25: How to Buy 24 Companies with No Cash and Sell for a 14x Multiple — John Ratliff’s Playbook

In this episode, Bruce Eckfeldt sits down with John Ratliff, founder of Appletree Answers and now a partner at Align5 and advisor at STS Capital Partners. John shares the behind-the-scenes story of growing a call center business through 24 acquisitions—all without outside capital—and selling at a 14x EBITDA multiple. He also reveals how founders get taken advantage of by sophisticated buyers, and what you must do to avoid selling for less than you're worth.

Key Takeaways:

• You can scale through acquisitions without raising outside capital—if you master bank relationships.

• Know your strategic value inside the buyer’s ecosystem—it’s often worth more than your financials show.

• A strong exit multiple (14x) is possible when you’re the most coveted asset in a fragmented market.

• Bank relationships should be treated like partnerships, not vendor agreements.

• Your personal finances and lifestyle must be exit-ready before the deal closes.

• Never use your company email as your personal email—it could be gone post-exit.

• Build acquisition teams internally with cross-functional talent, not full-time M&A staff.

• Think like a buyer: reverse engineer how your capabilities create value after acquisition.

Links & Resources

• John Ratfliff

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