Truc Nguyen·May 21, 2026

Rolling Up an Industry with 1.5x Multiples | Truc Nguyen Interview

Truc Nguyen is a Harvard MBA and former finance/consulting professional who immigrated from Vietnam at age 14 and is now two acquisitions into a nail salon roll-up in Austin, Texas. Her first salon (14 chairs, ~$950k revenue) was purchased for $380k (~1.5x SDE) using an SBA loan from Cadence Bank, and grew to $1.25m in revenue in her first year through service standardization, Google review campaigns, and improved hiring practices. Her second salon (~$500k revenue) was purchased for just $90k (~1x SDE) in cash from savings and Salon 1 earnings, as a turnaround opportunity with a disengaged seller and good location. The core thesis is that nail salons trade at 1–1.5x multiples because sellers are unsophisticated about exits, businesses are owner-dependent, and cash transactions deter outside buyers — but Truc's Vietnamese heritage and family background in the industry gave her insider knowledge to underwrite accurately. Key operating challenges include extreme technician retention difficulty (1099 contractors who take clients with them), the near-impossibility of finding qualified managers, and the tension between necessary personal involvement and the scale ambitions of a roll-up. A major plumbing emergency at Salon 1 in early 2026 set her timeline back but did not shake her conviction in the model.

Deal facts

purchase price: Salon 1: $380k; Salon 2: $90k
multiple: ~1.5x SDE (Salon 1); ~1x SDE (Salon 2)
sde ebitda: Salon 1: ~$220k SDE reported; Salon 2: ~$95k SDE
revenue: Salon 1: ~$950k (grew to $1.25m after year 1); Salon 2: ~$500k
financing structure: Salon 1: SBA loan (Cadence Bank) + 10% equity down; Salon 2: all cash (savings + earnings from Salon 1)
notes: Both salons located in South Austin, TX. Salon 1 has 14 pedicure chairs, 1,500 sq ft. Salon 2 has 10 pedicure chairs, 1,600 sq ft with room to expand. Industry multiples typically 1-1.5x for mid-size salons; larger mega-salons can reach 3-4x. Salon 1 experienced major plumbing emergency in Q1 2026 requiring ~3 weeks closure.

Why this business

Truc connected nail salons to her Vietnamese heritage — her family members all worked in or owned nail salons, which was a primary livelihood for Vietnamese immigrants in the US. She saw it as going back to her roots while also recognizing that insider knowledge of the industry gave her a unique advantage in evaluating financials (including cash transactions), understanding owner-dependency dynamics, and managing technicians and customers. She also believed the industry was fragmented, undervalued, and ripe for professionalization.

What's working

Standardization of services through SOPs — documenting every step of every service type so quality is consistent across technicians and locations
Cultural and industry insider knowledge enabling accurate due diligence on cash-heavy businesses that deter most outside buyers
Low purchase multiples (1-1.5x SDE) significantly reduce financial risk and debt burden
Revenue growth at Salon 1 of ~33% in first year (from ~$950k to $1.25m) driven by standardization, Google review campaigns, and better hiring practices
Network-based deal sourcing via a local nail supply store owner who knows which businesses are for sale and why
Commission-based technician model means labor costs scale with revenue
Opening Salon 2 to 7 days a week (was 6) as a relatively easy revenue lever
Personal extroversion and enjoyment of customer and technician relationships helping with retention and culture

What's hard

Labor challenges: finding and retaining good nail technicians is extremely difficult; technicians are 1099 contractors who can leave at any time and often take their customer following with them
Hiring managers is very hard — needs someone who understands both customer service and the nail industry; few candidates exist and they command high salaries ($6k-$8k/month)
Owner-dependency: customers are loyal to their technician, not the salon — when a technician leaves, customers often follow them to the competitor down the street
Plumbing emergency at Salon 1 in Q1 2026 required ~3 weeks closure, significant expense, and delayed the roll-up plan
Balancing personal involvement (customers and technicians want to see the owner) against the goal of scaling to 5-10 locations
SBA lenders initially rejected the Salon 1 deal because the ticket size ($380k) was too small; had to find a willing bank (Cadence Bank)
Technician scheduling: commission-based contractors set their own hours, leaving chairs empty during high-demand times
Internal doubt about pace of growth relative to HBS peer expectations

Notable quotes

Nail salon was not a target, but I will tell you that over the last year, so many people have already reached out to asking to chat because they want to do the same thing. So, things are changing, the industry is changing.

I think if you truly have a unique advantage in a space that no one else have thought about, just go after it. Because you don't want to be following everyone else, and if you are the searcher that you can bring the benefit because you have insider understanding of what that space is, just go after it.

It is a business that built from a group of core customer that also help to refer it, too, because it's a very relationship-driven business.

The technicians are all of them or most of them are commission-based, right? So, they work on commission. So, if they really good and they have a following of customers, they in a very strong position to negotiate with the owner, aka me. They can be very demanding. They are divas.