiring Minds: See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel Connect with host Will Smith on LinkedIn Follow Will on Twitter Edited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron","meta_description":"Mike Bourgeois bought an HVAC company bleeding $3m a year, all cash and no SBA, then cut $1.4m of costs in 2 weeks. Register for the webinar: The Deal I A…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4981,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/acquiring-minds-3909119/episodes/first-timer-buys-a-15m-business-in-distress/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/acquiring-minds-3909119/first-timer-buys-a-15m-business-in-distress.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}