What if I told you that you don’t have to buy another business to build more wealth?

I’ve bought ten companies outright – eight of them over the first decade. And I’ve made good money doing it – life-changing money.

But here’s the thing most people don’t realize: There’s a point where buying another business actually adds more stress than wealth.

And if you’re like me, you didn’t buy your first business to become a full-time operator of a portfolio of chaotic entities.

You bought it to build wealth. 

So after years of capitalizing, growing, and exiting companies, I started asking a different question:

What if I could keep playing the game, but without having to run the whole show?

That’s where fractional acquisitions come in.

 

Pizza by the Slice: Why I Stopped Buying the Whole Pie

I know I’m the Buy then Build guy, but the honest truth is with the last few deals I’ve done, I didn’t buy the whole company.

Instead, I took a minority stake. I call it “pizza by the slice.”

 

 

I discovered you don’t have to buy the entire pizza to get fed. You just need a slice. And in private markets, those slices can compound wealth in a way most people don’t realize.

Fractional acquisitions – minority investments in private companies – allow me to stay in the game, generate meaningful returns, and diversify, without taking on another full-time operational burden.

But this strategy only works because I spent 10+ years building the foundation first.

 

First, You Need the Foundation: Operate a Business You Own

Let me be clear: this model does not work without owning your own business first.

When people ask me how to start building wealth through fractional acquisitions, I always tell them, “This doesn’t exist without first owning a business for me.”

Operating my own businesses gave me the capital, confidence, and credibility to do these deals. 

My businesses generate $250K to $300K per month in cash flow. Some months are higher, some lower. But that’s what fuels the rest of the strategy.

So if you’re just starting out, buy a good business. Operate it. Build that base layer first. Everything else builds from there.

 

What Comes Next: The Wealth Stack vs. the Risk Stack

Most people assume that the next move is to buy another business. Maybe even two or three. But here’s what I’ve learned:

Buying more and more businesses leads to what I call the “Risk Stack.”

You start stacking businesses. Each one adds operational complexity.

Now, you’re suddenly a manager of managers, a fire-putter-outer, and the person getting the call when the supply chain breaks.

 

Source: REVA Global

 

And what’s the upside? More equity? Sure. But also more chaos, more risk, and less time.

Fractional acquisitions let me flip that model. I call it the “Wealth Stack.”

Instead of stacking companies I own and operate, I stack:

• Cash-flowing minority investments
• Recurring private income streams
• Growth equity positions with asymmetric upside

These are slices. And when you stack enough slices, you don’t just build income – you build wealth.

 

Mapping Private Deals to the Capital Stack

To structure these investments, I started borrowing from private equity’s favorite model: the capital stack.

 

 

Here’s how I think about it:

• Senior Debt → Private credit funds. Low risk, high income. Great downside protection.
• Mezzanine/Preferred Equity → Real estate partnerships, structured deals with cash flow + upside.
• Common Equity → Growth-stage companies or operating businesses where I hold a minority equity stake.

Every deal fits somewhere on this stack, and understanding it helps me assess risk and return clearly.

I don’t just want random exposure. I want a balanced portfolio across the capital stack – one that stacks income, appreciation, and long-term equity growth without requiring me to operate every day.

 

What I Look for in Fractional Deals

So what kinds of businesses do I invest in? The same ones I’d want to own, but just with the day-to-day operations removed.

I still apply the same growth predictor framework we use in Acquisition Lab.

 

 

1. Experienced operator or team: I’m backing people who have done it before. They’re not guessing.
2. Established demand and defensibility: I want strong recurring or repeat revenue, and a market position that’s hard to compete with.
3. Asymmetric upside: I’m not interested in “safe bets” that return 8%. I’m looking for businesses with gazelle potential – $1M+ revenue, growing 20%+ per year.
4. Private market inefficiencies: If the deal looks obvious on Twitter, it’s already too late. I want to play where capital is limited and pricing is inefficient.

Real Examples from My Portfolio

Some of the deals I’ve invested in fractionally include:

• A coding bootcamp with recurring revenue and employer partnerships
• A data-driven marketing firm where I knew the founder and the niche
• A private credit fund that produces steady monthly cash flow
• A real estate deal with strong preferred returns and upside
• An oil well rollup that I believe is mispriced by public markets
• And even a video game production company with a contrarian angle

Each of these represents a different “slice,” and each is sized around what I’d normally use as a down payment for a full acquisition.

 

Why This Strategy Is Even Possible Now

The crazy thing? This type of investing wasn’t really available to most of us until a decade ago.

The 2013 Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act changed that.

 

Source: AwesomeFinTech

 

Regulation D 506(c) allowed general solicitation of private deals, as long as investors are accredited. Suddenly, access to the private markets expanded beyond country clubs and private banks.

That’s when I realized:

We’re now allowed to play the same game the ultra-wealthy have been playing for decades.

You just have to know how to find the deals – and how to evaluate them.

 

Stay an Owner. Just Not the Only Owner.

This is the part that clicked for me:

I didn’t have to stop being an owner.

I just had to stop being the only owner.

Fractional acquisitions let me keep playing the game at a higher level. I still get to capitalize, grow, and exit – just like in my core businesses.

But now, I don’t have to spin up a new team, new infrastructure, or take on new debt every time.

And honestly? The ability to build wealth without the emotional rollercoaster of a new acquisition has been life-changing.

 

Final Thought

If you’re grinding away, wondering whether your next move is to buy another business… pause for a second.

Ask yourself:

Do I want more complexity?

Or do I want more wealth?

Because there’s another path. One where you can stay an owner, leverage your capital, and build a real wealth stack – without adding another full-time job to your plate.

Fractional acquisitions are how I build wealth now.

Pizza by the slice. And it tastes just as good.

If you’re ready to invest alongside me, get access to the Deal Room now – or join my investor list to be the first to hear about upcoming opportunities.