Corey Veverka·September 28, 2023

How to Buy the Business Where You Work | Corey Veverka Interview

Corey Veverka, a mechanical engineer by training, was recruited in 2002 at age 29 to join TBS, a pharmaceutical validation consulting firm serving the West Coast, with a vague promise of eventual ownership. Over 13 years he rose to lead the business alongside founder John and colleague Arnold, becoming so embedded that clients already assumed he was the owner. The deal finally closed in September 2015 — a $5.4m SBA-financed acquisition (no seller note, no seller financing) structured with Corey holding 63% and Arnold 37%. Since acquisition, the business grew from $4m to a peak of $9m in revenue before a current pharma capex downturn pushed revenues back to a projected $6m with razor-thin margins. The episode is a detailed case study in the insider acquisition path: the advantages of perfect business knowledge and pre-existing client relationships, the challenges of negotiating with a trusted seller, the importance of SBA financing for buyers who lack liquid capital, and the psychological shift from employee to owner.

Deal facts

purchase price: $5.4m total ($4.2m goodwill + $1.2m accounts receivable)
multiple: just over 3x SDE (settled on ~$4m valuation vs. industry ~5x)
sde ebitda: ~$1.25m EBITDA (25% margin on ~$4m revenue at time of deal)
revenue: $4m (at time of acquisition, 2015); peaked at $9m in 2022
financing structure: SBA loan (Comerica), 10-year term, variable rate; no seller note; personal guarantee on home; later refinanced to fixed 4% conventional loan ~18 months before interview
notes: Co-buyer Arnold took 37% ownership; Corey holds 63%. Business is TBS (pharmaceutical validation consulting). Deal closed September 2015. Receivables (~$1m) purchased separately to fund working capital. Buyer had been an employee/leader for 13 years before close. 15-year straight-line depreciation on purchase via 338(h)(10)-style asset allocation used for tax efficiency.

Why this business

Corey was recruited into TBS in 2002 with the implicit promise of a potential ownership transition. The appeal was initially the leadership opportunity rather than ownership per se, but over time he crystallized on wanting the freedom and wealth-building potential of ownership. He knew the business intimately, had relationships with all major clients, and was already seen as the face of the company — buying it was a natural extension of the role he had been building for over a decade.

What's working

Deep industry relationships and reputation on the West Coast as the high-quality, high-touch validation consulting option
Predictable project pipeline — work comes on the tail end of design/construction, giving good advance visibility on staffing needs
Co-ownership with Arnold (ops/president) and Corey (strategic/CEO) playing complementary roles
SBA 10-year loan structure provided sufficient cash flow headroom vs. shorter-term private financing
Tax-efficient deal structuring with 15-year depreciation on purchase price reduced taxable income post-close
Refinanced SBA variable loan to fixed 4% conventional loan, removing personal guarantee
Revenue grew from $4m at acquisition to peak of $9m — roughly doubling the business

What's hard

13-year delay from recruitment to deal close — primarily due to financing uncertainty and John's unwillingness to hold a seller note
2017 (year 2-3 post-acquisition) revenue dip made bank nervous about covenant ratios, required sharpening financial discipline
Current (2023) 40% top-line revenue decline due to slowdown in pharma capital projects; barely break-even, scrambling to retain staff
Personal guarantee on family home created significant stress, particularly for spouse Tanya
Corey had to learn formal P&L accounting post-acquisition — John had kept books separate from operational budgeting
Negotiating non-compete provisions with John (who had a competing East Coast business) created trust strains despite decade-long relationship
Transition from employee/leader mindset to owner mindset — learning that ownership is 'life amplified' with higher highs and lower lows

Notable quotes

ownership of a company is kind of life amplified so the highs are higher and the lows are lower and the stress of ownership pushes both ends up and down

I'm listening and talking about the Warriors and a radio ad comes on and it's Comerica bank and we do SBA loans to finance owner buyouts of their existing company I was like oh really that's a thing

John the owner was fairly young also had a competing business on the East Coast so there was all sorts of negotiations around how to protect ourselves that he wouldn't just come in and take our territory

Arnold and I got to stand up at an all hands meeting and say hey we're buying the business and we're going to be transitioning and everybody's like oh cool so it was pretty non-eventful it was easy peasy