# Equity gap

The shortfall between the equity a deal needs and the cash you have.

It is the reason self-funded [searchers](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/searcher) raise outside money at all, usually as [deal-by-deal](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/deal-by-deal) minority checks pooled into one SPV after the [LOI](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/loi). Gap capital is the thinnest lane of the search ecosystem, so the raise takes longer than first-timers plan for.

In numbers: A $4M deal needing a $600k injection when the buyer has $300k leaves a $300k equity gap; investors filling it typically come in after the LOI through a single SPV, which an SBA lender still looks through to every investor.

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/equity-gap
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