Codie Sanchez is the founder and CEO of Contrarian Thinking, a New York Times bestselling author of Main Street Millionaire, and one of the biggest female business voices in the world with over 8 million followers across platforms. In this live conversation in LA, Codie explains why only 2 percent of business acquisition buyers are women (and why that number is finally starting to move), why building a 10 million dollar business is often easier than building a 2 million dollar one, how to move from "hustle mode" to "ownership mode" by buying equity in the vendors you already spend money with, why pros obsess on terms while amateurs obsess on price, the three rules she took away from losing serious money in a cannabis deal that went wrong, and her "Two ORs" framework for spotting real versus fake opportunities.
okay this one was such a treat. we sat down live with Codie Sanchez in LA and i asked her the questions i've been collecting from our community about money, wealth, buying businesses, and why so many of us default to hustle when we could be building ownership.
Codie is the founder and CEO of Contrarian Thinking, a New York Times bestselling author, and one of the most influential female voices in wealth-building right now. she has spent the last decade teaching people how to buy "boring" businesses (laundromats, car washes, plumbing services, service-based SMBs) and build real financial independence outside the traditional path.
here's what we covered in the first half of the conversation:
- →why only 2 percent of business acquisition buyers are women (and what's finally changing)
- →the "10x is easier than 2x" rule and what a lifestyle business actually costs you
- →the personal P&L review every founder should do and how it changes what you own
- →Codie's due diligence framework for buying a business (and the criteria she uses to say no)
- →why pros obsess on terms and amateurs obsess on price
- →the three rules Codie now uses on every deal after losing serious money in a cannabis venture
- →the "Two ORs" framework for reading whether a business is really working
Codie Sanchez is an American entrepreneur, investor and financial educator based in Austin, Texas. She is the founder and CEO of Contrarian Thinking, a financial education media company with over 8 million social followers, 100 million monthly views and 750,000 newsletter subscribers. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Main Street Millionaire, a strategy guide to building wealth through small business acquisition, and the host of the BigDeal podcast.
Before founding Contrarian Thinking, Codie started her career as an award-winning journalist covering human trafficking and won the JFK Journalism Award. She then spent over a decade in high finance, holding leadership positions at Goldman Sachs, State Street, Vanguard and First Trust (where she built the firm's 1 billion dollar plus Latin America business). She is also the co-founder of Unconventional Acquisitions and the founder of Contrarian Thinking Capital, a venture capital fund investing in small business infrastructure. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University.
"10x is often easier than 2x. If all you try to do is build a lifestyle business, you're going to end up building either a business that is a job or one that doesn't make enough money."Codie Sanchez
"Pros obsess on terms. Amateurs obsess on price."Codie Sanchez
"Don't fall in love with something that can't love you back."Codie Sanchez
"Money is a cruel mistress. She'll leave you if you don't pay attention to her."Codie Sanchez
Why are only 2 percent of business acquisition buyers women?
Codie estimates that women make up around 2 percent of the people actually buying existing businesses, despite representing about half of new business founders. The pattern she sees is that women default to building from scratch rather than acquiring cash-flowing operations, often because acquisition feels like a men's world of dealmakers and private equity. Her push is that buying an already profitable business is often faster and less risky than building one, and that this is the wealth pathway most women overlook.
What does she mean by "10x is easier than 2x"?
Codie argues that aiming to build a 10 million dollar business often forces the choices (team, systems, positioning, distribution) that a 2 million dollar business does not. Trying to stay small usually means the founder is still doing everything, which produces either a glorified job or a business that never generates enough to fund the life you actually want. Playing bigger, in her view, is often the more sustainable path even if it sounds harder.
What is "ownership mode" versus "hustle mode"?
Hustle mode is spending your time and energy building or working. Ownership mode is holding equity in the things you already interact with. Codie's practical version of this is what she calls a personal P&L review: look at every recurring line item in your life (your accountant, your PR agency, your favourite skincare brand, your gym) and ask which of them you could own a slice of. The mindset shift is from earning revenue to owning cash-flowing assets.
