Chase Murdock

Because we buy smaller companies at Decada, we often get ourselves into businesses that lack operating maturity. We have to go build it. But as a small business holding company, if we buy too many companies with low operating maturity at one time, we’re in for a world of chaos. So each quarter we sit down and grade each of our companies on a 1-5 scale. The aggregate score across our 5 companies often reflects how stable or tumultuous things are in our portfolio — so this score that tells us when we’re ready to make our next acquisition. We aim for a 3.0+ aggregate score. Today we’re at a 2.2. We have progress to make internally, so we’re not actively looking for acquisitions externally. Here’s a short thread on how our Operating Company Maturity Scale works. I’ll share why we developed it, how we use it to set expectations with our operating leadership teams, and what we do to raise our score. To start, a lack of operating maturity can look like: - Undocumented processes - A new or less experienced leadership team - Pen/paper systems - Significant key person risk - Unpredictable financials - Low culture / eNPS scores - A constant barrage of fires… Sometimes in small business you feel like you’re a sneeze away from everything breaking. We work to solve that and build in more durability. Long term, the pathway to realizing our mission at Decada Group is to guide our companies down 2 paths: Financial Growth. This is self explanatory. By driving earnings, we’re able to hire great people, expand the business, and realize our mission. Improved Operating Maturity. By improving maturity, we build durability, redundancy, and autonomy into each of our companies. This sets a clear expectation for our operating leadership: strong earnings are great. But if it requires a lot of hand-holding or duck tape to keep the machine together, we still have work to do. In other words, we care about more than just raw EBITDA results. We have to get there the right way. EBITDA is easy to measure. But the other part felt squishy and subjective. So ~6 months ago we created a rubric to bring in some objectivity and to make it a scoreboard. The maturity scale helps set another important expectation: how much involvement to expect from us. Great leaders want autonomy. They want to be left alone to succeed. So if you’re operating in the 4.0 - 5.0 territory, we’re out of your hair. Think of us as a board of directors, available to approve budgets and big decisions. But we trust you with the rest. If you’re operating in the <2.0 range, expect us at your side in the trenches, running meetings, assisting with hiring, and implementing systems and software. Here’s how our Operating Company Maturity Scale works. We have 8 pillars of operating maturity: - Durability of Growth - Team & Culture - Operator Leadership - Operational Maturity - Management Team Maturity - Leadership Redundancy - Financial Predictability - Financial Position They’re imperfect, but get us there directionally and I’m sure they will evolve with time. We grade each pillar on this 1-5 scale: 1 - Nonexistent. Business does not demonstrate this competency in any capacity. 2 - Basic. Business demonstrates this competency only to a very small extent. 3 - Intermediate. Business demonstrates this competency - but does not apply it consistently, needing regular support. 4 - Advanced. Business demonstrates this competency regularly and is proficient in dealing with it, needing little support. 5 - Master. Business is a master in this competency and applies it at the highest level. A role model for others. Each quarter we sit down to grade our businesses across each of the 8 pillars. The average across the 8 pillars sets the overall score for the company. As a 2.5 year old holding company with mostly new acquisitions being led by mostly new leadership teams, the score is increasing each quarter. When a key person departs, the score tends to drop. The average of all 5 companies creates an aggregate score for Decada. When we acquire a company, the company's score starts low. That’s fine, it’s part of the process. Because we only buy businesses we plan to own for multiple decades, it’s worth it to us to burn down EBITDA to make one-time investments in time and capital to get the business on a successful multi-decade trajectory. We call that our carwash (name stolen, with gratitude, from @chenholdco) and see our involvement in the <3.0 range as a one-time investment to build long-term sustainability. The long-term goal is to assist our companies in getting in the 4.0 - 5.0 range, which looks like: - An exceptional, seasoned CEO with industry experience and a vision for the next 3-5 years. - A strong, experienced leadership team. - A strong balance sheet. - Strong redundancy across key people and process - Great results across the board. We view this as a decade journey. One foot in front of the other.

2025 Annual Letter: Standing At The Stone decada-group.com/annual-letters…

Earlier this week we published Decada Group’s fifth annual letter. It’s a reflective letter. But it’s also a practical one. Because behind the language about time, craft, and endurance is a very concrete question: Is the model working? For those who care about the mechanics of a holding company, one section goes deep on financial performance. Not as a scoreboard. But as a way to test whether our decisions are compounding under real constraints. At its core, the logic is simple: We don’t buy great companies to make money. We make money so we can buy great companies. 2025 Portfolio Snapshot - Organic YoY Revenue Growth: 17.1% - Organic YoY EBITDA Growth: 14.1% - Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR): 4.54x - Distributions to Paid-In Capital (DPI): 3.30x - Total Value to Paid-In Capital (TVPI): 5.71x All of our companies are now beyond the J-Curve. Growth has settled into a steadier, more durable rhythm. EBITDA grew 14.1% in 2025, extending a three-year run of double-digit profit expansion. Debt remains conservative, roughly four times traditional underwriting minimums. A DSCR of 4.54x provides margin through cycles and preserves optionality when conditions tighten. Since inception, cumulative distributions to Decada Group exceed paid-in capital by 3.30x. Total value to paid-in capital stands at 5.71x. All while continuing to reinvest, pay down debt, and grow the underlying businesses. Adam and I continue our practice of not taking distributions, and instead redeploying capital into the long arc, like incubating Durable to build Utah’s Business Commons. The annual letter goes deeper on how we think about time and what we’re trying to build over decades.

