7 Business Adventures

Proof That the

BUY BUILD EXIT

Method Works.

For 30 years I’ve treated business as an adventure.
Different industries. Different cycles. Different partners.

Same pattern: BUY well. BUILD intelligently. EXIT strategically.
I’ve had startup failures. But none of the BUY BUILD EXIT acquisitions failed. That’s not luck. That’s structure. That distinction matters. Below are seven examples that built the foundation for the BUY BUILD EXIT Method and Partnership.

1. Vision Specialists ➔ HeaLthcare Rollup, Platform Sale to OPSM

Industry: Healthcare / Retail

Bought: 1999

Exit: 2005

Outcome: 50x Exit

At age 25, my wife Michelle and I bought our first optometry practice. We grew it to three locations. Then we created a platform that an investor expanded to 12+ stores and sold to ASX -listed OPSM.

Lesson:
Buy a solid business. Build and scale with disruptive marketing. Exit to strategic buyers.

This was proof that acquisition beats startup. We bought a business making $100k profit that had taken the owner 5 years to get to from start up.

In year 1 we took it to $350 k profit and year 2 $700k profit. In 2 years, we had 7x what the vendor had taken 5 years to create from scratch.

Lesson:
Solve real pain. Build recurring revenue that is sticky. Scale with discipline, we didn’t raise capital, we grew organically with world class service. Exit when strategic buyers pay premiums.

2. SmartPayroll ➔ Built a 9 Figure SaaS company

Industry: SaaS (Payroll + HR)

Founded: 2004

Exit: 2020

Outcome: 150x Exit

After struggling with payroll inside our optometry group, we built the solution to our problem. SmartPayroll was a pioneering cloud SaaS business in Australia & New Zealand.

At scale it:

After 204 months of consecutive growth I exited in 2020 to a multi-billion-dollar ANZ technology company.

3. Butter Chicken ➔
FMCG Distribution Exit

Industry: Food Manufacturing / FMCG

Bought: 2009

Exit: 2012

Outcome: 10x Exit

I love butter chicken and this is the story of how I became the King of Butter Chicken.. I partnered with an Indian manufacturer in Delhi. We created healthy, tasty and fast Indian meals in 2-minute microwaveable pouches .

Imported, distributed and placed into:

Lesson:
Spot consumer demand for convenience and new ethnic flavous.
Leverage distribution.
Move fast.
Exit before value is destroyed.

4. Smart Business Centre
Accountants ➔ Accounting
Roll-Up Strategy

Industry: Accounting

Founded: 2008

Exit: 2020

Outcome: 5x Exit

We acquired and rolled up 16 accounting practices.
Structured a 50/50 partnership model with existing operators. Aligned incentives. Maintained leadership continuity.
Scaled through integration.

Lesson:
Roll-ups work when culture and incentives are aligned.

5. BELLAFORTE ➔ $1m Amazon E-Commerce Exit by my 15 year old Son

Industry: E-commerce

Founded: 2018

Exit: 2021

Outcome: $1m Exit for 15 year old Son

This one started as a teaching exercise for my kids. My son Sam sourced products on Alibaba at age 12. We visited suppliers in China. He raised startup capital from 20 investors at an Amazon conference on the Gold Coast. During COVID, Sales exploded. At age 15, he exited for over $1M to a PE-backed aggregator in Singapore & Sydney.

Imported, distributed and placed into:

Lesson:
Even small businesses can become acquisition targets when positioned correctly. And yes — age doesn’t matter when the model works.

6. Vetlinkpro ➔ Exit To constellation Software

Industry: SaaS (Veterinary Practice Management) in 15 countries

Bought: 2020

Exit: 2022

Outcome: 10x Exit

VetlinkPRO provided mission-critical SaaS software to veterinarians. Sold in 2022 during peak Covid pet-sector thematic momentum. Acquired by Constellation Software — arguably the world’s best SaaS acquirer (~$100B market cap). This was a perfect example of: Multiple arbitrage. Strategic timing. Professional exit preparation hiring a US Investment Bank to run the process.

Lesson:
If you build recurring revenue in niche verticals, premium buyers exist.

7. CONFAST ➔ Ongoing Strategic Growth

Industry: E-commerce

Status: Active

Bought: 2023

Exit: Active

Outcome: Working on it

I had never owned a business in the construction industry. Which is exactly why I bought CONFAST, to learn about the industry and try and reduce the price of building materials to make new houses cheaper. CONFAST is an importer and distributor in a massive TAM with large competitors.

The thesis: Buy in a traditional sector. Introduce discipline and low-cost business models. Leverage supply chain advantages. Disrupt pricing. The adventure continues.

What All 7 Adventures Have in Common

Different industries

Different timelines (3 years to 17 years)

Different exit multiples

But the same core pattern:

That pattern is now codified in the BUY BUILD EXIT Method and Partnership.

Ps. I’m now open to the idea of Holding Good Businesses for the long term and having them managed.

What I'm Good At

I’m not the smartest person in the room.

But I am very good at:

Creating strategic vision
Identifying leverage points
Designing clever business models
Structuring deals properly
Scaling and building through systems and marketing
Knowing when to exit

That’s pattern recognition built over decades.

Why I Do It

I love small business.

When small business owners win:

Wealth creation done properly changes generational trajectories.

That’s why BUY BUILD EXIT exists. To Improve Lives thru Business Success.

Why This Page Matters

Anyone can talk about ETA. Lawyers, Accountants and stage sprukers selling courses. Ask them how many deals they done, what deals have the done lately, how many IMs have they read, how many times have they been sued…..

Very few can show:

The BUY BUILD EXIT Method isn’t a concept. It’s built on real acquisitions, real growth, and real exits.

The Invitation

If these case studies resonate… Then you understand this isn’t about hype. It’s about structure and the frameworks in the BUY BUILD EXIT Method. If you want to achieve your potential and dream of owning your own successful business and being an Entrepreneur and taking control of your destiny to improve your life and your family’s future, then ….
Apply to the BUY BUILD EXIT Partnership.

“The cowards never started and the weak died along the way. That leaves us.”
— Phil Knight, Founder of Nike