Meet Rex Barr Jr.
I didn’t set out to buy businesses; I set out to solve a problem I saw everywhere: capable operators with no path to ownership, and retiring business owners with nowhere good to sell.
The traditional options never work for most businesses. SBA loans excluded too many businesses because of “the books“. Corporate buyers dismantled legacies. And business brokers are professional window shoppers.
So I built something different, a program that lets retiring owners exit with dignity while giving operators a genuine shot at ownership through performance, not just capital.
The Beginning: Building Something From Nothing
I started my first homecare agency in 2012. I looked at an industry dominated by large operators who didn’t understand their customers and had a regulatory monopoly. I knew one thing: aides needed to be treated better, and clients deserved more respect.
I applied to become a homecare agency. They rejected me seven times.
On the eighth attempt, someone at the state Department of Human Services called me and asked: “You’re not going to stop, are you?”
I answered with one word: “No”
She walked me through every error in my application. Within months, I was approved.
I didn’t have funding to start. I rented space inside someone’s house to be my office. My first client fired 22 aides before we found the right one. The police showed up on my first hiring day because a candidate reported me for not running a “real business.” I was running a real business. I just didn’t worry about the frills. My goal was to help as many people as possible in the way they wanted to be helped.
That agency eventually grossed over $24 million annually.
The Rapid Expansion: Success Without Guardrails
By the time I was 32, I was running three multimillion-dollar companies simultaneously. A homecare agency. A real estate development company. A transportation company. I was also an accredited investor and had founded and run nonprofits.
I have no business degree. No mentor. No playbook. Just hustle, ambition, and a belief that I can figure anything out.
My superpower? I know how to find great employees. I find drive-through workers and train them to be the #2s in organizations. I’ve worked with most industry types and personally dealt with the ups and downs of running a business.
But here’s what nobody tells you about rapid success: if you’re not careful, it teaches you all the wrong lessons.
The Fall: When Everything Came Crashing Down
The call that changed everything came in 2021.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office was investigating my transportation company, Rides Your Way. Within months, I was charged with Medicaid fraud alongside three other business owners. The allegation was that service coordination agencies were billing Medicaid for transportation services that were rarely used, and that I was part of it.
I need to tell you what actually happened, because this moment defined everything that came after.
I Have a Felony for Medicaid Fraud
In 2022, I pleaded guilty to two counts of Medicaid fraud, both third-degree felonies. I was sentenced to five years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and ordered to pay restitution.
I’m telling you about it myself because I like speaking about it. I did it. And I think there’s value in sharing so owners can learn a lesson from me that they don’t have to experience.
What Actually Happened
I was running three companies at once. I partnered with service coordination agencies, businesses owned by people I considered friends. They were billing Medicaid for transportation services my company provided, but those services were rarely used.
The state approved every bill for three years. I thought the program was legitimate.
I was wrong.
I was participating in fraud. I just didn’t know it at the time.
Not because I was too busy. Not because nobody told me.
Because I wasn’t paying attention the way a business owner should. I trusted people I shouldn’t have trusted, and I didn’t ask the hard questions I should have asked. Most importantly, I didn’t put in the necessary safeguards you need for the amount of money that was involved.
Two years after I’d already closed Rides Your Way, the subpoena came. That’s when I learned what had actually been happening and what I’d been part of.
I could tell you I was stretched too thin across three companies. I could point to the fact that the state kept approving everything. Both of those things are true.
But they don’t change the fundamental failure: I wasn’t watching my own company closely enough to see what was really going on.
That mistake cost me millions of dollars, a felony conviction, and every other company I had working with the state. It dismantled everything I’d built.
The lessons I learned came at the highest possible price. And they’re the foundation of how I do business today, especially when it comes to oversight, trust, and protecting the people and systems you’re responsible for.
What I Did Wrong
Here’s what I take full responsibility for:
- I didn’t get a lawyer to structure the program correctly. I thought I could figure it out myself. I was wrong.
- I didn’t put systems in place to protect myself from fraud. I trusted partners I shouldn’t have trusted. I didn’t verify what I should have verified.
- I was arrogant. I chose to do things the way I always had and didn’t get help from professionals: lawyers, compliance specialists. It was a combination of hubris, short-sightedness, and me being cheap.
- I justified it to myself. I knew the program I created was needed. I knew I could make a lot of money because there was little competition. I knew my other companies were already servicing these clients well. I told myself I was helping people, so I turned a blind eye to the bigger picture.
- I knew the profit margins were too high. Deep down, I knew what we were receiving was completely above and beyond any reasonable expectations or industry standards. I didn’t ask the hard questions I should have asked. Like many things in life, if you’re not living right in one area, it spills over to other areas.
