Questions acquisition entrepreneurs ask us.

Yes. The playbook is built as much for first-time buyers as for owners adding to what they have. It helps you settle what kind of business fits you, how to fund it with the capital and network you actually have, what lenders and sellers will want to see from you, and what to do in the next 90 days to stop circling and close.

No. We're not a business broker and we don't earn a commission on deals. The playbook helps you refine, at a high level, what to buy and what to avoid, and how to be the buyer brokers and sellers take seriously. If you have deals in view, we look at them directionally against the playbook. With ongoing advisory, we review specific deals with you as they come.

We’ll tell you what we would do in your position, and why. You make the call.

No. Many people come to us with a deal already in view, anywhere from a listing they're reading to a business under letter of intent. The playbook looks at it against your plan: whether it fits, whether the price is reasonable for what you're getting, how it could be financed, and what to ask before going further. If you're already under letter of intent, tell us the dates when you apply. The seller's clock may mean Raise or Grow is the better place to start, because there we work on that specific deal with you. We don't do formal diligence or valuations for lenders; your accountant and counsel handle those. And if the honest answer is "not this one," we'll tell you.

No. We're advisers, not investors or a broker-dealer. We prepare you to raise capital, equity or debt, from people who know you, with the strategy, materials and documents serious investors expect, and you run the raise. We don't contact investors or take a fee based on what you raise.

Less than most first-time buyers assume, but rarely none: you will usually need some of your own money, or you'll need to raise it from investors. Yes, it's possible to buy a business with no money down. A good one, at a good price? Not likely. SBA lenders usually require a cash injection, and sellers and investors want to see that you have something at stake. The playbook works out the capital stack for your situation: how much of the price can come from debt, the seller, earnouts and investors, and how much needs to come from you.

Courses and masterminds give you knowledge and a peer group, and the same frameworks as everyone else in the room. The playbook gives you a plan you can act on: how to get from the stage you're at to a valuable holding company, whether it stays private or goes public. It's one-to-one, written, and presented to you live, and it's built by someone who has spent thirty years on the capital side of these transactions. See where we fit.

The Holding Company Playbook is $10,000, fixed. Preparing a raise is a fixed fee of $15,000 to $35,000, depending on the type of raise, with no success fees and no equity. Ongoing advisory starts at $8,000 a month plus options. Taking a holding company public is a monthly fee plus equity, set in a proposal for your situation.

Because of the decisions it changes. You're buying thirty years of judgment applied to your situation, in writing, with every recommendation tied to what to do, by when and what it costs. On a business earning $500,000 a year, one turn of multiple is $500,000 of value. A better deal structure, one lender term you avoid, one adviser you attract or one key person you keep can each be worth more than the fee, and one bad acquisition can cost far more. If we don't think it's worth it for you, we'll tell you in the first conversation, before you spend anything.

No. Every service stands on its own and none requires the next. Most people start with the playbook because it tells them which of the others they need, if any. If you already know you need to raise or want to go public, you can start there. Compare the four services side by side.

The playbook is for first-time buyers who are serious about buying and have some capital or people who might back them, and for owners adding to what they have. Raise is for anyone with a clear plan that needs equity or debt, ideally before the first deal. Grow is for owners who are buying and integrating, or about to close. Going public fits holding companies with real earnings or a clear path to them, books an auditor can work with, and a founder willing to report publicly.

For a first acquisition, before you've found the deal: once you've formed the company and set your thesis, as you start your search. Financing takes longer than most people expect, and raising against a signed letter of intent puts you on the seller's clock. If you've already found a deal, we can still help. For a second or third acquisition, you have a track record and cash flow, and the picture changes.

Sometimes. It depends on earnings or a clear path to them, books an auditor can work with, and whether better access to capital, talent and opportunities would meaningfully move the value. The process can create real advantages even before your first acquisition. Our founder has taken seventeen companies public; we'll tell you honestly whether it fits, and when. If it isn't realistic yet, the playbook shows what you'd need to do to be ready.

About 30 days: four one-on-one sessions, plus the information you send beforehand. The written playbook is presented to you in the final session.

No, and nobody honest can. We give you a professional playbook and the structures to execute it. What you build with it is up to you.