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Growth can hide bad decisions...

Growth can hide bad decisions...

Until it can't

Jack Carr
April 20, 2026

Welcome to the JackQuisitions newsletter,

You don’t go from crushing it to failing in one move. You grow, things are working, cash is flowing, so you hire more people, add trucks, spend more on marketing, maybe layer in new services. Everything feels justified because revenue keeps climbing.

Then growth stalls.

That’s exactly what happened with Epic and Fortnite.

Ready For Your Next Acquisition?

Check out these acquisition opportunities that caught my eye this week:

55-year plumbing & septic business with real estate, $3.16M price, and serious upside from untapped demand and turned-away work
$100K dryer vent business throwing off $300K+ SDE with low overhead, fast jobs, and built-in recurring demand
$1.24M Florida plumbing company with $358K SDE, strong reputation, and steady service-driven revenue

We’re Leaving $5M in the Past

On May 5-7, I’m teaming up with John Wilson (again) for our next “Breaking $5M” workshop.

You’ll break down the $5M Flywheel, sit in on a live sales huddle, tour the shop, and get into the real levers:

Pricing
Hiring
Call center ops
Org structure
Fleet
Demand generation

This is a working session, not theory. You’ll leave with a clear plan tailored to your business.

PS: If you can’t make this workshop, we have another one scheduled for September.

When Growth Stops Covering Your Mistakes

Fortnite didn’t blow up overnight. It slowed down.

That’s the part most people miss.

And if you run an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, this should feel very familiar.

It’s not a sudden drop. It’s a gradual build. The business is humming, cash is coming in, so you add headcount, put more trucks on the road, increase your marketing spend, and expand into new services. Every move feels right because the numbers keep trending up.

Then things level off.

Calls flatten. Close rates dip. CAC creeps up. But your cost structure? That’s still built for a business that’s growing fast.

That’s exactly what happened with Epic and Fortnite.

They built the company assuming Fortnite would keep printing more cash every year. It didn’t crash, it just stopped growing fast enough. And the second that happened, all the extra spend, big bets, and bloated costs got exposed.

Same thing happens in home services all the time.

You build for the version of your business you think is coming, not the one you actually have today. And when growth pauses, the math catches up fast.

Learn more about Epic’s story in my latest podcast episode.

Fund the Next Stage of Your Business

Work with Alan Peterson at First Internet Bank to structure SBA loans that actually get done.

Fast approvals, flexible terms, and financing up to $5M for acquisitions, equipment, or growth.

Spend less time fighting the process and more time scaling the business.

Tell Me What You’re Thinking

When growth slows, the operators who win are the ones who built a business that still works without it.

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Disclosure: Some of the content and links in this newsletter are sponsored or affiliate links, which means we may receive payment or earn a commission if you click through or purchase. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.