The exit playbook for owners of $5M–$50M companies and businesses with $1M+ in EBITDA. Get your free copy →

In 2011, XPO Logistics had $175 million in revenue.

Six years later, it had $15 billion.

That’s about 86 times the size. And no, Brad Jacobs (hilariously, the author of a book titled “How to Make a Few Billion Dollars”) did NOT do this with organic social media posts.

No, he made a series of strategic acquisitions that put the company into a new stratosphere of growth.

His plan had three parts:

Over the next six years, XPO made 13 acquisitions. That might sound like a lot, but it wasn’t a spray-and-pray approach. It was about patiently finding the right acquisitions to grow the business.

This makes a strong case for buying instead of building, which is a decision buyers often grapple with. I find inexperienced buyers often frame it the wrong way:

“Why should we buy this business when we can build it ourselves?”

Sometimes they’re right. If you can hire a good salesperson, open a new location, and win customers for less than the cost and risk of buying, build it.

But don’t forget the invisible price tag: time.

A new location can take years to earn trust. Building a marketing engine that produces predictable leads can cost millions in start-up capital. Even harder, a great team can take years to recruit, train, and keep.

Acquisitions can act like the world’s least exciting time machine. You get the people, customer relationships, and know-how on day one. But then the real work begins: keeping the team, integrating systems, and making sure the change doesn’t break the reason customers chose the business in the first place.

So don’t ask only, “What’s the purchase price?” Ask, “What would it cost us to build this, how long would it take, and what could go wrong after we own it?”

This same question comes up in the lower middle market. Do you build a marketing engine and hire talent from scratch, or buy a business with repeat customers, proven lead flow, and a team already in place? Buying can save years, but costs more and key people may leave. Building can be cheaper, but takes time. First identify the gap, then compare the cost, timeline, and risk of each path.

If you’re the owner thinking about a sale, don’t stop at “we make $1 million of EBITDA.” Show the buyer what would take years to recreate: repeatable leads, a team that knows how to deliver, and customer relationships that keep coming back.

The best answer is often both. Buy the capability that would take years to recreate. Build where you have scarce expertise and resources.

Thinking about selling your business? A confidential, no-pressure conversation can help you understand what a buyer might value and what you may want to strengthen before a process. Schedule a call →

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WOD “Push Power” (10-min EMOM, at the bench):

founder challenge: buy or build your biggest gap

Pick the biggest constraint in your business: repeatable customer leads, a marketing engine, or talent. Choose one real example and answer:

For example, if referrals drive most of your new customers, could you build a reliable marketing channel, or would buying an established lead engine save years? If you need a senior operator, can you recruit and train one, or does an existing team bring customer relationships and know-how that are hard to replace?

Write down the path you’d choose and the first step you’ll take this week.

This week’s deal breakdown: a $3M digital agency with nearly $1M in SDE—and the buyer questions behind the headline numbers.

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