— Service · Buy-side advisory

Buy well. The hard part isn't finding a business — it's not buying the wrong one.

Representation for individual buyers, ETA buyers, search funds, and family offices acquiring businesses in the $1M to $5M range.

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01 / Why representation matters

The seller has a broker. You should have someone too.

Sellers in this market are almost always represented. Most buyers — especially first-time buyers, ETA principals, and search funds — are not. The asymmetry shows up at every stage of the process.

Buy-side representation is about understanding what you're actually paying for, negotiating LOI terms that protect you through diligence, identifying the risks the seller's CIM doesn't volunteer, and walking away from the wrong deal before you've spent six figures on diligence costs.

02 / What you get

Diligence, negotiation, structure.

Deal evaluation

Before LOI

  • Independent valuation review
  • CIM analysis and gap identification
  • Industry context and comparable transactions
  • Initial risk factor scoring
  • Offer structure recommendation
Negotiation

LOI through PSA

  • LOI drafting with proper protections
  • No-shop and exclusivity terms
  • Quality of earnings coordination
  • Working capital target negotiation
  • Reps, warranties, and indemnification

03 / Who we work with

Buyers we represent.

First-time buyers

Individual acquirers buying their first business. We bring the experience you don't yet have.

ETA buyers

Entrepreneurs through acquisition. Self-funded or traditional searchers. We're aligned with the model.

Search funds

Traditional and self-funded searchers backed by an investor group. We work with the searcher and the investors.

Family offices

Family offices building a direct portfolio of operating companies in the lower middle market.

04 / Common questions

Frequently asked.

How are buy-side fees typically structured?
Monthly retainer during active search and diligence, plus a success fee at closing. Structure is engagement-specific. For self-funded ETA buyers we work with smaller monthly retainers and proportionally higher success fees. For family offices and search funds, fee structures are negotiated against engagement scope.
Do you source deals?
We support sourcing but we are not a sourcing-first firm. The vast majority of buyer engagements start with a deal already in some stage of process — usually post-CIM, pre-LOI. If you need help building a sourcing process, that's an exit-planning-adjacent service we can discuss.
What about SBA-financed acquisitions?
Most of our buy-side engagements involve SBA 7(a) financing in some form. We coordinate with your SBA lender, ensure the deal structure works for SBA requirements (including seller note subordination), and help you avoid the structural mistakes that cause SBA deals to fall apart at the lender stage.

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