Veteran. Operator. Truth-teller.
Buying a business is the easy part.
US Air Force veteran, founder of Sunset Coast Partners, and host of Still Searching with Jed Morris. I bought two businesses, lost them both, and now I help buyers see the landmines before they step on them.
Free. Weekly. The whole story, not the highlight reel.
San Diego, California
The record
Most people teach acquisitions from the mountaintop. I teach from the crater.
2021
The search begins
Ten years of active duty in the Air Force. An MBA from NYU Stern. Four years in big tech at Microsoft, AWS, and HP. Then I left the ladder and launched a self-funded search.
2023
The buy
Bought two landscaping companies and merged them into one. Signed the notes. Shook the hands. Thought the hard part was over.
Peak
$2.5M revenue. 35 employees.
For a stretch, it worked. Trucks on the road, crews in the field, payroll clearing every two weeks.
June 3, 2024
The collapse
Roughly eight months after the deal closed, it all came down: missed payroll, closed doors, and over $1M in personally guaranteed debt. We sold our home and kept our family out of personal bankruptcy.
Aug 2025
The rebuild
Relaunched as an independent sponsor and stood up Sunset Coast Fund 1. Same market. Different operator. Every scar documented so you can skip the matching one.
Ask me how I know.
The podcast
Still Searching with Jed Morris
Real conversations about buying small businesses. Searchers, operators, and deal professionals on what actually happens after the wire hits: the deals that worked, the ones that failed, and the lessons nobody puts in the brochure.
- 13Andrew Engram: Independent Sponsor Lessons from a Deal That Fell Apart58 min
- 12Renan Cortez: $8M Restoration Business, 100% Seller Financing, Zero Down1 hr 32 min
- 11Six Real Stories of Small Business Failure with Andrew Hoffman | Halloween59 min
Receipts
What searchers say when the camera is off
“Jed is a remarkable and authentic voice for professionals interested in the ETA path. Jed gives unbiased perspectives on SMB acquisitions and discloses the risks that others oftentimes leave out.”
Dave Lam
Managing Principal, Oakwood Legacy Partners
“The Start Searching Challenge equipped me with the tools to transition from tire kicker to serious searcher. You aren't going to find this knowledge anywhere else.”
Rob B.
Special Forces Veteran, McKinsey, Rice MBA
“Humble, candid, and highly intelligent - Jed's perspective is much needed in the search space as people consider the opportunities and risks of acquiring and running a small business.”
Dominic Newmann
Global Supply Manager, Apple
“The Challenge gave me a systematic, real-world playbook for running a successful business search. These skills have made me far more confident in conversations with sellers, brokers, and lenders.”
Nick Arnold
Principal at HG Ventures
“It's a no-nonsense, practical crash course that cuts through the noise and delivers real, tactical advice on how to approach the search process the right way.”
Chris Radebaugh
“Jed knows his stuff! He gives great, practical advice on how to get started as a searcher and be successful!”
Andrew Eubanks
Amazon Operations Manager, Marine Veteran
Start here
Four ways in, one standard: the whole story
The data
The failure patterns nobody publishes
~65%
of the failure stories I have studied involved seller fraud or misrepresentation.
8 of 10
post-close failures I hear about end in litigation, bankruptcy, or an NDA settlement. Anecdotal, not audited. I keep hearing it anyway.
The newsletter
Do not buy alone
Every week I send searchers the tactics, failure stories, and operator lessons that never make it to the highlight reel. Free, direct, no filler.
Stay alive out there.