Tom & Dave
At a Glance
The clearest example on this shelf of the rule that the lane which is approached rather than approaching publishes least: an unusually deep record and a per-year intake cap, with no front door to walk through.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Investment terms, not fees. The site publishes no check size, no stake and no fee, and states plainly that it is not a fund: "We are not a fund - we're just Tom and Dave investing our own capital." What it does publish on its own side is a capacity cap of ten new searches a year and a 48-hour decision commitment.
- Best For
- A traditional searcher who wants individual capital rather than an institution, values a fast decision, and is comfortable approaching a firm that publishes no contact route at all.
- Track Record
- Active since 1992, with 250-plus searches backed and 55 operating companies currently held, all by its own count.
- Lane
- Traditional
- Funds
- The search phase and the deal
- Based
- No address, city or state published anywhere on its site.
- Invests
- No investing scope on the pages this review read, so ask whether it will look at a search where you are.
- Buys
- Publishes no industry rule at all: it encourages entrepreneurs toward businesses they are passionate about regardless of sector, and welcomes very long holds.
- Before A First Call
- NO INTAKE ROUTE OF ANY KIND. No contact page, no email address, no form, no phone number and no social link anywhere on the site, and its navigation has four items none of which is a way in. So there is no condition on a searcher because there is nothing for a condition to attach to.
- First-Time Operators
- A selection statement rather than a bar: it says it backs entrepreneurs it is confident will be great operators, and that it gives advice from practical experience to young entrepreneurs. Nothing anywhere requires a searcher to have run a company before.
- How Long The Search Runs
- No length on the search and nothing about what happens if it ends without a deal, on the pages this review read. Ask what the clock is before you sign anything.
- Published Terms
- No check size, stake or fee published. What it does publish on its own side is a cap of ten new searches a year and major decisions communicated within 48 hours.
- What A Searcher Gets
- Not published on the pages this review read. It is the figure a searcher most wants and most of this shelf does not print it, so ask before the first call rather than after.
- Roadmap Stages
- 3. Set Up & Fund the Search
Pros and Cons
Pros
- One of the longest continuous records in the asset class, active since 1992 by its own account, with 55 operating businesses currently held
- Publishes a capacity cap and a decision SLA, both rare: ten new searches a year and major decisions communicated within 48 hours
- Explicitly not a fund, so there is no vintage clock and the site welcomes holds it calls extraordinarily long
Cons
- No contact page, email, form or phone anywhere on the site, so there is no published way for a searcher to approach them
- No address, city or state published, so a searcher cannot tell where the relationship would sit
- Its Hall of Fame page states a count of seven and then lists ten entries, so that figure cannot be relied on
What Searchers Say
Named on the backer rosters of multiple independent searchers. Both principals are long-standing operators, one the chairman and former chief executive of a safe manufacturer, the other its finance chief.
How to Approach
Firms do not publish a term sheet you can prepare against, so this is how traditional (investor-backed) search capital comes in, what it weighs, and how to arrive ready.
The Typical Arc
- A first conversation on your background and why search, before any deal.
- A deep dive on your plan: industries, criteria, and how you will source.
- Backing for the search itself, then a fresh underwrite when you bring a live deal.
- A board seat and governance once you close.
What It Weighs
- Whether you will finish a two-year search, not only start one.
- The quality of your thesis and target criteria.
- How you will behave on a cap table over a long hold.
How to Prepare
- Bring a sourcing thesis, not a blank slate. Buyer Profile Builder
- Know which firms lead versus follow, and on what terms. Investors
- Make your operator case on one page. Buyer Profile Builder