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October 14, 2025 39 mins

Jared Johnson sits down with investor and operator Adam Markley to trace a winding path from nearly failing out of college to building and backing small businesses. Adam shares how a pivot into accounting and finance opened doors to hands-on work with small companies, a corporate run standing up deal-driven divisions, and ultimately his own acquisitions in the U.S. and U.K. He talks candidly about painful lessons (from paying loans out of pocket to a partner emptying accounts), why seller behavior is a leading indicator of post-close reality, and how his team now invests with a heavy emphasis on in-person site visits and back-office execution. Adam explains his four-pillar support model for new owners, common pitfalls in lender relationships, and where he thinks ETA is headed as underwriting tightens and off-market search professionalizes.

Main Takeaways:

  • Curiosity and repetition win: reviewing dozens of deals monthly builds judgment you cannot shortcut
  • Seller character and the buyer–seller relationship are core drivers of post-close success
  • Site visits late in diligence provide a critical gut check before funding and close
  • The first 6–12 months are won by focusing on four buckets: people, operations, sales, and processes
  • Outsourcing or wrapping expert back-office support can save hundreds of hours during transition
  • Investor fit matters: clear expectations on equity step-ups, preferred returns, and long-term horizons
  • Off-market search is professionalizing; few individuals can excel at every part of the search lifecycle alone
  • Expect tighter SBA underwriting (e.g., DSCR definitions, post-close liquidity) to favor better-capitalized buyers
  • Personal financial discipline signals readiness to operate and builds lender and investor confidence
  • Under-levering and adding real balance-sheet cash can improve outcomes and optionality post-close

Episode Highlights:

  • Background reset: from almost failing out to finishing an accounting/finance degree early and working with small-business clients
  • Early exposure: regional public accounting, seeing owners scale and realizing business + real estate wealth patterns
  • Corporate chapter: building deal-led divisions (JVs, partial acquisitions), then buying and spinning out an education company on acquisitions
  • Hard lessons: U.K. operating partner empties accounts; replacing a non-owner president post-close; paying loans personally
  • Portfolio today: eight active businesses, four acquired with SBA loans; shifting from primary acquirer to minority investor
  • Investment approach: won’t invest without a site visit; observe seller–buyer dynamics as a final diligence gate
  • Back-office leverage: running or wrapping accounting/finance/admin to free operators for customers, people, ops, and sales
  • The four-pillar support model: inner circle (family/peers), peer groups, strategic investor sounding board, and day-to-day back office
  • Working with lenders: create a real feedback loop; understand how banks calculate DSCR and post-close liquidity
  • Market outlook: more competition, more specialization in off-market sourcing, and likely stricter SBA expectations
  • Motivation: be the resource he wished he had—review deals freely, build community (Denver meetup; Rocky Mountain ETA efforts)

Connect with Jared:

If you have questions for Jared, visit: https://jaredwjohnson.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredwjohnson/

Connect with Adam: .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}


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