25: How to Buy 24 Companies with No Cash and Sell for a 14x Multiple — John Ratliff’s Playbook

John Ratliff, Founder of Appletree Answers, Partner at Align5

John Ratliff went from sleep-deprived founder answering phones in his apartment to engineering a 24-acquisition rollup that sold for a 14x EBITDA multiple. In this powerful conversation with host Bruce Eckfeldt, John shares the hard-won lessons behind scaling Appletree Answers without a penny of outside equity—and the deal discipline it took to grow solely through bank and seller financing.

John breaks down how he built deep relationships with lenders, established deal criteria that allowed for consistent profitability, and optimized local site performance with a model that beat industry margins by 2x. He also dives into the structure of his internal acquisition teams, his “no layoffs” transition philosophy, and how treating sellers and employees with integrity helped him win non-competitive deals.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. John talks about nearly walking away from the business in 1997, the personal burnout, and what finally convinced him to sell. He also shares how he reverse-engineered his buyer’s strategic rationale—giving him the confidence to play high-stakes chicken and hold out for maximum value.

Now as an advisor at STS and partner at Align5, John helps other founders avoid getting shortchanged in exits—a fate he warns is increasingly common due to sophisticated private equity buyers. This episode is essential listening for founder-CEOs thinking about M&A, valuation strategy, and how to prepare for a successful exit while maintaining legacy, team culture, and optionality.

Key Takeaways

• You can scale through acquisitions without raising outside capital—if you master bank relationships.

• Know your strategic value inside the buyer’s ecosystem—it’s often worth more than your financials show.

• A strong exit multiple (14x) is possible when you’re the most coveted asset in a fragmented market.

• Bank relationships should be treated like partnerships, not vendor agreements.

• Your personal finances and lifestyle must be exit-ready before the deal closes.

• Never use your company email as your personal email—it could be gone post-exit.

• Build acquisition teams internally with cross-functional talent, not full-time M&A staff.

• Think like a buyer: reverse engineer how your capabilities create value after acquisition.
  

Contact Information:

• Email: jratliff@align5.com

• Website: https://align5.com