Decada Group’s 2025 annual letter: decada-group.com/annual-letters…

Yesterday, February 1, we published Decada Group’s 2025 annual letter. For the last five years, I’ve stepped away at year end to write these letters. It’s one of the few times each year I slow the work down enough to really look at it. This year’s letter came out of more space than usual. Time in the mountains. And long stretches thinking about what held up, what didn’t, and what needs to change. It’s a reflective letter. I wrote about time as a discipline. About the temptation to protect comfort after early success. About removing complexity instead of adding more. And about why the most meaningful work often shows up after the noise fades. Some of it is about our companies. Some of it is about craft more broadly. All of it is an attempt to be honest about the work and where Adam Malmborg and I are in it now five years in building Decada Group. If you’re building something of your own and plan to stay in it for the long arc, you may find it useful.

2025 Annual Letter: Standing At The Stone decada-group.com/annual-letters… I’ve published an annual letter every year since Adam and I founded @DecadaGroup. Written in the tradition of shareholder letters, they serve as a forcing function, though we have no outside investors to report to. They help us pause and ask what still holds up after staying. What actually compounded. What broke quietly. What we misunderstood when we were early. Our 2025 letter reflects on time. Not as a metaphor, but as a discipline. Most advice is written before consequences arrive. Before boredom sets in. Before the work shifts from building to refining. Before compounding has a chance to show itself. With Tailor Cooperative approaching ten years and Decada now five, I write about: - Why businesses take a decade to get good - Why returning to the mat and becoming a beginner again matters - The real cost of leaving when things get quiet We also continue our tradition of sharing our financial results. Not as a scoreboard, but as a way to test whether our decisions are compounding as intended. Since inception, we’ve generated more cash than invested capital by roughly three times. Total value to paid-in capital stands at 5.71x. Adam and I maintain our tradition of not taking distributions, instead choosing to pay down debt and reinvest in the long arc. The point isn’t extraction. It’s endurance. If you’re building something and intend to stay, this letter is for you.

Welcomed the New Year on the summit of Cotopaxi. 19,347’

@ShaanVP @JesseItzler Living a rich life. Love this.

misogi is a japanese ritual - one hard, year defining challenge i heard about it from @JesseItzler last year on the pod  for 2025 my misogi was… learning piano from scratch

@guessworkinvest Don’t be too hard on yourself. Looks like you did a fine job increasing it 60% while you were doing it yourself

This took embarrassingly long to fix, but we finally did this year (primarily because I delegated it, so @chasemurdock was right 3 years ago). Our December ending AR days, net of client deposits (rough math): 2022: 10.3 days 2023: 16.1 days 2024: 16.0 days 2025: 5.6 days

Have enjoyed reading the discussion. We’ve done both — starting three companies and acquiring four. And each tested us in different ways. Starting has the advantage of no debt. The real cost isn’t financial — it’s emotional + bandwidth. Done right, a startup sucks all the oxygen out of the room. The world doesn’t want another business and zero to one requires a push against that inertia just to keep it alive. The prize, if you make it, is clean ownership without debt or a PG hanging over you. Acquiring flips the trade-off. You step into a brand, customers, and team someone else spent decades building — but you inherit the scars too, and it comes at a higher capital cost. Your odds of success are higher, but so are the costs of failure. The multiple only makes sense if you’re clear-eyed about what’s durable and what has to be rebuilt. 95% of deals I see today I just can’t stomach. Some of that’s the cost of debt now. But most of it is still too much liquidity continuing to slosh around. Staying disciplined isn’t easy. That’s where blending both approaches has been powerful for us. Startups need willpower. Acquisitions need judgment (and capital). Together they spread the load. No perfect path and no objective right answer. Just trade-offs and lessons you only learn by living them.

