Former McKinsey Partners Build $20M Revenue Business Through Serial Acquisitions, Offering Blueprint for Finance Executives Eyeing Exits
A husband-and-wife team has turned entrepreneurship through acquisition into a repeatable playbook, building a portfolio of small businesses that now generates over $20 million in annual revenue—a case study that's drawing attention from finance executives contemplating post-corporate careers.
The couple, both former McKinsey partners, left consulting to pursue what's known in private equity circles as "search funds" or ETA (entrepreneurship through acquisition), a strategy where operators buy existing profitable businesses rather than launching startups from scratch. Their journey, detailed in a new McKinsey case study, reveals both the financial mechanics and operational realities of a path that's increasingly appealing to CFOs and finance leaders eyeing their next chapter.
Their first acquisition came after a deliberate search process focused on businesses with steady cash flows and defensible market positions—the kind of unglamorous but profitable enterprises that rarely make headlines. Rather than swinging for a single home run, they've built a holding company structure, acquiring multiple businesses across different sectors and implementing consistent financial controls and operational improvements.
The model addresses a specific pain point in the M&A market: the succession crisis among baby boomer business owners. Thousands of profitable small and mid-sized businesses lack obvious successors, creating opportunities for buyers with operational expertise and access to capital. For finance executives, the appeal is clear—they're buying revenue and EBITDA, not building it from zero with all the associated risk.
What makes their approach notable is the financial engineering. They've used a combination of seller financing, SBA loans, and outside investor capital to fund acquisitions, minimizing their personal capital at risk while maintaining operational control. The couple retained majority ownership while bringing in limited partners for specific deals—a structure that lets them scale without diluting their equity position significantly.
The operational playbook they've developed centers on financial infrastructure. Their first 90 days post-acquisition focus on installing proper accounting systems, implementing cash flow forecasting, and establishing KPI dashboards—blocking and tackling that many small business owners never formalized. One business they acquired had been tracking revenue on spreadsheets; within six months, they had implemented a full ERP system and identified $400,000 in annual cost savings through better inventory management.
Their portfolio strategy also provides downside protection that appeals to risk-averse finance professionals. When one business faced industry headwinds, cash flows from other holdings provided cushion—diversification that's harder to achieve as an operating executive tied to a single company's fortunes.
The couple's experience suggests ETA is becoming a viable off-ramp for senior finance talent, particularly as traditional retirement timelines extend and executives seek equity upside beyond their W-2 compensation. The model requires less capital than many assume—their first deal required roughly $500,000 in equity, a sum within reach for many senior finance executives after years of corporate compensation.
For CFOs watching private equity firms pay premium multiples for mid-market companies, the message is clear: the same financial and operational skills that make them valuable employees also position them as potential buyers. The question isn't whether finance executives can execute these deals—it's whether they're willing to trade the stability of corporate life for the autonomy and upside of ownership.
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