Joseph Heieck: Lessons from Buying and Scaling a Small Business
Joe Heieck went from Navy intelligence to Harvard Business School to buying and scaling a software business—then stepped up to chairman and co-founded Heiton Partners to buy companies and place CEOs. We cover finding mentors, working with brokers as partners, what 'quality of revenue' really means, a simple seven-check diligence rhythm, and how to lead through the messy middle of scaling. Practical, candid ETA lessons—minus the fluff.
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Joe Heieck went from Navy intelligence to Harvard Business School to buying and scaling a software business—then stepped up to chairman and co-founded Heiton Partners to buy companies and place CEOs. We cover finding mentors, working with brokers as partners, what “quality of revenue” really means, a simple seven-check diligence rhythm, and how to lead through the messy middle of scaling. Practical, candid ETA lessons—minus the fluff.
Who This Is For
- First-time buyers and self-funded searchers
- Operators who want the CEO seat (without running a search)
- Lenders, brokers, and advisors serving ETA
What You’ll Learn
- Joe’s path: Navy → Harvard Business School → acquisition → scale → chairman → Heiton Partners
- Why quality of revenue drives leverage, risk, and outcomes
- Brokers as partners and how to build real relationships
- A staged seven-check diligence flow that limits broken-deal costs
- The three acts: figure out the business → build the platform → scale it
- Culture from day one: clear roles, decision rights, and leading from the front
- Legacy vs. cloud in ETA—and where AI fits today
- When to step aside as CEO without stalling the company
Resources Mentioned
Books
- HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business — Richard Ruback & Royce Yudkoff
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Ben Horowitz
- The Phoenix Project — Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford
- Scaling Up — Verne Harnish
- Traction — Gino Wickman
- How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling — Frank Bettger
- Influence — Robert Cialdini
Organizations & Communities
- ACG (Association for Corporate Growth)
- CFA (Corporate Finance Associates Worldwide)
- Searchfunder — Community for searchers
About the Guest
Joe Heieck is a former Navy intelligence officer and Harvard Business School graduate who acquired and scaled a software company before transitioning to chairman. He is now co-founder of Heiton Partners, where he acquires businesses and places CEOs to lead them.
Joe brings a unique perspective combining military discipline, business school rigor, and hands-on operational experience in buying, building, and scaling businesses in the ETA space.
Connect
- Heiton Partners: www.heiton.com
- Joe Heieck on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josephheieck
- Host (Alex): Feedback & guest recommendations → alex@searchers.com
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