Great discussion by @MatznerJon @MikeBotkin_ and @STLChrisH about multiples and the start vs buy debate. First, multiples. People lie. All. The. Time. Sellers lie about what their multiple was to impress their friends, family, and the folks at the country club. Often, they don’t really know what their multiple was because their numbers were garbage or there will supposedly be contingent payment that they assume will actually get paid (I guess that’s technically not a lie). Buyers lie because they want to look smarter than everyone else, they want to attract LP money for future deals, or they want to feel like they’re master deal makers. Similarly, they may convince themselves of a pro forma multiple that assumes the J curve isn’t a thing and that their ‘synergies’ and financial discipline will come to fruition (check back in a year). NOW, the reality is multiples are, IMHO, far too high. There is still SO MUCH FROTH in the SMB market (well, almost all markets). Why? It’s simple. Liquidity takes a long time to stop sloshing around, and the Fed / political class has poured so much liquidity into the market over the past 30 years, it takes a lot of time for the waves to stop. If you’ve ever seen a swimming pool after an earthquake (I have), you know what I mean. Second, buy vs start. If multiples are still stupid high, then you should just start, right? Why buy when things are too expensive? That PG is like a sword over your head and it’s hard to outgrow a stupid entry multiple. There’s truth to this. I’d be extremely reluctant to buy anything right now. And Matzner shows that starting works, and in many ways seems less risky. But here’s the reality. I’ve started and I’ve acquired. My startup nearly wiped me out. Yes, there was no bank breathing down my neck or PG, but there was a lot of friends and family money (and later strategic $$) that had the same effect. I slaved away for years after it became clear it wasn’t going to work, just to give my investors a chance of recovery. Those were, without a doubt, the most brutal, depressing, and financially challenging years of my life. Acquiring has been a big winner thus far. We got a business with a great brand in our market, loyal customers, an excellent team, and solid ‘products’ (quotes because we’re a service business). It took the prior owners THIRTY YEARS to build those things. To me, that more than justified the multiple we paid. So for me, buying was a MUCH better move than starting. There is no ‘right’ answer to start vs buy. I repeat - there is no right answer. Both are risky AF. Everyone’s risk appetite will be different and, in either scenario, you’re taking on a ton of financial risk. WE WILL HAVE A RECESSION - VERY POSSIBLY A BAD ONE - POSSIBLY A VERY BAD ONE - in the next few years. We may all ready be in one. Whether you acquire or start, you’d better be prepared for that financially because it’s going to suck either way. If you acquire, only do so if you’re comfortable with the valuation. Buy right and capitalize conservatively. If you can’t do that, walk. If you start, don’t kid yourself about how much risk you’re actually taking. The lack of a PG doesn’t mean you aren’t exposing yourself to severe financial consequences if things don’t go to plan. TL;DR: Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, regardless of what influencers say. Buy or start, it can cost you dearly if things go sideways or worse. Just a fact. Be careful out there.

@ClintFiore @AdamFlamm @theraleighwill Ah man, we should have coordinated. Durable has a fireside chat that night downtown. How long are you in town Clint? Shoot me a text

@AdamFlamm @chasemurdock @theraleighwill gonna need y'all to come out fo' sho

Utah SMB Meetup! Next week at Top Golf Vineyard. 8/14/25 6pm Sponsored by Dealonomy we'll hang out 6-8pm and hit some balls while talking business deals and all things SMB. Reid Tileston is also joining us from BYU's ETA program. All invited. RSVP at link below.

@Sam_Rosati @guessworkinvest So fun guys, thanks for the chance to come on and talk shop. You guys have a great podcast.

So many in the ETA/SMB community looking to acquire multiple small companies within a town or state. If that’s you, last week’s pod episode with @guessworkinvest and @chasemurdock is worth a listen!

@SBA_Matthias Thanks Matthias — we’re having fun.

@chasemurdock Chase - it’s super awesome to see what you’re building. Keep it up 👍

A few years ago, we started hosting private dinners for business owners in Utah. Then happy hours for acquisition entrepreneurs. We weren’t trying to launch anything — we just liked gathering our people. At one dinner, someone said they hadn’t talked to another business owner in months — they stayed an hour after it ended just to keep swapping stories. That stuck with me. When I got into entrepreneurship in Utah 15 years ago, the community was small. You knew everyone in the trenches. As the ecosystem grew, it fragmented — tech founders, small business owners, VC-backed startups, PE firms, family offices, and searchers buying companies. So we kept hosting — to bring builders back into the same room. Something clicked. People needed real community — a place to ask hard questions, compare notes, and find others facing the same climb. What started as a few casual events grew into fireside chats, panels, and closed-door sessions on burnout, capital, and hiring and firing. That simple idea became Durable — Utah’s private community for business owners and operators. Because Durable is so public-facing, people have started asking if Durable is Decada Group. I get the confusion. But they’re not the same. Let’s zoom out. Decada Group is the holding company my business partner Adam and I launched four years ago to start, acquire, and grow small businesses for the long haul. Our mission hasn’t changed: build an eclectic portfolio of great, durable Utah companies we’re proud to own — led by great operators — and steward them for decades. No outside capital. No short-term pressure. Just good, durable Utah businesses. Today, that portfolio includes: Tailor Cooperative — a luxury custom clothier we started almost 10 years ago with locations in SLC and Chicago. Workshop SLC — an art school + community that teaches 200+ monthly classes across oil, acrylic, drawing, ceramics, and more Northern Electric — a full-service electrical contractor we acquired in 2021 and are actively scaling Durable — Utah’s private community for business owners and operators, with events, peer groups, and programs like The Operator Accelerator Durable Finance — a fractional CFO, accounting, and bookkeeping firm — built for operators, by operators Durable takes up a lot of our time right now because we’re still in the trenches incubating it. And it's emerging as something of our community-building arm — how we express our belief that small businesses deserve better in a world that favors big ones. But like the rest of our companies, it’ll eventually run with a dedicated leader and fold into the broader portfolio. So no, Durable isn’t Decada. It’s the newest piece of it — and one we’re proud to build. And while we’re deep in the trenches bringing Durable to life, Decada’s still doing what we’ve always done: quietly acquiring (and sometimes starting) great companies that deserve a permanent home.

