© Robert Gayden / ETA Street montage
A 17-month closing period feels like an eternity. Deals are supposed to be struck and signed quickly before "deal fatigue" sets in. But for Robert Gayden, a former fixed-income banker and Carnegie Mellon MBA, patience was the ultimate strategy.
Gayden spent nearly a year and a half negotiating with the founders of a home care agency just outside of Milwaukee. In that time, the business grew its revenue by nearly 60%, and yet, Gayden managed to hold the purchase price exactly where it was on day one.
Today, Gayden is the CEO of BrightStar Care of Greater Waukesha, a franchise on pace to do nearly $6 million in revenue with EBITDA margins approaching 30%. But the idea of buying a business that impacts lives every day came after an unexpected family tragedy that redefined his life's purpose.
From PIMCO to Purpose
Gayden’s path was originally pointed toward the highest echelons of finance. After a successful stint selling municipal bonds for Commerce Bank in Kansas City, he set his sights on a top-tier MBA. He was admitted to Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, where he secured a highly coveted internship at PIMCO in Newport Beach, California.
However, between his first and second year of business school, his father passed away unexpectedly in his mid-50s.