What criteria does Codie use to decide whether a business is worth buying?
Her filter for a first acquisition is usually four things: the business has existed for at least five years, it is genuinely profitable (not just breaking even), it can be operated with some form of leverage (team, systems or automation rather than only the owner), and the model itself is simple enough that you can explain it in a sentence. She would rather buy a boring cash-flowing operation than a shiny early-stage story.
Why do "terms control price" in dealmaking?
Codie's view is that amateurs negotiate on the sticker price of a deal while pros negotiate on structure. The same headline number can be a great deal or a terrible one depending on how the payments are staged, what earn-outs are in place, whether seller financing is included and how risk is allocated. Learning to shape the terms of a transaction is, in her framing, the highest-leverage skill in dealmaking.
What are the three rules she learned from the cannabis deal that went wrong?
After losing significant capital in a cannabis venture, Codie codified three rules she now applies to every deal. First, never let anyone with a personal relationship to the founder sit on the cap table, bank accounts or accounting function. Second, invest in tranches rather than committing full capital upfront, so performance unlocks the next release. Third, insist on independent financial oversight (auditors or a third-party CFO) rather than trusting founder-reported numbers.
What is the "Two ORs" framework?
Codie's shorthand for evaluating whether a business is actually working is that it needs to have two "ORs" from a shortlist of signals: real revenue OR a large engaged audience, plus proof of retention OR proof of margin. One signal alone is easy to fake or accidentally stumble into. Two together, especially retention and revenue, tell you whether the business has real gravity.
Who is Codie Sanchez?
Codie Sanchez is an American entrepreneur, investor and founder of Contrarian Thinking, a financial education media company. She is a New York Times bestselling author of Main Street Millionaire, host of the BigDeal podcast, and one of the most followed female business voices in the world. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs, State Street, Vanguard and First Trust before moving into small business acquisition and financial education.
What is Contrarian Thinking?
Contrarian Thinking is Codie Sanchez's financial education media company. It reaches over 8 million social followers, 100 million monthly views and 750,000 newsletter subscribers, focused on wealth-building through small business acquisition, contrarian investment strategies and alternative income streams outside the traditional path.
What is Main Street Millionaire about?
Main Street Millionaire is Codie Sanchez's New York Times bestselling book on building wealth by acquiring "boring" small businesses (laundromats, car washes, plumbing services, and other service-based SMBs). The book lays out her frameworks for finding, financing and operating small businesses that generate steady cash flow but are overlooked by mainstream investors.
Why does Codie Sanchez say "10x is easier than 2x"?
Codie's argument is that trying to build a small lifestyle business (a 2x outcome) usually means staying in hustle mode with the founder doing everything, which leaves you with either a glorified job or a business that never generates enough income. Aiming for a 10x outcome forces the systems, team and positioning decisions that produce a real asset. Playing bigger is often the more sustainable path.
What criteria does Codie Sanchez use to buy a business?
Her filter for a first acquisition is roughly four criteria: the business has been running for at least five years, it is genuinely profitable, it can be operated with some form of leverage (team, systems, automation) rather than only the owner's time, and the business model is simple enough to explain in one sentence.
What does "terms control price" mean?
Codie's framing is that the sticker price of a deal is less important than how the payments are structured. Two deals with the same headline number can have very different outcomes depending on payment staging, earn-outs, seller financing and risk allocation. Learning to shape the terms of a transaction is one of the highest-leverage skills in dealmaking.
Instagram → @codiesanchez
LinkedIn → Codie Sanchez
Contrarian Thinking → contrarianthinking.co
Personal site → codiesanchez.com
Female Startup Club is an Australian media company and private network for women founders, executives, and investors, founded by Doone Roisin. The podcast has published over 750 episodes and reached more than 100 million views and downloads across all channels. Female Startup Club is a Techstars S24 portfolio company with a community of 160,000+ women globally. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
This episode is shared for general educational purposes and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Always speak to your own qualified financial advisor or accountant before making decisions about your money, investments or business acquisitions.
