Becoming An Owner + Buying Companies // Ryan Kulp, Fork Equity

Episode details

SUMMARY:

In this episode, we discuss the world of micro private equity, buying existing companies with little money down & the philosophy of becoming an owner.

Ryan has a growing portfolio of 7 products, including fomo.com, a popular SaaS Shopify app. He’s doing 7-figures in revenue, all while living a nomadic life traveling the world, coding on-the-go & making music.

SHOW NOTES:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/ryan-kulp-fork-equity/

WATCH + SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE:
https://youtu.be/yEaKaxRgjlQ

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• importance of ownership of your actions + becoming an owner in a business
• building from scratch vs buying an existing company
• thinking through career transitions + knowing when to leave your job
• how to work with a romantic partner
• partnering with investors to buy companies
• his opinion on self-funding vs raising investment
• why job security isn’t about the company you work for
• breakdown of his first 6 figure acquisition
• why someone would sell a business in the first place, and what to look out for
• what is seller side financing + how can you use it to buy a company with little money down
• SBA loans + how you can use one to acquire a company
• dealing with people who have negative energy
• scaling a team beyond yourself

 

TIME STAMPS FOR VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/yEaKaxRgjlQ

• 00:00 welcome
• 01:42 why ryan landed in korea
• 04:46 learning languages
• 05:57 not pitching
• 08:43 ryan's background 09:31 learning to code + becoming an owner
• 11:40 bootstrap vs venture capital
• 15:07 pros + cons lists
• 17:14 raise to make your vision bigger
• 18:51 nuance + balance from extremes
• 22:42 importance of becoming an owner
• 25:33 54 side projects + 7 companies
• 28:13 7 figure revenue, 70% margin
• 28:49 running a business with a romantic partner
• 34:27 knowing when to leave your job
• 45:52 job security + your own skillset
• 48:42 why buy vs build from scratch
• 51:57 do I need money to buy?
• 53:22 buying fomo.com with no money down
• 59:23 how to value a small business
• 1:03:23 what is seller side financing?
• 1:04:33 what is a clawback provision?
• 1:05:33 why would someone sell a business?
• 1:07:43 "it's too good to be true"
• 1:11:32 two types of people, which one are you?
• 1:14:27 dealing with negative energy
• 1:16:36 debt vs equity to buy companies
• 1:18:01 using SBA loans to buy companies
• 1:26:26 business returns vs real estate vs stocks
• 1:27:31 be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful
• 1:29:57 partnering with investors to buy a company
• 1:32:59 scaling a team beyond yourself
• 1:37:32 being conservative in tech
• 1:39:47 types of luck
• 1:43:28 what's stopping you?