Greg Hirsch·April 20, 2026

Buying a $40m Business as a 49-Year-Old First-Timer | Greg Hirsch Interview

Greg Hirsch, a 49-year-old first-time business buyer, acquired an independent Pella Windows & Doors distributorship in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro for approximately $40M in revenue in 2021, after spending roughly eight years as an operating partner and head of business development at Daseke, a specialized flatbed trucking roll-up that went public via SPAC in 2017. Armed with a 20%-per-year growth discipline learned at Sysco Foods and sharpened through the Daseke roll-up, Greg partnered with the incumbent operator — who had run the business for a decade without any ownership — to co-acquire it using a bank cash-flow loan and a seller note, deliberately avoiding outside equity to maintain control. Over four years the two partners grew revenue from ~$40M to the mid-$80M range, nearly doubling the business, earned a spot on the Dallas Business Journal Fast 50, and built out a management team capable of ownership. In fall 2025, Greg exited via a management buyout back to his partner and the broader team, consistent with his stated philosophy of returning businesses to the people who love them. He now operates Hirsch Ventures and is actively searching for his next blue-collar acquisition in the $25M+ range. The episode also features a candid segment with Greg's wife Barbara, who discusses the family financial runway, the stress of the search period, and how aligned values and clear 'rules' (chiefly, 'don't screw it up') helped the couple navigate the uncertainty together.

Deal facts

revenue: $40m at acquisition; grew to mid-$80m by exit
financing structure: Bank cash-flow/enterprise loan + sizable seller note + equity from two partners (Greg Hirsch and incumbent operator); no outside equity partners
notes: Business was an independent Pella Windows & Doors distributorship in DFW/North Texas. Greg partnered with the incumbent operator who had run it 10 years but had no ownership. Greg held majority equity. Exited via MBO to his operating partner and the broader management team in fall 2025, approximately four years after closing in 2021. Prior to this deal, Greg spent ~8 years as operating partner and BD lead in the Daseke specialized flatbed trucking roll-up, which went public via SPAC in 2017.

Why this business

Greg was looking for a blue-collar roots business in DFW selling a product the world needed 40 years ago and would need 40 years from now, large enough (roughly $25M+) to have 'meat on the bone' for his 20%-growth playbook. The Pella distributorship was surfaced via a referral during his search and fit his B2B-roots, people-driven profile. He also valued that private equity was not invited to the acquisition process and that the incumbent operator — who had run the business successfully for a decade — was willing to partner with him, de-risking the transition significantly.

What's working

Applying a disciplined 20%-per-year growth mentality learned at Sysco and honed during the Daseke trucking roll-up, doubling revenue from ~$40M to mid-$80M over four years
Partnering with an experienced incumbent operator who provided day-one operational continuity and deep knowledge of the business
Building a strong internal team: an operations manager rose to president, a new operator who knew the Pella brand grew rapidly, and a sales leader with strong execution
Using a seller note and bank cash-flow loan to avoid outside equity partners, keeping control and economics tightly held between two aligned co-owners
Reducing internal friction (systems, processes, team alignment) to unlock growth rather than relying solely on sales effort
Creating an outside board to professionalize governance as the business scaled
Earned a spot on the Dallas Business Journal Fast 50 list during the growth period
Planned exit from the outset as an MBO back to management, which aligned incentives and ultimately enabled a clean transition

What's hard

Talking to 40 banks before finding a handful in Dallas truly able to make cash-flow/enterprise loans on an asset-light business — most claimed they could but had hidden restrictions
COVID hit approximately six months into the search phase, disrupting the ability to meet owners and source deals in person
Supply chain disruptions (windows/doors industry) and macroeconomic headwinds during the ownership period required constant team focus
As employee count grew toward 200, unexpected compliance requirements emerged (e.g., mandatory 401k audit thresholds) that added complexity
Entering the role of hands-on operator — Greg initially wanted to be a non-operating sponsor, and adjusting to full operational involvement was a mindset shift
Navigating the search phase as a 'fundless sponsor' with no formal fund — had friendly backers but no committed capital, which complicated bank conversations and required relentless networking
Family financial pressure during the 18-24 month search period: no income, COBRA health insurance ticking, savings runway with a hard internal review at 18 months

Notable quotes

I look for blue-collar roots businesses, products that the world needed 40 years ago and is going to need 40 years from now. You're going to need groceries, trucking, and windows in 40 years from now.

The best place to find the next great idea is probably in your heck no pile. You looked at some deal and you're like, oh, heck no, and you threw it over. When you can't seem to find why you're not having success, I always suggest you review your heck no pile because you may have a few months earlier, when you were maybe higher on yourself than you should have been, threw something off to the side.

Are you lowering your standards or are you discarding your own pompous and hubris in order to figure out what really works in life?

Growth is usually held up by mainly one thing and that's some kind of friction. The more that you can go find the friction, the sales will grow. It's usually the internal friction that's holding you back. It's not the market.

If you're doing this and you don't kind of find yourself balled up in a corner somewhere at some point just kind of needing a minute — everybody loves to talk about how it's so sexy. It is not. It is hard and weird and yuck half the time.