From Engineer to Buying Businesses | Benjamin Huang on Laundromats, Zero-Down Deals & Avoiding SBA Mistakes

In this episode of the Dream Start Own podcast, Edgar “The Connector” Salgado sits down with Benjamin Huang—a former biomedical engineer/scientist who went from W2 life (Harvard Medical School + reporting to the White House) to buying cash-flowing businesses using creative structures, partnerships, and relationship-first dealmaking. Benjamin breaks down how he underwrote 162 businesses before buying his first one zero down, why that first deal was “poorly structured,” and the exact operational mistakes that almost turned business buying into a bankruptcy speed-run. He shares how he learned to focus on the story behind the numbers, how he “bought his way out” of a struggling landscaping acquisition, and how his team now focuses heavily on laundromats—including a deal where they got paid $71,000 at closing and turned a money-losing location into a cash-flowing asset on day one. Chapters 00:00 You don’t need a ton of money to buy a business 01:45 Benjamin’s background: engineer/scientist → entrepreneur 03:55 Why he started buying assets (multifamily → businesses) 06:30 162 underwrites + what he learned about “numbers vs story” 07:50 His first business: zero-down (and why it was a mistake) 10:35 SBA loans: what went wrong + why he won’t do SBA again 12:40 “Cheat code”: partner with someone experienced (weekly public Q&A) 14:30 Mindset: W2 mindset vs owner mindset (Rich Dad Poor Dad) 24:40 Biggest mistake: buying businesses like real estate (no ops team) 26:35 How he “bought his way out” and scaled to a $10M revenue company 33:00 Where deals come from (BizBuySell/LoopNet → community/vendors) 36:45 Getting paid to buy a laundromat + turning loss into profit day one 44:30 What numbers matter in laundromats (SDE/EBITDA + buyer type) 49:10 Building the team: integrator, CFO, ops + regional managers 52:50 When to walk away (culture + principle conflict) 56:10 “Attract your team, don’t recruit them” 57:40 Quick fire: skill every buyer needs (empathy + relatability) 01:02:00 Buy box + how to send laundromat deals 01:02:40 How to join Benjamin’s weekly public office hours Connect with Benjamin Instagram: @BenjaminHuang14 DM “QA” for the weekly public office hours link DM “LAUNDRY” for the laundromat deal breakdown (how they got paid to buy it) Sleep better, dream bigger! Affiliate link: Eight Sleep https://refer.eight.sl/edgardsalgado PLUG IN & SUBSCRIBE Instagram: / @edgartheconnector TikTok: / @edgarsrei Join The Subto Community for Life & Learn Creative Finance from @PaceMorby https://join.nre.ai/mQ9T9vZ Learn How to Make Money on Other People’s Deals with the Gator Method https://join.nre.ai/mQBDJK5 Get the tools I use for productivity https://linktr.ee/EdgartheConnector DISCLAIMER We are not a CPA, attorney, insurance, contractor, lender, or financial advisor. The content in these videos shall not be construed as tax, legal, insurance, construction, engineering, health & safety, electrical, financial advice, or other and may be outdated