Nick Molina·December 30, 2024

First Timer Buys 7 Figure SDE Business 4 Hours Away | Nick Molina Interview

Nick Molina is a serial entrepreneur who took his first cell phone chain public (Let's Talk Cellular, 289 stores, Merrill Lynch / Solomon Smith Barney IPO in 1998, later sold to Nextel/Sprint) and completed five more exits before discovering ETA in April 2024. Within months of reading Walker Deibel's book, he acquired Kleinman Property Management in Minneapolis — a 95-year-old residential property management company with 275 employees averaging 13+ years tenure and 5,500 doors under management at close. The deal closed at 4.3x trailing-12-month EBITDA (seven-figure SDE, eight-figure revenue), financed with 70% SBA 7(a) at a below-market 6.5% fixed rate, 20% seller note (70-80% forgivable based on client retention), and 10% equity injection. Nick structured a 12-month seller employment agreement, phantom equity for the number-two operator Matt (14-year tenure), and stay/growth bonuses for the broader team to protect the business's highly selective, high-culture model. Operating fully remotely from Miami via two weekly calls and periodic visits, Nick's thesis is buy-and-hold cash flow with aspirations to grow through property management rollups and potential vendor bolt-ons — and eventually to pass the business to his children.

Deal facts

multiple: 4.3x SDE (trailing 12 months)
sde ebitda: seven figures EBITDA
revenue: eight figures
financing structure: 70% SBA 7(a) loan (US Bank, 6.5% fixed 5 years then 2 under Prime) + 20% seller note (amortized over 10 years, ~70-80% forgivable based on client attrition) + 10% equity injection
notes: Seller (Mark) signed 12-month employment agreement with performance bonuses tied to unit growth; 275 employees; 5,500 doors under management at close; 95-year-old business (Kleinman Property Management / Kleinman Realty); initial LOI was under 4x, bumped to full asking price of 4.3x; loan brokered by Heather Anderson at Viso

Why this business

Nick had invested in and self-managed real estate since age 20, understood property management from both the owner/client side and the management side, and felt it was 'second nature' to him. He was attracted by the business's recurring revenue, established team with a clear number two (Matt, 14-year tenure) who could run the business independently, 95-year history, strong culture evidenced by an average employee tenure of 13+ years across 275 employees, and low capex profile. He also wanted a buy-and-hold cash-flowing asset rather than a startup or another exit.

What's working

Exceptional employee culture and tenure: average 13+ years across 275 employees, with some staff having 47 years of service; culture was visible even in the SIM before any conversations
Strong number two (Matt) already in place and being groomed by the seller; Matt received phantom equity to align incentives and slide into the lead role from day one
Seller Mark stayed on a 12-month employment agreement and voluntarily redirected two-thirds of his own performance bonus to employees, reinforcing the culture
High-quality, selective client base — Kleinman says no to many prospects, preferring owners who invest in their properties; results in long-tenure client relationships (one client 40 years, another 20 years)
Business weathered 95 years including the tail end of the Great Depression; consistent profitability and proven resilience
SBA financing at 6.5% fixed (prime minus 2 points) secured through loan broker, well below market rate
Remote ownership model working via two standing weekly calls (leadership call and transition call) plus periodic site visits; Nick's extensive prior operating experience enables effective oversight from Miami

What's hard

Geographic distance — Nick is a 4-hour flight from Minneapolis in Miami; a very different cultural and climate environment from what he knows
Some client concentration: largest client holds ~1,200 doors (~20% of total), second largest just under 800 doors (~13%); addressed via partially forgivable seller note tied to client retention
Business grew slowly over 95 years by design, raising the question of whether growth aspirations (rollups, bolt-ons, vendor acquisitions) can be executed without diluting Kleinman's selective culture and quality
Finding businesses with a clear, capable number two is rare — Nick estimated less than 5-10% of deals reviewed had this; it was a deal-breaker criterion that severely narrowed his pipeline
The responsibility of stewarding a 95-year-old institution with deep community roots is significant and self-imposed pressure

Notable quotes

The minute I saw it I'm like this is the one. I knew it was the one. It was double the size, more than Oregon, and it was double the size. It just — I just knew that it was a good deal.

The average tenure of their employees — and there's 275 employees — the average tenure of their employees was 13.3 years. There were employees that were there 47 years. Somebody that was there five years was considered a rookie. And so that spoke very loudly to me.

I literally have 275 A players at that business right now. It's crazy. All the admin employees, all the corporate employees I've met — all A players, all of them remarkable.

I have fallen in love with this company. I've fallen in love with the legacy value that it has. I would love to see my kids in this business. I've had all these exits and the success but I don't have anything left from what I've created and built. There's no — like I admire businesses that the founder turns it over to their kids and they turn it over to their kids.