He Sold for $20M Then He Fell Apart

Lance sits down with Ray Reyes, founder of Pipe Doctor in New Jersey, who built the company from a 2020 start and exited for $20 million five years later. Son of Cuban immigrants, Navy veteran, four brothers in a three-bedroom house sharing bunk beds. He got hired as a helper at 22 by telling his future boss, who had just told him there was no job available, that hiring him would be the best decision he ever made.

The wire hit while Ray was in a limo his wife had rented, kids throwing party poppers, on the way to go ice skating. His wife turned to the kids and told them their dad never has to work again.

Then he came apart.

What Ray describes next is the part almost nobody puts on a podcast — the drinking, the sleeping in, his son asking what was wrong with him, and what he calls a mental breakdown when he walked into the building he built and it wasn't his anymore. He says openly he's never really talked about it before. He moved to Florida, got himself back, and now says he's grateful for it, because he'll never let a company be his identity again.

He also walked away from $7 to $8 million more. A platform buyer offered a bigger number and he turned it down, and explains exactly why the highest bidder is usually the wrong answer.

If you're building toward an exit, this is the episode about what's waiting on the other side of it.

Timestamps

00:04:27 — No Job Available00:10:48 — The Limo00:11:42 — Seller's Depression00:13:20 — The Breakdown00:50:41 — Walking From Millions

🔗 Connect with the Guest

LinkedIn: Ramiro Reyes Jr.Instagram: Ramiro Reyes Jr.Facebook: Ramiro Reyes Jr.Website:

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