Not all of the lessons in the Walker Deibel playbook fit between its covers. One of the first bolt-on acquisitions Lucas Philips tried to close was a tiny shop in rural Oregon — a guy who had spent decades fabricating custom interiors for Porsches. Philips flew to Portland, grabbed a brand-new convertible Mustang on a free upgrade from his shiny new Hertz President’s Circle card, and spent three-and-a-half hours driving south through “the most beautiful” Oregon landscape toward the seller’s property. The owner had originally quoted $40,000 for the operation. Two days later, after watching Philips pull up in a gleaming convertible and spend time on site, he decided the price should be more like $320,000.
“I regret that so much to this day,” Philips said. “I should have just taken the Camry.”
Lucas Philips grew up watching his father do something increasingly rare among his generation: own a small business outright and still make it home in time for school drop-offs and hockey practice. At 26, he decided to do the same — acquiring a niche manufacturer of custom automotive interiors in Newark, N.J. Now 29, Philips told Fortune that he’s glad he did it, but “it’s really not for the faint of heart.”
