Skip to content
SearchSphereSource
Sign inSign up

MidStreet vs Raincatcher

Side by Side

MidStreet and Raincatcher, attribute by attribute
AttributeMidStreetRaincatcher
What It IsA North Carolina and Southeast lower-middle-market business broker and M&A advisor, 20-plus years and 400-plus closed deals, selling companies in the $1M to $25M revenue range, with a widely-read library explaining how the sell side actually works.National sell-side brokerage and M&A advisory for businesses from roughly $3M to $100M of revenue, with a brokerage arm for companies under $2M of earnings, plus buy-side advisory and valuations.
CategoryBusiness Brokers & M&A AdvisorsBusiness Brokers & M&A Advisors
Pricing ModelSuccess FeeSuccess Fee
What It CostsSell-side representation on a Double Lehman success fee (10% of the first $1M, then 8%, 6%, 4%, and 2% above $5M), paid at close with no upfront retainer or listing fee. Its dedicated pricing page also states the typical 12-month listing term and 24-month tail. Its educational content is free.Success-fee model; rates and minimums are not published and require a consultation. Third-party figures circulate without a primary source behind them.
Best ForBuyers hunting Southeast lower-middle-market deals, and any searcher who wants to understand the seller's side from a broker that publishes its processOwners preparing a sale in the $3M-plus revenue range who want a national process; buyers who want revenue and earnings before registering anywhere
Where It FitsDefine & Test Your Thesis, Source & Screen DealsSource & Screen Deals
Our VerdictWorth a bookmark for its sell-side education whatever your geography, and a real option for finding or selling a Southeast lower-middle-market business.A credible national option to interview alongside a local CBI; make them state the fee and the minimum in the first call.
Pros
  • Twenty-plus years and 400-plus closed transactions in the $1M to $25M revenue range, so it knows the lower-middle-market Southeast deal
  • A large, genuinely useful free library of articles and videos on how the sell side prices, packages, and runs a process, which is buyer intelligence too
  • A transparent Double Lehman fee with no big upfront retainer, so its incentives sit with closing
  • Publishes revenue and earnings to the dollar for every business on its home page, before any registration, which most national shops do not
  • Team mixes former owners, public accountants, and middle-market bankers rather than pure salespeople
  • Offers both a broker opinion of value and certified valuations, useful before committing to a process
Cons
  • Regional: it works the Carolinas and the Southeast, so a buyer outside that footprint uses it for its content more than its listings
  • It represents sellers, not buyers, so on a live deal its duty is to the other side of the table
  • Deal flow is limited to what it has listed at any moment, a fraction of a national marketplace's
  • Fees are consultation-gated: a seller cannot compare their cost against a local broker without getting on the phone
  • Success-rate and award claims are self-reported or drawn from lists with their own commercial interests; treat them as marketing
  • Sell-side first: a buyer in their process is the counterparty, not the client

Both rows were read at source: MidStreet ↗ and Raincatcher ↗.

Our take

Choose MidStreet if you are working the Carolinas and the Southeast, or if you want the seller's side explained: its free library is the most useful thing here for a buyer, since the firm represents sellers rather than you.

Choose Raincatcher for a national book, expecting to register before you can open a listing: its home page carries revenue and earnings for each business it represents, and you will get on the phone before you learn what a seller pays.