From the Front Lines

Insights, stories, and updates from our team.

Latest Articles

Search fund closing: what happens after the LOI

June 8, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

After the LOI, a search fund operator has 60-90 days to close the deal. Here's what happens at each stage, what kills deals, and what gets you to Day One.

Private Equity

Private equity recapitalization: the partial exit

June 7, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

Most owners don't know the minority recap option. PE buys 20-40%, you keep control and get liquidity. Here's how LMM recaps work.

Search Fund

Search fund equity split: how the numbers divide

June 7, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

How search fund equity actually divides: the three-tranche structure, step-up mechanics, waterfall, and 2024 Stanford data on what operators earn.

Veteran Business

Veteran business grants: what's real in 2026

June 6, 2026 · Zack Knight

Most veteran business grants are smaller than advertised. Here is what SBIR, VBOCs, and federal contracts actually offer and where to focus your energy.

Search Fund

Search fund SBA loan: how the 7(a) finances your close

June 6, 2026 · Zack Knight

SBA 7(a) can finance up to 80% of your acquisition. Here is what the 2025 rule changes require, where deals stall, and what the personal guarantee means.

Exit

Preparing to sell your business: what PE buyers check

June 5, 2026 · Zack Knight

Most sellers fail PE due diligence on day one. Here is exactly what private equity buyers verify in lower-middle-market acquisitions and how to be ready.

Search Fund

Search fund letter of intent: what the LOI locks in

June 5, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

The LOI is where most search fund deals are won or lost. Here's what it covers, what Stanford data shows, and the three mistakes operators make.

Private Equity

Private equity preferred return: the 8% standard

June 4, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

The preferred return is how LPs protect their position in a PE fund. Understand the 8% standard, the waterfall, and four questions to ask before you sign.

Search Fund

Search fund acquisition thesis: how to build yours

June 4, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

Before you talk to a single business owner, you need to know what you are looking for and why you are the right person to own it. That is the acquisition t

Market Thesis

Small business succession planning: what 60% of owners skip

June 3, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

92% of small business exits are closures. Only 5% become sales. Here is what succession planning actually requires and why timing matters.

Search Fund

Search fund target industries: what the data shows

June 3, 2026 · Zack Knight

Stanford tracked 681 search funds. Healthcare and B2B services each take 25% of acquisitions. Here’s where operators focus their search and why.

Private Equity

Add-on acquisition strategy: how PE builds platform value

June 2, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

In the lower middle market, add-on acquisitions drive over 80% of PE deals. Here’s why the multiple arbitrage math works — and where integration fails.

Search Fund

Search fund timeline: what the 20 months look like

June 2, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

Stanford tracked 681 search funds. Average search: 20 months. Here is what each phase actually demands — from the raise to the first 90 days of ownership.

Veteran Business

Veteran-owned business government contracting: the $32.8B opportunity

June 1, 2026 · Zack Knight

The federal government awarded $32.8B to SDVOSBs in FY2024. Most veteran founders have never accessed it. Here is the real contracting playbook.

Search Fund

Raising search fund capital: what the process looks like

June 1, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

94 search funds launched in 2023. Every one raised capital before finding a deal. Here's how the two-round structure actually works.

Private Equity

Private equity hold period: what LMM buyers plan for

May 31, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

Hold periods in lower-middle-market PE determine whether buyers build value or flip assets. What sellers need to know before signing any LOI.

Search Fund

Independent sponsor vs search fund: how to choose

May 31, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

The independent sponsor and search fund models look similar. They're not. Here's how the economics differ and which one fits where you are.

Veteran Business

Hiring veterans: tax credits and the business case

May 30, 2026 · Zack Knight

WOTC for veterans expired December 31, 2025. Operators who stopped screening made a mistake. Here's what to do now.

Search Fund

Search fund operator: what the job actually demands

May 30, 2026 · Zack Knight

What makes a great search fund operator? Seven skills that determine whether an ETA acquisition succeeds or fails, with 2024 Stanford data.

Exit

Selling to private equity: what business owners get wrong

May 29, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

Most owners fixate on the multiple. They miss the structure. IBBA Q4 2024: $5M–50M businesses averaged 6.0x EBITDA. Here's what sellers get wrong.

Search Fund

Seller financing in acquisitions: what operators know

May 29, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

Seller notes are in 60-80% of deals. Here’s how the structure works and what the June 2025 SBA changes mean for ETA buyers and self-funded searchers.

Private Equity

Management buyout: how the deal structure works

May 28, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

A management buyout lets an existing team acquire the business they run. Here's how the capital stack and deal structure actually work.

Search Fund

Quality of earnings report: what the numbers actually show

May 28, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

QoE EBITDA discrepancies caused 21.3% of broken LOIs in 2025. What a quality of earnings report examines — and how findings change your deal.

Market Thesis

Silver tsunami business: the succession gap

May 27, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

10 million boomer-owned businesses need new owners this decade. Most won't find a buyer. Here's what the Silver Tsunami means for operators and sellers.

