In today’s newsletter I am going to go over the following…

• Actionable tips for proprietary deal sourcing

• How Trump’s election may impact SMBs

• Three deals: Social Media Management, Marketing SaaS, AI Newsletter

…and more.

We help SMB investors build up their own databases or proprietary deals. If you’d like to learn how, see here.

Actionable Tip

Use Employee Reviews 

Monitor Glassdoor/Indeed for companies with great employee review scores but frustrated growth-related comments("management won't invest in expansion"). Usually means owner is harvesting - prime time for exit talks.

Execution Strategy:

1. Build list of 500+ companies in your space

2. Scrape reviews (use a scraper like Instant Data Scraper)

3. Flag companies showing pattern

4. Cross reference with:

   • Recent job postings

   • Website updates

   • Social media activity

   • Sales/marketing spend

When you reach out to the owners, reference these findings. Owners typically know they’re leaving growth on the table. Use that as a way to spark a conversation.

How Trump’s Election Impacts Small Businesses

Here's what Trump's re-election could mean for small business:

Tax Changes In his previous term, Trump's tax cuts aimed to free up cash for businesses, giving them more to invest in growth. A similar approach would likely provide more capital for expansion and hiring for SMBs. Historical data has shown meaningful impact for businesses generating under $5M in revenue.

Regulatory Environment The previous administration's track record suggests continued deregulation is likely. This presents a key benefit through reduced compliance costs in regulated sectors. LMM companies typically saw 5-15% savings on administrative overhead during the last term.

Supply Chain Shifts "America First" policies are likely to accelerate reshoring trends. We are seeing interesting opportunities emerging in domestic manufacturing and supply chain technology. Investors are already positioning for this shift.

Trade Impact The effects will vary significantly by sector. Manufacturing could benefit from tariff protection, but input costs require careful monitoring. Previous tariffs led to 10-20% cost increases in certain materials. Deal models need to account for both scenarios.

These policy shifts will create clear opportunities in domestic manufacturing, supply chain technology, and regulated sectors. Strategic buyers have already begun mapping targets in these spaces. While regulation and trade present some risks, the overall setup appears positive for LMM deals.

Deal List

1) 12-Year-Old Social Media Management Subscription Business - New York

• Revenue: $488,771

• EBITDA: $291,227

• Asking Price: $1,100,000

• Overview: This 12-year-old, subscription-based social media management business with $291K in cash flow is an attractive, turnkey acquisition opportunity in a growing industry.

• My Thoughts: This is a great social media management subscription business that's been around for over a decade. It has 250 loyal customers, a flexible service model, and a hands-off remote team. At 3.8x cash flow, it's a solid deal. The new owner can focus on growth like running ads while keeping the business running smoothly. This is a good opportunity to get into a reliable, scalable business.

• Link To Listing

2) Marketing and Cold Email SaaS

• Revenue: $875,000

• EBITDA: $300,000

• Asking Price: $1,400,000

• Overview: SAAS platform (~375 active users, mostly agencies/consultants) offering competitive intel on marketing campaigns and automated outreach based on real-time advertiser data.

• My Thoughts: Healthy 34% margins and sticky agency customer base. Like that it's solving real pain points vs. nice-to-have features. 12K subscriber list + 300K advertiser database are legit assets. Multiple expansion levers - pricing, enterprise sales, new features. 4.7x EBITDA feels light for SaaS with these metrics.

• Link to Listing

3) Leading AI Newsletter

• Location: New York (Relocatable)

• Revenue: $995,504

• EBITDA: $762,432

• Asking Price: $4,000,000

• Overview: 210K+ industry subscriber newsletter generating $80K monthly from ad sales to Google, IBM, Intel. 38-45% open rates.

• My Thoughts: Newsletter economics are beautiful when done right - this one's crushing it at 77% margins. Real moat with that engaged AI audience. Clear paths to 2-3x revenue through job board, premium content, events. Feels like a steal at 5.2x EBITDA given the AI tailwinds and enterprise advertiser relationships. Would move fast on this one.

• Link to Listing

How I Can Help You

If you invest in SMBs and want my team to set up your proprietary deal sourcing strategy including:

• Scraping and enriching lists of your ideal company targets

• Creating a deal database

• Setting up a cold email infrastructure

• Writing and managing all outreach including your cold email, LinkedIn, and cold calling

Learn more here

Book a call here