Robert Gayden·December 15, 2025

Reward for 17 Month Deal: $1.8m of EBITDA | Robert Gayden Interview

Robert Gayden is a 35-year-old first-generation business owner who acquired a home care franchise just west of Milwaukee, WI in January 2025 after a 17-month search and deal process. Robert came from a finance background (Commerce Bank, Carnegie Mellon MBA with an ETA focus, and a PIMCO internship he walked away from after his father's unexpected death), and self-funded the search using family capital including inheritance proceeds. He targeted home care specifically after attending the Home Care Association of America conference and being convinced by industry insiders of its low capex, variable cost structure, demographic tailwinds, and mission alignment with serving veterans and elderly clients. The business was a husband-and-wife operated franchise generating ~$3.1m in revenue (down from $3.9m the prior year) when he first saw it, but by the time the deal closed it had surged to ~$4.9m in revenue and ~$1.8m in EBITDA — all at the same ~$7m purchase price, because the sellers never retraded. A failed F-reorg attempt mid-process nearly killed the deal, but it was ultimately resolved with a simpler 336E tax election. Eight months into ownership, Robert is grinding through operations himself on a punishing Chicago-to-Milwaukee daily commute, sees 15% year-over-year revenue growth, and is now focused on hiring salespeople and building out his leadership team to enable him to step up from operator to owner.

Deal facts

purchase price: ~$7 million
multiple: under 4x EBITDA (at close; significantly below initial asking multiple given revenue growth during 17-month process)
sde ebitda: 2023 adjusted EBITDA ~$1.65m; 2024 adjusted EBITDA ~$1.8m; 2025 projected ~$2.1m
revenue: 2021: ~$3.9m; 2022: ~$3.1m; 2023: ~$4.3m; 2024: ~$4.9m; 2025 projected: ~$5.7m
financing structure: SBA loan through Live Oak Bank; no seller financing mentioned; family (mother, wife) on cap table as equity investors; no working capital peg
notes: Business is a home care franchise just west of Milwaukee, WI. Sellers were a husband-and-wife team. Revenue declined from 2021 to 2022 (sellers admitted to 'taking foot off gas'), then surged in 2023 and 2024 while deal was in process. Purchase price remained flat despite ~66% revenue increase from initial LOI to close — sellers did not retrade. EBITDA margins were 35-40% at time of purchase (unusually high due to lean husband-wife operator structure). Deal took 17 months largely due to a failed F-reorg attempt that spooked sellers; ultimately resolved with a 336E tax election instead.

Why this business

Robert was drawn to home care because of its low capex, variable cost structure tied directly to revenue, strong demographic tailwinds (8.5% CAGR through 2033), and alignment with his desire to impact people — both employees and clients, including veterans (both his parents were military). He had no prior operating experience and wanted an industry where interpersonal skills mattered and labor, not machinery, was the primary management challenge. His grandmother also needed home care services, making the mission personal.

What's working

Business was growing strongly on its own momentum — revenue surged ~66% from $3.1m to $4.9m during the 17-month acquisition process, with no price retrade from high-integrity sellers
Franchise network providing processes, documentation, and peer operator support has offset Robert's lack of prior operating experience
High EBITDA margins (35%+) at acquisition due to lean owner-operator structure, providing financial cushion as Robert builds out the team
Strong existing reputation in the market and clean billing/payroll cycle (weekly) supporting healthy cash flow
15% year-over-year revenue growth in first year of ownership (pacing toward ~$5.7m) with no dedicated salesperson yet

What's hard

Labor management is constant and demanding — staffing shifts, employee motivation, and turnover are ongoing challenges
Robert spent first 8 months too focused on internal office operations and not enough time in the field visiting caregivers, clients, and referral partners
The F-reorg attempt nearly killed the deal — sending extensive legal documents spooked the sellers, putting the deal 'on ice' for months; Robert should have managed that rollout more carefully
Culture clash: Robert's high-intensity, accountability-focused style created friction with existing staff who were used to a different pace under the prior husband-wife operators
Commute intensity: daily Amtrak from Chicago to just west of Milwaukee (up at 5am, home by 9:20pm) is grueling
In hindsight, Robert could have hired an experienced operator from day one given the business's EBITDA, rather than grinding through all operations himself

Notable quotes

Buy bigger. I mean, get what you can that makes the most sense for you. Like, if you're in the game, you're in the game. But like the same amount of work that you do in that 300, it's going to be the same with like, you know, 2 million or a million relatively speaking. So, yeah, go for bigger.

I think I'm slightly above average. So maybe I can get 10% compound annual growth rate on top of that versus picking an industry that's much tougher 3%. You know what I mean? And it's just like I just really wanted I was hyperfocused on setting myself up for success because I needed like a buffer time before I became what I would consider like an expert in everything.

I remember like I called this one nurse, it was like their birthday, didn't even get a chance to talk with them and just like left a voicemail and then all of a sudden I see like, you know, later on that afternoon that oh yeah, they just picked up so and so shift that we have. So really given that touch and like letting people know like my vision and like the new ownership, I wish I would have had a chance to kind of get out in front of that.

You know, I always like to start off and share about myself. Both my parents were in the military growing up. So I had a very eventful childhood. We lived about 11 places.