Where I Failed
Things I Learned That I'll Never Forget
I didn’t hire a lawyer to properly structure the program. I thought I could figure it out myself. I was wrong.
I didn’t put systems in place to catch fraud. I trusted people I shouldn’t have trusted because they were friends, and I didn’t verify what needed to be verified.
I was arrogant. I’d built successful companies before, so I thought I knew better than the professionals: lawyers, compliance specialists, people who could have prevented this. It was hubris, short-sightedness, and, honestly, me being cheap.
But here’s the part I’m least proud of: I knew the profit margins were too high. Deep down, I knew what we were receiving was completely above and beyond any reasonable expectation or industry standard. I told myself the program was needed and that I was helping people, so I didn’t ask the hard questions I should have asked.
I saw what I wanted to see. And I ignored what I didn’t.
The Redemption: Finding Purpose in the Lowest Moment
The conviction didn’t just cost me money and companies. It gave me something most consultants will never have: the ability to see what’s actually wrong with a business, not just what looks wrong on paper.
When you’ve participated in fraud without knowing it, you learn to spot the gaps. The missing systems. The profit margins that don’t make sense. The partnerships built on trust instead of verification. The red flags that well-meaning owners ignore because they’re too close to see them.
Most business consultants tell you what you’re doing right. I can tell you what you’re doing wrong because I’ve done it.
That perspective changed how I see business acquisitions entirely. When I look at a retiring business owner’s company, I don’t see a distressed asset that needs to be fixed or hidden. I see the issues clearly, and I see them as opportunities to put the business in the best possible light.
The Next Chapter Program I’ve built doesn’t ignore problems. It identifies them, documents them, and addresses them head-on. Because I learned the hard way: if you’re not looking at what’s actually happening in your business, someone else will be. And by then, it’s too late.
I’ve helped business owners grow companies to eight figures. I’ve been part of private equity acquisitions and business transitions from every angle, including the side where everything falls apart.
That’s why I do this work. Not to make up for what happened. But because what happened made me better at seeing what others miss.
Why This Makes Me Better at What I Do Now
Here’s what I know that most consultants don’t:
- I know what regulatory nightmares look like. I’ve been through the worst-case scenario. I know how to protect you from it.
- I know the toll this lifestyle takes. Running a business affects your family, your health, your sanity. I got a crash course at a young age in what this does to the rest of your life. I understand what you’re going through.
- I know the two most common mistakes sellers make: Not getting a competent accountant to do pre-due diligence, and not being truthful about problems upfront. I’ve seen cases where an owner trusted us, was honest upfront, and ended up not only having that not be an issue but actually getting more than planned.
- I know what it’s like to rebuild from nothing. This is my third time. I know the resilience it takes. I know the systems you need. I know how to do it right.
Who I Am Today
I’m a husband and father to two toddlers. I recently moved my family to Texas, and it’s been the right decision from day one.
I chose Texas for three reasons: the properties are massive, the economy is booming, and the business infrastructure here is built to support success, not just extract it. That combination makes it the perfect place to anchor the Next Chapter Program. When you’re acquiring businesses that need operational improvements and committed operators, you need a state where growth is real and sustainable.
But there’s something else about Texas I didn’t expect: people do what they say they’re going to do. Business owners here don’t need flash or overselling. They want the full picture, and they’ll give you a straight answer. That’s the kind of environment where this program works best.
I’m more patient now than I’ve ever been. I let situations and opportunities fully present themselves before I move. That’s a hard-earned change. The old version of me would have already made three decisions by now. The current version waits, watches, and builds success the right way, even when it takes longer.
Because I’m not focused narrowly on profit anymore. I’m focused on building success for everyone involved: the retiring owner, the operator, and CSG. That’s a longer path. It’s also the only path that actually works.
I’ve traveled to over 30 countries, built businesses, lost everything, and started again. Through it all, one truth has kept me grounded:
Why I'm Telling You All of This
Because you deserve to know who you’re working with.
Because I’d rather be honest than impressive.
Because when I speak to you, I want you to understand what I say. I lived it. What I lived was the path that got me to where I am today: a man full of joy and understanding.
I’m not going to run from that. I’m going to own it. I made mistakes. I paid for them. I learned from them. And those mistakes made me better at helping people like you.
I’ve been where you are, just in a different way. I know what it’s like when everything is on the line. I know what it’s like when you’re not sure who to trust. I know what it’s like when you need someone who actually understands what you’re going through.
That’s why I do this work. That’s why I’m here.