Journal · Buy-Side
A Buy-Side Playbook for Operators Hunting Acquisitions
Searchers and operators do not lack deal flow. They lack a filter. Here is how we run a buy-side mandate without drowning you in teasers.
Kevin ROCK Reiss · · 1 min read
A buy-side mandate that says “good businesses, anywhere, under $10 million” is not a mandate. It is a wish. We start with a one-page thesis: sector, customer type, geography, margin floor, owner-dependency ceiling, and the operator’s actual superpower. Then we hunt.
Most of the work is saying no
We would rather bring you four files a quarter you might buy than forty you will skim. Off-market conversations, quiet retirements, and owners who already know the HeyWhatEver desk beat scraping public listings.
Underwrite like a lender even if you are not one
- Quality of earnings light: bank recs, add-back audit, working capital trend.
- Customer calls only with permission, and only late.
- Lease, license, and change-of-control landmines mapped before LOI.
- A walk-away price written down before anyone gets charmed.
If you are an operator with capital, an independent sponsor, or a family looking for a first platform, the desk will tell you quickly whether we can help. We do not fake coverage we do not have.
