$60K Employee Bought a $4M Company - Here's How

Dropping Bombs

Brad Lea

Entrepreneurship, Business

4.9 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode was sponsored by Cardiff as well as Duggins Welding & Weswy Beard Co

LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/

Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/

This Dropping Bombs episode delivers bootstrapped fire with Zach Burick, the CEO who went from food stamps and moving 25+ times as a kid to buying his boss's $4M steel company on a $60K salary.

Zach breaks down the SBA loan playbook, leveraging everything to triple revenue to $12M+, and why getting uncomfortable in rooms you don't belong in changes everything. From $20/day at golf courses to building generational wealth through steel, beard products, and golf apparel—he proves ignorance is bliss when you're willing to go all in.

This conversation is the blueprint for anyone willing to bet on themselves. Stop doubting, start doing. Your empire starts here.

🔗 Connect with Zach

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachburick/

Echelon Apparel: https://echelon-apparel.com/

WesWy Beard Co: https://www.weswybeardco.com/

✅ Company Socials:

D. S. Duggins Welding Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dugginswelding/

Echelon Apparel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echelon_apparel_/

Wes Wy Beard Co Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weswybeardco/

Lost Shaker of Salt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lostshakerofsalt_oib/

Watch the full-length video version of any Dropping Bombs episode here on YouTube.

Brad Lea is a self-made entrepreneur who turned small-town grit into a multi-million-dollar empire. With over 25 years dominating sales and leadership, he's mentored thousands to outsmart, outwork, and out win their competition. His top-rated podcast, Dropping Bombs, brings raw, game-changing insights from the biggest names in business.

LightSpeed VT is Brad's brainchild—the world's leading interactive training platform. It's built to make your team sharper, faster, and more effective, without wasting time or money. Whether you're a startup or a Fortune 500, LightSpeed VT is how you scale success and dominate your industry. Curious? Check it out:

https://www.lightspeedvt.com/

Brad's also behind Closer School, the go-to program for mastering sales and closing deals like a pro. Want to 10x your income? This is where you start. His book, The Hard Way, lays out the brutal, honest lessons he learned building his empire—your blueprint to winning the game. Get it here: https://bradlea.com/product/the-hard-way/

This isn't just a video. It's a wake-up call. Watch it. Share it. Act on it.

Closer School: https://www.closerschool.com/cs

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Nobody owes your shit. And if you want something, you're going to have to earn it. Revenue right now is between 10 and 12 million, and then within 9 to 10, we're going to be at 25.
0:07.9	Being a little bro punk from North Kakalaki, how'd you know to do all this stuff?
0:12.9	I had a mindset shift once I started working on personal development. I'm just thinking to myself, there's more than just the salary.
0:19.0	What was your salary at the time of acquisition it was 60,000
0:23.1	so a 60,000 dollar employee bought the whole company from them that was doing four million in
0:30.3	revenue where did you come up with the money yeah um what it is brad lee back again with another episode of dropping bombs today in the studio.
0:42.9	Folks, as always, got a real treat for you.
0:45.5	Real life entrepreneur, Zach Burek in the house.
0:48.7	What's cracking, Zach?
0:49.4	What's happening?
0:50.0	Mr. Brad Lee.
0:51.0	You can follow this dude at Zach Burek on Instagram or his company, Instagram,
0:57.0	or at least one of his many companies, Wes Y, Beard Co.
1:01.5	Wes Y, W. W.W.
1:03.9	Beard Co.
1:05.2	So what's cracking?
1:07.0	Just hanging out, man, trying to adjust to the time change from North Carolina.
1:11.2	It's been a little bit of a struggle the past few days.
1:13.8	You ever heard it called North Kakalaki?
1:15.7	North Kakalaki, that's it.
1:17.2	So you were born and raised there?
1:18.5	Born and raised, never leaving.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Brad Lea, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Brad Lea and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.