342 | Adam Coffey | The Smart Way to Build Wealth Through Business Acquisitions

The Greatness Machine

Darius Mirshahzadeh

Entrepreneurship, Education, Business

5 • 962 Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Building wealth isn’t about shortcuts—it’s about strategy. Adam Coffey, bestselling author, private equity expert, and CEO, shares his proven strategy for buying and scaling companies the right way. In this episode of The Greatness Machine, Adam returns to break down why paying fair market value leads to bigger wins, the power of roll-ups, and why buying strong companies beats chasing distressed assets. With over 58 acquisitions under his belt, Adam’s insights are a must-listen for business owners, investors, and anyone looking to scale with integrity. In this episode, Darius and Adam will discuss: (00:00) Introduction and Background of Adam Coffey (05:03) Transitioning from CEO to Consultant (09:59) Key Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs (15:03) Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs (19:53) The Impact of Technology and AI on Business (29:51) Navigating Change in a Rapidly Evolving Landscape (34:36) The Future of Autonomous Driving and Insurance (37:19) Navigating Private Equity: The Sparkle Process (39:06) Ethics in Private Equity Transactions (46:47) The Importance of Fair Market Value (51:01) Eliminating Risk for Entrepreneurs (56:18) Believing in Yourself: The Key to Greatness Adam Coffey is a visionary empire builder, CEO coach, and top 1% speaker with three #1 bestselling books. As a founding partner of CEO Advisory Guru, he provides expert consulting to PE portfolio companies, founders, family offices, and elite executives. With over two decades as a CEO, he led three national private equity-backed service companies, generating billions in value and averaging 5X MOIC at exit. A Forbes Business Council member since 2021, Coffey specializes in growth strategy, M&A, and exits. A proud U.S. Army veteran and pilot, he and his family reside in Texas. Listen: 228 | Adam Coffey | Empire Builder: Strategies for Thriving in the World of Private Equity Sponsored by: Indeed: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/DARIUS. NPR Tech Unheard Podcast: Tune into Tech Unheard from Arm and NPM—wherever you get your podcasts. ShipStation: Go to shipstation.com and use code GREATNESS to sign up for your FREE trial. Shopify: Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/darius. Stash: Don’t let your savings sit around - make it work harder for you. Go to get.stash.com/GREATNESS to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures. Connect with Adam: Website: https://adamecoffey.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamecoffey/ Twitter: https://x.com/AdamECoffey1 Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07NLL55ZC Connect with Darius: Website: https://therealdarius.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imthedarius/ YouTube: https://therealdarius.com/youtube Book: The Core Value Equation https://www.amazon.com/Core-Value-Equation-Framework-Limitless/dp/1544506708 Write a review for The Greatness Machine using this link: https://ratethispodcast.com/spreadinggreatness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Here's the truth about AI. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. Service Now puts AI to work for people across your business, removing friction and frustration for your employees, supercharging productivity for your developers, providing intelligent tools for your service agents to make customers happier, all built into a single platform you can
0:22.0	use right now. That's why the world works with ServiceNow. Visit ServiceNow.com slash UK
0:28.5	for AI for people.
0:30.2	Love gang, welcome to The Greatness Machine. I'm your host Darius for Shazda. I'm so pumped to have you
0:34.2	hear with me. Now listen, the greatness machine were about two things. Number one,
0:38.5	people were living their passions. And number two, those who are creating greatness in the world
0:42.3	and doing both of these things despite the odds against them. Each episode, we're going to feature
0:46.4	interviews with game changers, business leaders, telling us their origin stories, what made them
0:50.7	tick, what got them to where they are now? Why? So it can help you step
0:54.6	into your greatness within your life, your business, and your career. Occasionally, you might hear a few
0:59.4	solo episodes for myself, as I say, as I leverage my 20 years of entrepreneurship as a CEO and founder
1:05.0	to help you grow and level up in your journey to scale your life and your business. So, come be
1:10.1	a fly on the wall, enjoy the conversation, and I'm stoked to have you hear
1:13.2	with me.
1:15.8	Guys, welcome to this episode of The Great.
1:17.3	I'm your host, Darius Pertazzi, and boy, do we have a special guest, repeat guest,
1:20.9	Adam, coffee's in the house.
1:22.1	What's up, Adam?
1:23.0	Hey, Darius, how are you, my man?
1:24.8	It's good to see you. It's been like almost a year. I got to keep
1:28.2	writing books so I can keep on checking in on my old friends. And good to see you. And, you know,
1:35.1	you're doing really well. So, you know, hey, life's good for us both. Good to, good to see you.
	...

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