Gary Shelton
Founder & CEO, ezFinancial Group. On 1 show, 1 appearance. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
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Gary Shelton is a serial entrepreneur who has acquired, scaled, and exited 12 businesses across a 50-year career. He specializes in asset-heavy acquisitions, creative commercial financing, and coaching business owners on operational discipline.
1shows
1appearances
12statements
0resolved
0supported
0contradicted
Everything Gary Shelton said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Shelton Bought $8M Firm With $5K Down, Scaling to $20M
“It was an electrical engineering firm doing eight million a year in electrical engineering contracts with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. And I bought it with only 5000 of my own money and took it to twenty million in one year.”
Shelton: Businesses fail to cross $1M without autonomous operational systems
“Most mine-powered businesses that aren't successful, that don't get beyond one million, much coveted one million revenue mark, they're not operating with systems. They're not operating in a way that, hey, if I'm not here, I'm the founder, this is my great idea…”
Shelton targets asset-heavy acquisitions over software for borrowing leverage
“I'm looking for an asset heavy business, a business that has assets that gives me something to leverage, as opposed to, for example, a software business that doesn't have.”
Shelton: Keeping founders at 20% equity de-risks acquisitions and accelerates learning
“I'll get used, I'll buy 80% of the business, not 100. Used to keep 20. And so, for during this transition period, they're really involved in helping me grow this business. That takes a lot of the risk out for me, and it reduces my learning curve because I'm ri…”
Shelton: Target acquisition sellers are retiring Baby Boomers who slowed down
“I tend to buy from baby boomer age, men or women, they're older, they're looking to retire. They haven't been very aggressive with their business lately.”
Shelton Acquired Telecom Firm for $0 Down, Reaching $70M in Revenue
“We provide a telephone service to the Department of Defense, the White House, and Camp David. Started that deal with no money of my own. I'm really getting more sophisticated at this point. And we did seventy million a year.”
Shelton: Mentored by Wall Street Pioneer Reginald Lewis
“And then I was mentored by Reginald Lewis.”
Shelton: Graduated High School in 1969 with $25,000 Saved
“And I graduated from Southwestern High School in 1969 with 25,000.”
Shelton: Acquired First Business for $25K in College, Exited for $1M+
“I actually acquired it when I was a senior in college. Remember, I had a few dollars I had saved money. I, and plus I had started investing in stocks when I was in the seventh grade as a result of reading the Wall Street Journal. At first I was playing like I …”
Shelton required acquired business founder to stay one year for transition
“The business was white-owned. And so I had the founder to agree to stay for a transition period. I said, look, I need you to stay so that your employees don't get all shook up that you're selling. I need you to stay at least one year.”
Shelton: Entrepreneurs Must Build Personal Liquidity for Inevitable Business Fires
“It would benefit everyone to practice living within their means so that they can accumulate some assets, accumulate some liquidity, and be in a position to put out the fire that's gonna, that's inevitably gonna happen, no matter what.”
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Gary's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 WE LIVE TO BUILDLEDGER | Founder & CEO, ezFinancial Group | 1 | 12 | — | full record on We Live to Build → |