What does it take to get laid off 3 times, hear 100 investor nos, and still build one of the most important networking companies in Silicon Valley history?

In this episode of Buy Build Exit, we sit down with Kanwal Rekhi — the first Indian-American founder to take a VC-backed company public on a U.S. stock exchange. He founded Excelan, merged into Novell as EVP & CTO, backed 200+ companies (including 6 IPOs and 20+ acquisitions), and co-founded TiE, one of the most powerful entrepreneurial networks on the planet.

Kanwal breaks down what separates founders who get acquired at a premium vs. ones who get lowballed, why becoming profitable is a declaration of independence, what he looks for in founders that no pitch deck can show, and why he passed on Hotmail — and what that taught him about asset value.

This one is for every first-gen founder who's ever felt behind, overlooked, or told no.

🔗 Check out Deal Flow OS — the platform built for business buyers and sellers: https://dealflowos.com

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He took a SaaS company from 10% to 35% EBITDA in 8 months. Built marketing from zero and drove a 50x increase in inbound leads. And he did it not once but across three companies as both CEO and CFO.In this episode of Buy Build Exit, Roy Redd sits down with Nick Jain Dartmouth triple major (math, physics, economics), Harvard MBA, McKinsey alum, Bain Capital PE veteran, and 3x turnaround CEO/CFO across SaaS, logistics, and e-commerce.This is an operator-level masterclass. We break down exactly how Nick thinks, how he walks into a burning company, and what most founders and acquirers are getting completely wrong.What we cover:The 3-thing framework Nick uses on Day 1 of any turnaroundWhy net retention rate (NRR) is the single most important number in any acquisitionHow he drove a 50x increase in inbound leads using content + conversion no magic, just fundamentalsThe live case study: acquiring a $3M negative EBITDA SaaS via SBA loan exactly what to do firstWhy AI will let professional services firms go from 20% to 90% marginsWhat most operators get wrong about mentors (hint: it's actually about sponsorship)The best deal structure he's ever seen (real options theory and you probably never use it)🔔 Subscribe if you're serious about acquiring, scaling, or exiting a business.📩 For more frameworks, deal breakdowns, and operator intel:👉 Subscribe to the Buy Build Exit Substack by Roy Redd: https://buybuildexitwithroyredd.substack.com/🔗 Connect with Nick Jain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmjain/Eagle Rock CFO → eaglerockc fo.com

What does it look like to build a company, get acquired, and keep building all in under 12 months?In this episode of Buy Build Exit, Roy Redd sits down with Michael Noffsinger former criminal investigator turned AI founder, who built BidData from scratch in early 2025, submitted $25M+ in government bids, grew a 124,000-subscriber newsletter, and got acquired by LotusPetalAI before the year was out. He now serves as VP of Sales at LotusPetal, leading go-to-market across federal, state, and municipal markets.Michael breaks down the $700 billion government contracting market, how AI is flipping the game for small businesses, what made his company acquisable in under a year, and why GovCon might be the most overlooked M&A opportunity most operators are completely ignoring.What You'll Learn:How to build a company acquisition-ready in under 12 monthsThe $700B government contracting opportunity most operators ignoreHow AI cut proposal time by 90% and what that means for operators buying GovCon businessesWhat buyers actually look for when acquiring an AI companyThe roll-up play hiding inside government contractingWhat criminal investigation taught him about building under pressureConnect With Michael Noffsinger:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mnoffsingerCompany: lotuspetal.aiGovCon Intel: biddata.aiWant more? Join the Buy Build Exit community on Substack: https://buybuildexitwithroyredd.substack.com/Buy Build Exit is the show where real operators break down how to buy companies, build enterprise value, and turn it into a life-changing exit. New episodes every week.#GovernmentContracts #AI #Entrepreneurship #MergersAndAcquisitions #B2G