© Nick Patrick / ETA Street montage
In small business acquisitions, the standard advice is clear: avoid hospitality, avoid low-barrier-to-entry businesses, and definitely avoid anything seasonal. But Nick Patrick, a former wealth manager at Fidelity Investments, broke every one of those rules.
Disillusioned with his corporate career in San Francisco, Patrick decided to return to his native Colorado and buy a business. His initial search parameters were as follows: $500k to $1M in Seller Discretionary Earnings (SDE), recurring revenue, and B2B focus.
When a broker sent him a listing for a wedding catering company and venue in Estes Park, Colorado, he immediately passed. It was a hospitality-focused, food-based, seasonal establishment located in a tourist town. It violated every single one of his criteria.
Six months later, the business still hadn't sold. With his resignation date approaching, Patrick decided to take a second look, mainly just to practice talking to an owner.
That conversation changed everything.
The Diamond in the Rough
Upon closer inspection, Patrick realized the business had hidden strengths that weren't obvious at first:
Reputation: 30 years in business with flawless reviews across Google and WeddingWire.
Market Position: It was the only off-premise caterer in town. The next closest competitor was 30 miles down a mountain.
Cash Flow Dynamics: The business had a negative cash conversion cycle. Clients paid deposits months in advance, meaning the business held the cash before incurring the costs.
Financials: The owners were taking home roughly $440,000 in SDE on $1 million in revenue; a 44% margin.
Despite these positives, the operational risks were terrifying. The husband-and-wife owners were the business: he was the head chef, she ran operations. There was almost no staff. Patrick, who had never managed anyone in his life, would have to step into their shoes.
"No Money Down" Deal Structure
Patrick structured a deal that mitigated his risk almost entirely. The purchase price was $400,000, less than 1x SDE.
Seller Financing: The sellers agreed to carry 70% of the purchase price ($270,000) over a 10-year note.
Down Payment: The remaining 30% ($130,000) was technically the down payment. However, the business came with $400,000 in customer deposits sitting in the bank account. At closing, the sellers transferred this cash to Patrick.
Effectively, Patrick used the cash inside the business to pay the down payment.
His only out-of-pocket expenses were roughly $20,000 in closing costs (legal, insurance, earnest money). He walked away from the closing table with the business and a net positive cash position of roughly $270,000.
Operations by Fire
To ensure a smooth transition, Patrick moved from San Francisco to a 110-year-old ranger cabin on the venue's property. For the first four months, he worked 60-80 hour weeks, doing everything from cleaning bathrooms to prepping food.
He quickly professionalized the business:
Hiring: He replaced the owner-chef with two new chefs (a head chef and a sous-chef) to create redundancy. He hired a wedding planner to handle operations and brought back a former salesperson.
Sales Process: Leveraging his background in high-ticket wealth management sales, he revamped the sales process, introducing consultative selling and a new CRM.
Marketing: He overhauled the Wix website, invested in professional photography, and listed the venue on major wedding platforms.
These changes drove revenue from $1 million to $1.25 million in the first 10 months.
The Exit
Despite the success, the operational intensity of the wedding industry weighed on him. "It was the most stressful job I've ever had," Patrick admitted in one appearance on Acquiring Minds Podcast. He realized that scaling beyond $1.5 million would require significant capital expenditure and geographic expansion, which he wasn't willing to undertake.
Nineteen months after buying the business, he sold it to a local family office for $800,000, roughly double what he paid.
In Details:
Initial Investment: ~$20,000
Cash Flow Taken Out: ~$400,000 (over 19 months)
Net Proceeds from Sale: ~$500,000 (after paying off the seller note and fees)
Total Return: ~$900,000 on a $20,000 investment.
New Ventures: Renewable Energy and Music Royalties
After his successful exit, Patrick pivoted to industries with better lifestyle dynamics. Today, he is the owner of Apollo Energy, a solar company based in Denver. He applies the same operational rigor, focusing on customer satisfaction and community impact.
Additionally, Patrick has become an active investor in alternative assets, specifically music royalties. He views music catalogs as an underappreciated asset class that offers recurring cash flow and downside protection, blending his financial background with his appreciation for cultural relevance.
