Walker Deibel Profile picture
I help people buy businesses and build wealth / WSJ Bestselling Author #BuyThenBuild / Advisor on $475,000,000+ in acquisitions
Oct 3, 2025 14 tweets 4 min read
I bought a company for $1.9 million in revenue.

40% of my employees quit on the same day. They started a competitor down the street using all our processes.

Revenue crashed below what I paid for it.

Here's what really happens when you buy a business:⬇️ Image Most people think buying a business is about financial engineering.

Find an undervalued company, optimize the numbers, flip for profit.

But after buying 7 companies in 10 years, I learned something different.

The real game is about people and throughput:
Sep 12, 2025 16 tweets 5 min read
Robert Kiyosaki's Cash Flow Quadrant exposed why most people never build wealth.

I used it to acquire $16.5M in revenue across 10 companies.

Without starting rich.

Here's the blueprint that changes everything: Image A new Acquisition Lab member once revealed something I'd never considered.

He applied because Kiyosaki's Cash Flow Quadrant finally made sense through our framework.

That's when I realized we'd never connected these dots before...
Aug 20, 2025 11 tweets 4 min read
Red Lobster didn’t die of bad shrimp.

It wasn’t the menu. It wasn’t even the customers.

Its real killer was hiding in the balance sheet.

Here’s the story of how America’s favorite seafood chain was gutted from the inside:⬇️ Image First, let's address the elephant in the room.

Everyone blamed the endless shrimp. The $19.99 all-you-can-eat promotion did lose $11 million in one quarter.

But that's like blaming a fever for killing the patient when the real disease was much deeper: Image
Aug 1, 2025 22 tweets 6 min read
Most entrepreneurs are playing a rigged game.

96% of businesses never reach $1M in revenue.

75% of VC-backed startups go completely to zero.

Yet we keep following the same playbook.

After buying 7 companies in 10 years, I discovered why: ⬇️ Image We've been sold 5 myths about entrepreneurship that keep smart people trapped in the startup casino.

These myths sound logical.

They feel inspiring.

But they're statistically designed to make you fail.

Let me show you what the data actually reveals:
Jun 25, 2025 18 tweets 6 min read
My grandfather changed my life with these breakfast lessons.

By age 12, I understood something most adults never learn.

Today I've helped my students close half a billion dollars in deals.

Here's the wealth-building secret passed down through my family: Image Some people seem to be playing a completely different game when it comes to building wealth.

Those who generate 100 million or a billion dollars in a single lifetime aren't just working harder.

They've mastered something that creates exponential value creation:
May 26, 2025 15 tweets 5 min read
In 2025, the world will face its biggest energy crisis in decades.

Supply is crashing while infrastructure takes decades to replace.

Smart investors are buying what private equity abandoned at 87.5% discounts.

Here's the oil play that could return 32% annually: Image Most people don't see what's coming.

Oil reserves naturally decline 3% to 5% every year as you pull oil from the ground.

That means 5 million barrels per day of new production is needed just to stay flat.

But here's the problem nobody's talking about...
Apr 28, 2025 17 tweets 6 min read
The business statistic nobody talks about:

70% of partnerships fail (higher than the divorce rate).

This Stanford study reveals a shocking truth about which partnerships succeed.

And why most founders get it completely wrong: Image Solo founders often fail to scale beyond their personal bandwidth.

A single founder can only work so many hours, handle so many deals, or develop so many relationships.

Their companies typically achieve 25-30% IRR.

Partnership-led businesses? 40% IRR.
Apr 23, 2025 20 tweets 6 min read
If you want to build wealth, you should buy a business, NOT start one.

Business buyers are 10x more likely to succeed.

But 90% still lose everything by making this ONE mistake.

Here's the only 3-step process you need to close deals with confidence: Image 80% of startups fail within the first 5 years.

Even venture-backed startups face a 75% failure rate.

Only 4% of U.S. businesses ever reach $1M in annual revenue.

But, buying an existing business flips these odds entirely...
Apr 18, 2025 20 tweets 6 min read
The $1.6B small business crisis nobody saw coming:

Loan defaults have tripled since 2021, and businesses are failing faster than ever.

But hidden in this chaos is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for savvy buyers.

Here's how you can capitalize: 🧵 Image During COVID, the Fed lowered rates and printed stimulus checks.

Many businesses became dependent on cheap capital without realizing it.

Now, they're struggling in a high-interest environment.

Here are the 4 most common reasons causing these businesses to go under:
Mar 17, 2025 15 tweets 5 min read
I buy businesses for a living.

I've acquired 8 companies in 20 years.

If you think you need millions to buy a business, you need to learn this 4-hour morning routine.

A thread 🧵 Image Most people think buying businesses requires deep pockets.

After 20 years of acquisitions, I discovered something counterintuitive.

The secret isn't having millions - it's having the right morning routine.