See you tonight, Chicago. 🤙 📍 Tailor Cooperative — 1355 W Concord Pl ⏰ 6 PM RSVP: The @RandBusiness I’m in town with my son this week — we’re exploring the city and helping Caitlin, our president/operator, get the new shop ready to open. This launch means a lot to us. Come by, raise a glass, and connect with others building in ETA + SMB M&A. Drinks, music, good people. Let’s make it a night.

@antonia_mdprjct Oh hey you’re in my hood!

Are we buying this or what?

@RandBusiness I love Chicago so much. This will be awesome.

CHICAGO - I am hosting an event IN YOUR CITY! Myself and my partner in crime @chasemurdock are hosting the best SMB/ETA meetup you’ve ever experienced! - connect with other small business owners - get in a room with friendly, ambitious, helpful people - leave the room with new friends and a belly full of laughter and joy. I’m like Santa Claus for ETA - spreading laughter and cheer everywhere I take my sleigh (or van… same thing). We’re hosting this meetup at Chase’s new business - Tailor Cooperative Chicago! please comment on this post and I will DM you the event details Attendance is limited, and we’re already filling up fast.

When you run small businesses for a living, you see the cracks in the system up close — and the policies that don’t scale down to Main Street. Last week, I flew to Washington, D.C. during National Small Business Week to share something I’ve been writing about in Decada Group’s annual letters for years: Small business is a true David and Goliath story. And the gap is growing. Small business formation is down. And across globalization, flawed tariff policy, faster tech cycles, and now AI — it’s only getting harder for small businesses to compete. But no one wants to live in a world with fewer local shops, sole proprietors, and community-rooted businesses. We met with 5 of Utah’s 6 congressional offices: Senator @SenMikeLee Senator @CurtisUT Representative @RepBlakeMoore Representative @RepMaloyUtah Represenative @KennedyForUtah Our message: While small businesses make up 90%+ of Utah’s economy, not one owner we know has a lobbyist to ensure policymakers understand their needs. (By contrast, a staffer in one meeting mentioned regular meetings with Google’s lobbyists as they draft policy.) That’s just how DC works. But small businesses have no equivalent seat at the table and this imbalance has consequences: Well-meaning policies — privacy laws, digital ad taxes, regulatory changes — can unintentionally sideswipe the very businesses they were never meant to harm. If no one speaks up, small businesses bear the cost. Senator Lee, for example, is considering a bill that could unintentionally severely restrict small businesses’ ability to target niche audiences through digital marketing on platforms like Meta and Google. We partnered with @internet4growth to advocate for just how critical digital marketing is for small business survival. I came to D.C. to speak for them. On behalf of Decada Group, our five companies, Durable’s community of business owners, and the Business Owner Club at Edison House, I joined Internet for Growth to help bring our voice to the Hill. Because if we want small businesses to survive — let alone thrive — Washington needs to hear our voice too. First time in D.C. in years — and I left energized. Grateful to each office for opening their doors, listening with curiosity, and engaging with the quiet truth we came to share: Small businesses are too important to be an afterthought in policy. Hoping to see some good come out of this ahead.

It’s been one week since we launched The Operator Accelerator — and the response has been incredible. We’ve heard from owners across industries — trades, agencies, manufacturing, insurance, home services — all saying some version of the same thing: “This is exactly what I’ve been needing.” The common thread? They’re ready to get out of the weeds — to master the fundamentals, build stability, delegate with confidence, and lead with more clarity. They’re tired of being the bottleneck in every function. Some come from finance and want to sharpen their marketing chops. Others are natural salespeople looking to dial in their financial systems, implement a clean monthly close, and understand their numbers well enough to raise capital. That’s exactly what this program is built for: A structured sprint to become a sharper operator — faster. Cohort 1 kicks off in May and @BetterCeo and I couldn't be more excited.