Empire from His Garage — But the Sharks Took Their Cut

Welcome back to the Exit Rich podcast. Today, I sat down with someone who’s not just talking the talk—Chris Lee actually did it! He sold his home service company for $340 million after scaling it from his garage to 1,100 employees in just four and a half years!!
We broke down everything most people will never tell you about selling a company to private equity: the brokers who fumble deals, the $42M inventory mistake that cost Chris a fortune, and why “market standard” is often code for “you’re getting played.” Get comfortable, you are not gonna wanna miss a second of this one!

I pressed Chris on:
-Why most coaching groups are run by people who’ve never exited anything
-How wrestling shaped his mental toughness
-The difference between playing chess and checkers in M&A
-How he lost $70 million by signing the wrong LOI—and what you must know to avoid it
-Why debt-leveraged deals destroy growth
-The rise of AI in blue-collar business and why those who ignore it are toast

We also get real about coaching: why the best advice comes from operators, not influencers, and how his group at Next Level Coaching is building $125 billion in enterprise value by focusing on real-world execution—not fluff.
This episode is a blueprint for anyone trying to grow, scale, or sell their business. If you’ve got a seven-figure company and you think you’re ready for eight—listen twice…

Follow my guest at:
-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisleeqb/?hl=en 
-Website: https://gonextlevelpros.com/home-page 
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/qboflife/ 
-TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chrisleeqb 

Follow me on all Social Media: @LanceBachmann

Exit Rich: Home Service Secrets with Lance Bachmann

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December 3-5, 2025
JW Marriott - Marco Island, FL

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Podcast

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roofing-ceo-playbook-build-it-to-sell-it-with/id1778011846

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