You Don't Need a Tech Startup to Cash In on the AI Boom | Jason Hew

If you have bought a business, and are open to sharing your story on the show, please email [email protected] you want to sell your business, I'm buying. Please email [email protected] with Jason Hew here: https://nz.linkedin.com/in/jasonhew1Jason Hew spent a decade learning how good businesses and good deals work — as a PwC chartered accountant and M&A advisor, then in-house at Woolworths Group, then helping scale (and exit) Cashrewards. Instead of chasing a tech startup, he went a different route to entrepreneurship: a traditional search fund, backed by investors and SMEVentures, to train himself as a first-time CEO. In August 2024 he closed the deal — acquiring two instrument-transformer manufacturers in one transaction, WF Energy Controls in Sydney and TWS Energy Controls in Christchurch, then moved his young family across the Tasman to run them.This is a genuinely numbers-rich episode. Jason walks through the whole thing: a full year of searching, ~4–5,000 businesses contacted, five offers made (and four lost to private equity and strategics), a software deal that died on Christmas Eve — and finding the winner on Seek Business on the 2nd of January. He's open about the ~$10M revenue, just-under-$3M EBITDA business he bought at roughly 3.5x, and exactly how he structured it with zero of his own money down: investor equity, big-four bank debt, a vendor note and a one-year earnout.IN THIS EPISODE:- Buying TWO businesses in one cross-border deal — with none of his own money - Why he chose a search fund over "just buying the corner laundromat" - 4–5,000 businesses contacted, 5 offers, 4 lost to PE and strategics - The Christmas Eve heartbreak that led to the winning deal on Jan 2nd - The numbers: ~$10M revenue, ~$3M EBITDA, bought at ~3.5x - The full structure: investor equity, bank debt, vendor note + earnout - Why his #1 growth lever was people, not sales or software - "A supply problem, not a demand problem" — growing without a sales team - Moving a young family across countries for the deal - The #2 hire he wishes he'd made a year soonerCONNECT WITH JASON HEW:LinkedIn: https://nz.linkedin.com/in/jasonhew1TIMESTAMPS:0:00 - From PwC and M&A to buying a business 2:25 - Why a search fund, not a laundromat 4:17 - Getting investor backing before the search 5:57 - The search: broad criteria and a wide net 8:17 - A year of hunting and five failed offers 9:30 - Finding the deal on Seek Business, January 2nd 11:25 - What TWS & WF Energy Controls actually make 13:24 - The numbers: ~$10M revenue, ~$3M EBITDA 14:11 - Why the electrification tailwind sold him 15:50 - The seller: a retiring farmer with 6-7 businesses 17:30 - The deal structure: ~3.5x, with no money down 19:11 - Day one in the CEO seat 21:56 - Making his mark: a people-first overhaul 23:52 - What the HR changes looked like in practice 25:53 - Signs the culture change was working 27:39 - How his day-to-day has shifted 29:20 - Moving the family from Australia to New Zealand 32:36 - Growth: a supply problem, not a demand problem 36:41 - What bolt-on acquisitions could look like 38:28 - Funding a second acquisition in a search fund 39:07 - What he'd do differently: hire your #2 soonerDeals Down Under is the podcast about buying, selling, and growing businesses in Australia and New Zealand. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.