How a tech director bought a niche Porsche racing company for 5% down

Happy Monday!

Today I’m sharing a story about Taggart, a director of revenue operations at a tech company in Utah with a lifelong passion for cars and motorsports.

Just seven months after joining Acquisition Ace, he closed on Terra Engineering - a niche Porsche racing suspension company with customers in 29 countries - for just 5% out of pocket.

Community Spotlight

Before getting into Taggart’s story, I want to share another success story from the Acquisition Ace community.

Adam bought 50% of a $2M residential mortgage brokerage and AI software company with one of the most creative structures I’ve seen:

75% seller-financed on a 10-year full standby note.

He put $200K down, immediately started collecting $5K/month in guaranteed payments (replacing his W2 salary), and now owns half of a business expanding from 8 states to all 50 states with new banking partnerships.

The seller wasn’t motivated by money, he just wanted a strategic partner…

And Adam won him over by offering to handle backend operations so the seller could focus on growth.

👉 Want to learn creative deal structures that protect your downside? Book a call with our team here.

Before the Deal

Taggart had spent his career helping tech companies run more efficiently, by finding operational gaps and fixing them.

He’d always admired entrepreneurship but wanted a faster path than building from scratch.

When he came across the concept of acquisition entrepreneurship, it clicked immediately.

He joined Acquisition Ace in March 2025 and got to work.

Finding the Deal

Taggart evaluated three or four businesses seriously before Terra Engineering came across his radar.

Founded in 1995, the company designs and builds racing suspension components for Porsche vehicles.

For most buyers, a highly specialized engineering firm would be a hard pass, but for Taggart, it was a perfect fit.

He’d driven on tracks across the US and Europe, had deep connections in car communities, and immediately saw how his RevOps background could modernize a business that had been running largely the same way for 30 years.

(Inside Acquisition Ace, members learn how to match their background and interests to the right deal, and spot opportunities others overlook. To see how you could benefit from our community, book a call with our team here.)

The Deal Breakdown

Listed price: $2.5M

Final purchase price: $2.35M

SDE: $600K+

Financing: 75% SBA loan, 20% seller financing, 5% personal contribution

Cash out of pocket: ~$117K

Projected cash flow after debt service: ~$140K year one

Cash-on-cash return: Well above 100% in year one

Taggart negotiated the price down from $2.5M, and when the sellers needed to land at $2.35M, he met them there…

But structured the extra $150K as seller financing with favorable balloon payment terms rather than cash up front.

What He’s Doing Now

Three weeks post-close, Taggart is still working his full-time W2 job while running Terra Engineering on the side.

An operations director already in place handles day-to-day management, giving him room to focus on systems upgrades, including:

• New bookkeeping

• AI integrations

• And a scalability playbook he’s building from his RevOps experience

His goal is to fully exit his 9-to-5 within a year, then go all-in on growing Terra, attending track events across the US, expanding into Audi and other related brands, and strengthening the company’s already-global footprint across 29 countries.

The Key Lesson

“Don’t ever think you have to have every single answer to be able to act. If you’re feeling nervous, good. Go take the next step.”

Taggart didn’t know everything when he started.

He figured it out one step at a time, leaned on the community when he needed answers, and kept moving forward even when things felt uncertain.

That willingness to act despite imperfect information is what got the deal done.

Ready to find and close your first acquisition?

Join the Acquisition Ace community with 2,000+ members who are learning to find, finance, and close deals just like Troy.

👉 Book a call with our team here to see if it's a good fit.