Search Thesis Builder
Score the Industry First
1. Does your background make you credible here, to sellers and lenders?
Yes looks like: Your résumé writes the story; a banker and a seller both see why you. No looks like: No real connection to the work, the customers, or the trade.
2. Is the market fragmented, many small owner-operated companies?
Yes looks like: Thousands of independents, no dominant chain. No looks like: A few big players own most of the volume.
3. Does revenue recur or re-occur rather than start from zero each month?
Yes looks like: Contracts, routes, memberships, or maintenance carry most of it. No looks like: Every month begins at zero with new projects.
4. Is there a retiring-owner or durable-demand tailwind?
Yes looks like: Aging owners selling, and demand that does not depend on the cycle. No looks like: Shrinking demand, or spending customers cut first in a downturn.
5. Will it finance cleanly at your capital structure?
Yes looks like: SBA-friendly earnings, some tangible collateral, documented books. No looks like: Thin collateral, short history, or lenders who decline the category.
6. Do deals inside your box actually come to market?
Yes looks like: Listings appear regularly; the category changes hands often. No looks like: Almost nothing trades; you would wait quarters between at-bats.
7. Is the asking-multiple competition manageable at your size?
Yes looks like: Below the consolidators' radar; main-street pricing holds. No looks like: Private equity roll-ups bidding every clean deal above your math.
0 of 7 answered; the fit score appears when all seven are in.
Your Thesis, as an Investor Reads It
Three audiences, one set of criteria: a broker reads your profile, an alert reads your buy box, and an investor reads this. It is the deepest version of the same work, and the only one that has to argue rather than describe.
SEARCH THESIS I am acquiring a durable, unglamorous service business.