Here's what most don't know:
Mar 14, 2025 16 tweets 5 min read
The greatest wealth transfer in history is happening right now:

$10 TRILLION worth of businesses need new owners.

But 99% of people have no idea how to buy one.

Here's the truth about buying companies that Wall Street doesn't want you to know: Image 12 million privately-held businesses are owned by Baby Boomers.

These employ over 25 million Americans.

And over the next decade, almost all of these businesses will need new owners.

Here's what most people don't realize:
Mar 3, 2025 23 tweets 7 min read
If you want to build generational wealth, buy a business.

It delivers better returns than the stock market.

But to be successful, you need to do the opposite of what they teach in MBAs.

Here’s how to buy a business with almost zero risk (and make millions): 🧵 Image Most people think the risk-return relationship is fixed.

Low risk equals low return. High risk equals high return.

But after buying 7 companies and helping facilitate over $200M in deals,
I've found a secret:
Feb 24, 2025 22 tweets 6 min read
I discovered a system that builds generational wealth.

It combines a few elements that attract money.

Entrepreneurs that win use it & the ones who don't fail every time.

Here's the 3-part framework I used to grow my businesses to $16.5M in combined revenue: Image Everyone's chasing shortcuts to wealth these days.

• Hands-off businesses
• No money down deals
• Get rich quick schemes

But here's what I've learned after acquiring 7 companies:
Feb 10, 2025 21 tweets 6 min read
If you want to buy a business do not:

"Start small to minimize risk."

This mindset is holding you back and costing you millions of dollars.

Here's the alternative approach that will make you a successful acquisition entrepreneur: Image Let me tell you why starting small is a terrible strategy.

I've acquired 8 companies since 2006 and participated in over $200M in business transactions.

And I've noticed a pattern in successful people.

But here's what nobody tells you about "playing it safe":
Feb 7, 2025 19 tweets 6 min read
I learned this the hard way:

Real wealth isn't built through get-rich-quick schemes.

It's built by taking on debt to buy value-generating machines.

Here's the underground playbook for acquiring businesses your bank doesn't want you to know: Image Let me start by telling you where this all started.

After graduating with my MBA in 2004, the startup I'd been working on completely failed.

I had no job. No money. And everyone thought I was crazy.

But I knew one thing for certain:
Feb 6, 2025 18 tweets 6 min read
The greatest wealth transfer in history is happening as you read this:

The next wave of millionaires won't come from startups...

They'll come from old businesses that embrace this ONE thing.

Here's the only blueprint you need to dominate the next decade: Image $72.6 trillion will transfer between generations by 2046.

This isn't just money changing hands.

It represents millions of established businesses ready for transformation.

But here's what most people are missing: Image
Jan 28, 2025 19 tweets 6 min read
Everyone thinks Elon Musk started Tesla:

They're wrong.

Instead, he mastered a better strategy to take control and build an empire.

Here's the exact blueprint that made him the world's richest man (anyone can use it): Image Let's start in 2003.

Two engineers, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, founded Tesla Motors.

Their vision was to create a high-performance electric car that could compete with traditional vehicles.

But there was one big problem...
Jan 27, 2025 20 tweets 6 min read
Your favorite brands are dying in front of you.

Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in 2024.

Toys R Us collapsed under $5.3 billion in debt.

One Wall Street strategy is behind it all - and it's about to get worse: Image Having acquired and sold multiple businesses over the years, I've seen firsthand how private equity firms operate.

The strategy they use is called "asset stripping" - and it's absolutely devastating for iconic American companies.

Here's how it works:
Jan 21, 2025 19 tweets 6 min read
The data on wealth creation is clear:

Those who combine these 3 asset classes build more wealth way faster.

It's not about working harder - it's about owning the right things.

Here's the framework that creates true financial freedom: Image I've acquired 7 companies since 2006.

Over the last 19 years, I've built them into a $16.5M revenue portfolio.

But the real wealth isn't just in the businesses themselves.

It's how you combine different asset classes to create exponential growth...
Jan 20, 2025 21 tweets 7 min read
This highway interchange was St. Louis's biggest eyesore.

The area was so forgotten, even Google Maps struggled to navigate it.

Now it's becoming home to America's most innovative building project.

What made us commit $4M to transform a dead zone into gold: Image For decades, urban development followed a predictable pattern:

Steel. Concrete. Glass. Repeat.

It results in soulless buildings contributing to climate change and disconnecting us from nature.

But in St. Louis, something revolutionary is happening...
Jan 13, 2025 20 tweets 5 min read
One of the biggest myths in business:

"You need to find off-market deals to get the best prices".

The data shows something completely different.

Here's the Quality-Price Matrix that ACTUALLY works for investors in 2025: Image Every day, entrepreneurs hunt for "hidden gem" businesses.

They send cold emails, hoping to find that perfect off-market deal.

The logic seems sound: Less competition = better prices.

But acquisition data reveals a different story: