Welcome to the week. We are tracing how Nothing Bundt Cakes grew from two friends baking in their home kitchens to a $2 billion sale, a 36-year-old Phoenix garage door business asking $325,000 at about 3.4x cash flow, and Wednesday’s announcement of the 2027 Social Security wage base.

In 1997, Dena Tripp brought a Bundt cake to her friend Debbie Shwetz’s house in Las Vegas. Shwetz asked why she had not used her cream-cheese-and-butter frosting. Tripp had struggled to frost the ring-shaped cake, and their conversation about solving that problem became the beginning of Nothing Bundt Cakes. The original chocolate chip cake combined Tripp’s recipe with Shwetz’s frosting.

The friends began baking in their home kitchens before opening their first Las Vegas bakery in 1998. Bundt cakes had a reputation for being dense and dry, so they developed a lighter, moist version with distinctive frosting petals. As the business grew, the range expanded to bite-sized Bundtinis, individual Bundtlets, and eight- and 10-inch cakes. Decorations made the cakes suitable for birthdays, gifts, and other celebrations, giving customers more occasions to buy them.

After opening a second bakery in Las Vegas, the founders expanded to Arizona and found that running a store in another state was harder than expected. Customers had already asked about franchising, so they attended conferences and met with consultants and attorneys to understand how it worked. But that meant making the business easier for someone else to reproduce. 

In 2006, they hired Lunabrand, a Phoenix branding firm, to clarify what the company stood for, how it presented its cakes, and where the founders wanted it to be in 10 years. The bakeries were also redesigned with yellows, blues, and browns, rugs, and soft curtains to create the feeling of entering a grandmother’s kitchen. As the concept became clear, the franchise program took shape. In 2007, Mara Fortin opened the first franchise-owned bakery in Poway, California.

The financial crisis soon restricted funding for prospective franchisees, slowing expansion. The founders’ own bakeries continued steadily, helping sustain the business until growth resumed. In 2010, Craig Moore, the former president and CEO of CiCi’s Pizza, approached them about becoming a franchisee. He bought a stake and became president, assembling franchise and marketing staff to support more owners. By 2014, the chain had reached its 100th bakery, a year ahead of its target.

From there, the numbers compounded. Nothing Bundt Cakes grew to more than 175 bakeries in 2016, 200 in 2017, and 390 by 2021, with about $470 million in annual system sales. Another 51 bakeries opened in 2022, 84 in 2023, and 101 in 2024, with franchisees funding and operating most locations.

By 2024, the company sought owners willing to build relationships with schools, churches, employers, and other organizations and turn those connections into celebration orders. In 2024, 459 established franchised bakeries averaged $1.48 million in net revenue. A separate group of 297 established bakeries averaged $316,591 in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or 21.6% of sales.

After introducing third-party delivery and joining ezCater in 2023, the chain grew to 787 bakeries by March 2026 and delivery generated 13% of sales. That month, KKR agreed to acquire Nothing Bundt Cakes for reportedly more than $2 billion, including debt. Annual system sales were approaching $1 billion.

The founders created a cake customers wanted, made it suitable for different celebrations, and built a bakery model other owners could follow. As the chain grew, they brought in experienced people to support franchisees. That allowed the business to expand nationally without depending on the founders to run every location.

Phoenix garage door business asks $325K on $95K cash flow

Asking price: $325,000
Gross revenue: $283,454
Cash flow: $95,000
Asking multiple: 3.42x cash flow, 1.15x revenue
Years in operation: 36
Real estate: Not included
Debt: None

The residential garage door installation and repair company serves Phoenix’s Northwest Valley. The seller reports that gross margin rose from roughly 57% to nearly 70% and that the company has been profitable every year since 2023. Technician hours have been reduced, and the listing presents restoring installation staffing as the buyer’s growth opportunity. Inventory and FF&E are not included, and the business is not SBA prequalified. The owner is retiring.

Translation, if you own one: Margins may fall once a buyer restores staffing. Rebuilding the installation business means hiring and training technicians, bringing those labor costs back. For a buyer, value rests on a steady flow of service calls, owned vehicles, and a local reputation that keeps bringing customers after the owner leaves. 

Source: 36-Year Established Garage Door Business

On Wednesday, October 14, the Social Security Administration is expected to announce the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment after the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases September’s consumer price index. SSA is also expected to announce the 2027 Social Security wage base, the maximum amount of each employee’s pay subject to the 6.2% Social Security tax.

For 2026, the wage base is $184,500. Employers and employees each pay 6.2% on wages up to that amount, so the employer’s share tops out at $11,439 per employee. Self-employed owners pay the combined 12.4% on net earnings up to the same limit. The base rose $8,400 from 2025 to 2026, which added $520.80 in employer tax for each employee paid above the cap.

Every $1,000 increase in the base adds $62 in employer tax for each employee earning above it, and $124 for a self-employed owner. A business with six managers and a salaried owner, each paid above the cap, would pay about $3,600 more in 2027 if the base rises by the same amount it did this year.

Owners setting 2027 budgets, and buyers modeling payroll for a deal closing next year, should update the figure after Wednesday’s announcement. The 1.45% Medicare tax has no wage limit and is unaffected.

Two brothers bought a Florida building inspection firm for $2.1 million without an SBA loan and doubled revenue twice, and a North Carolina restaurant is asking $1.275 million, building included.