Search Fund

Search fund LOI: what operators get wrong

May 27, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

69% of search fund LOIs never close. Understanding what the letter of intent actually does and when to sign it changes your entire acquisition process.

Private Equity

Buy and build private equity: how the math works

May 26, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

74.9% of PE deals are add-ons. What buy and build private equity means in the lower middle market — IRR math, platform criteria, and where it breaks.

Search Fund

Search fund acquisition criteria: 7 filters

May 26, 2026 · Zack Knight

What makes a business worth acquiring? The 7 criteria that define the search fund buy box, backed by Stanford 2024 data and practitioner frameworks.

Private Equity

PE operating partner: what the role actually demands

May 25, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

The PE operating partner has become the most important role in private equity. In the lower middle market, it's the difference between a 2x and a 3x.

Search Fund

Search fund investor returns: what the data shows

May 25, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

Stanford's 2024 study covers 681 US search funds. Pre-tax IRR: 35.1%, ROIC: 4.5x. Here's what drives those returns and what the risks actually are.

Veteran Business

Veteran business loans: what the SBA offers

May 24, 2026 · Zack Knight

The SBA runs three veteran loan programs worth knowing. What each covers, who qualifies, and where the ceiling is for operators who want to scale.

Search Fund

Search fund financing: how the capital stack works

May 24, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

Most acquisitions use three capital sources — not one. Miss any leg and the deal collapses. Here's how ETA buyers structure the financing stack.

Search Fund

Search fund salary: what searchers actually earn

May 23, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

What does a search fund actually pay? The 2024 Stanford GSB data answers the question most searchers never ask at the conference.

Exit

What private equity firms look for when buying a business

May 22, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

PE firms run the same acquisition checklist on every deal. Most founders never see it. Here's what gets businesses bought and what gets them passed on.

Search Fund

Entrepreneurship through acquisition: how ETA works

May 22, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

ETA lets operators skip startup risk entirely. Buy a profitable business, run it as CEO, and earn returns the Stanford data says average 35% IRR.

Private Equity

Private equity fund structure: how the money works

May 21, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

The mechanics of a PE fund — blind pool, LP/GP roles, management fees, carried interest, capital calls, hold periods, and the J-curve — explained without guru framing.

Search Fund

How to find a business to acquire

May 21, 2026 · Zack Knight

Most acquisition searches fail at target selection. Apply SF precision-criteria thinking to find the right business to buy before the competition.

Private Equity

EBITDA multiples in the lower middle market

May 20, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

What EBITDA multiples actually close at in the lower middle market — from GF Data and IBBA research — and what drives a 4x deal versus a 7x deal.

Veteran Business

Veteran small business grants 2026: what's available

May 20, 2026 · Zack Knight

Grant funding for veteran-owned businesses in 2026 is real, but it's scattered. Here's what's available, who qualifies, and how to apply.

Search Fund

Search fund due diligence: what most buyers miss

May 20, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

Most search fund acquisitions fail before the close. Here's what experienced operators check in due diligence — and what first-time buyers almost always skip.

Search Fund

Search fund success rate — what the data says

May 20, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

Four decades of Stanford and IESE data show 35% IRR, 4.5x investor MoIC, and a 60% acquisition close rate. Here is what the numbers actually mean.

Private Equity

Operational value creation in PE: where returns come from

May 19, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

In lower middle market PE, leverage averages 3.2x EBITDA. Financial engineering doesn''t drive returns. Operational professionalization does.

Veteran Business

Military discipline in business

May 19, 2026 · Zack Knight

How military SOPs, after-action review, and commander's intent translate directly to lower-middle-market business ownership.

Search Fund

How to start a search fund

May 19, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

The step-by-step process for raising search capital, sourcing your acquisition, and closing a deal as an operator-owner.

Search Fund

Self-funded search fund: what the math actually shows

May 19, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

Self-funded search funds let operators buy businesses using SBA debt and keep 60–80% of equity. Here's how the model works and who it fits.

Veteran Business

SDVOSB certification: the rule change you can't ignore

May 18, 2026 · Zack Knight

Self-certification for SDVOSBs ended in 2024. Here's how VetCert works—and why getting certified protects both your contracts and your exit multiple.

Market Thesis

Baby boomer business succession: the 70% problem

May 17, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

Six million boomer-owned businesses face ownership transitions by 2035. Ninety-two percent will close instead of sell. Here's why — and what changes that.

Private Equity

Lower middle market private equity: the alpha story

May 16, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

LMM PE outperforms large-cap by 400–500 bps annually. Here’s the structural reason — and what it means for business owners and LPs.

Veteran Business

Veteran business exit planning: what owners get wrong

May 15, 2026 · Jonathan Bates

Most veteran business owners leave money on the table — and risk losing their federal contract pipeline — because exit planning comes too late.

Search Fund

Search fund vs private equity: what operators choose

May 15, 2026 · Jeff Barnes

Search funds give operators 25–30% direct equity. PE gives carried interest. For veteran operators considering ETA, the difference is everything.

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