Deal guys say EBITDA forty-five times in a thirty-minute diligence call. We calculate adjusted EBITDA, put EBITDA in the CIM, and toss around multiples. Buyers end their analysis right there and assume that number equals spendable money. If I could talk directly to Searcher Elliott ten years ago, I would tell him something I wish I heard back then. Running out of EBITDA has never killed a company. Running out of cash is the only way you actually lose a business. The moment that happens, private equity will gladly buy your business out of bankruptcy court for ten cents on the dollar. Watch the video to see the gap between paper earnings and actual cash flow before you wire millions of dollars on a deal. redacted