Today we’d like to introduce you to Elias Bustos.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I spent twenty years building Solutions DGR, a point-of-sale and inventory platform for the thrift retail industry. We grew from one person to about thirty and made the Inc. 5000 twice. I sold the company in 2024.
What I learned in that process is the thing I’m building around now. Long before I sold, I knew I was ready for what came next and couldn’t get there while I still owned the business. That’s a specific kind of stuck, and most owners I talk to are in it — not distressed, not desperate, just done with this chapter and unable to start the next one.
So I buy those companies. I look for profitable software businesses with a team already running the day-to-day — not early-stage. What I bring beyond the check is operating experience: the systems and process discipline that let a business run without its founder, a distribution-first approach to growth, and back-office scale that lowers cost structure.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I buy companies so owners can be free to start their next adventure. Which means I’d better be able to do the same thing myself.
The part I’m working on right now isn’t stepping back. It’s arranging my life and my calendar around what I’m actually good at, and then hiring people whose strengths are the opposite of mine. That second part is where I keep finding my limits. It’s easy to hire someone who thinks like you. It’s much harder to hire someone who doesn’t, and then communicate clearly enough that they can run with it without you hovering.
Most founders I talk to are stuck in the same place. They’ll say they want to delegate, but what they’ve really built is a team that needs them to translate. Building a business that runs without you isn’t a staffing decision. It’s a communication skill, and I’m still developing it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I buy profitable software businesses from owners who are ready for the next stage of their lives but can’t get there while they still own the company. I built and sold one myself — twenty years with Solutions ITW, sold in 2024 — so I’ve been on that side of the table. Most owners in this position don’t get a bad exit; they get no exit, because waiting is easier than starting. I try to run a process worth starting: a real conversation, a straight answer, and a clean close.
I look for software businesses that are subscription based, profitable, have a team, serve a diverse customer base, and are looking to sell for $1M-$5M.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
If I could tell a founder one thing, it’s this: you cannot put too much time into becoming a good communicator.
Everything that leadership actually requires runs through communication. Vision, values, operations, tasks, course corrections. Building teams. Building trust. Your team leans on you to handle the clients, the vendors, the lawyers, the investors. If you can’t communicate clearly, you can’t give your team the one thing they need from you, which is leadership. It should show up in every email, every post, every release — clear, strategic, inspiring.
And it matters most in meetings.
Poor leaders cut meetings because they think meetings waste time. What they’re really saying is that their meetings waste time — and they’re right. Good leaders use meetings to build rapport, create clarity, and inspire the team. I had to learn that the hard way. I almost fired a guy who told me we needed more meetings. He was right, and it changed the company.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eliasbustos.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliasgbustos
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliasbustos
