For search funders, ETA acquirers, and emerging holdco operators. WETYR provides buy-side advisory to first-time acquirers — sourcing, valuation, financing, diligence, definitive agreement, and post-close integration. Operator-led, not finance-led. Built for searchers who want help from someone who has actually run a business.
Who This Is For
Search Fund Searchers
Stanford GSB / HBS-model searchers raising or in-search. WETYR provides sourcing support, target evaluation, and operational diligence beyond the typical financial QoE.
Self-Funded Searchers
Searchers using personal capital + SBA 7(a). WETYR helps with proprietary deal sourcing (not broker-listed), structuring, and the 100-day post-close plan.
Sponsored Searchers
Single-investor sponsored searchers funded by a PE firm or family office. WETYR provides sourcing leverage and operational diligence the sponsor expects.
Holdco Operators
Multi-acquisition holding company builders. WETYR helps with platform/bolt-on strategy, capital structure, and integration playbooks.
Family Offices
Direct-deal family offices with operator mandates. WETYR sources off-market deals matching stated thesis and supports underwrite.
Individual Operator-Buyers
Experienced operators acquiring a single business to run. WETYR underwrites alongside, structures the deal, and stays available post-close.
What WETYR Does Differently On Buy-Side
Most buy-side support comes from finance-trained advisors who learned M&A in banking or PE. They model well. They are weaker on the operational reality of running the business after close — what actually breaks, who actually leaves, which customers actually churn. WETYR's buy-side practice is operator-led. The diligence we run includes operational deep dives that finance-only diligence misses: customer-by-customer relationship audits, key-employee retention probability scoring, system-and-process maturity assessment, and 100-day plan stress testing.
The Buy-Side Engagement
Acquisition Criteria
Detailed thesis development: industry, geography, EBITDA range, revenue model, owner-dependence tolerance, capital structure, post-close role.
Proprietary Deal Sourcing
Off-market owner outreach campaigns matched to your criteria. Higher yield and less competition than broker-listed processes. WETYR maintains active relationships across 25 niches.
Initial Screening & Outreach
Targets pre-qualified before introductions. NDAs, teaser review, and qualifying calls run by WETYR so you only spend time on real fits.
IOI / LOI
Indication of interest, then non-binding LOI with structure, exclusivity, and target close date. WETYR drafts; your counsel reviews.
Quality of Earnings + Operational Diligence
Independent QoE engagement coordinated by WETYR. Operational diligence run by WETYR alongside the financial work.
Financing
SBA 7(a) intros, seller note negotiation, rollover-equity structuring, and senior-debt sourcing as appropriate. WETYR maintains lender relationships across the lower-middle-market.
Definitive Agreement
WETYR drives definitive agreement negotiation alongside your counsel. Working capital, escrow, indemnity caps, earnout, rollover.
Close + 100-Day Plan
Funds wired. WETYR stays engaged through the first 100 days for stabilization: customer retention, key-employee retention, financial reporting infrastructure, basic operational changes.
Search Fund Specifics
Traditional search fund economics typically assign 50%+ of acquired-company equity to the investor pool that funded the search. Self-funded searchers retain 70-90% but carry the search-period risk personally. Sponsored search splits the difference. WETYR works with all three structures and never takes equity in your acquisition. Our compensation is retainer plus a buy-side success fee at close, structured similarly to sell-side Modified Lehman models.
Holdco Strategy Support
For operators building a multi-acquisition holdco, WETYR provides platform/bolt-on strategy development, integrated capital structure design, and bolt-on pipeline development across the niches we cover. The structural mistake most first-time holdco builders make is treating bolt-ons as miniature platform deals — they are not. WETYR's holdco strategy guide covers the framework; engagement covers the execution.
Free Tools For Search Funders & Holdco Operators
- Business Valuation Calculator — quick triangulation on target valuations
- SBA Loan Calculator — for self-funded searchers using SBA 7(a)
- Earnout Calculator — modeling earnout structures
- Rollup ROI Calculator — for holdco builders
- Buyer Registry — receive matched off-market teasers from WETYR sell-side mandates
- Q2 2026 Multiples Report — quarterly underwriting reference
Buy Better. With Help From Operators.
Apply to the Buyer Registry for matched off-market deals, or book a 30-minute call to discuss buy-side advisory for your specific search.
Authoritative Sources & Further Reading
WETYR works alongside primary sources, regulators, and industry data providers when advising owners and operators. The references below are the same sources our advisory team uses when modeling deals, benchmarking multiples, and stress-testing assumptions. We encourage every owner, buyer, and operator to verify any data point that materially affects their decision against the underlying primary source.
Primary Federal Sources
- U.S. SBA — 7(a) Loan Program for acquisition financing eligibility, terms, and lender list.
- SEC EDGAR for public-company comparables, 10-K disclosures, and recent strategic acquirer filings.
- IRS — Sale of a Business on Section 1060 asset-allocation reporting and tax treatment of asset vs stock sales.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Industries at a Glance for wage, employment, and growth data by NAICS code.
- U.S. Census Economic Census for industry size, firm counts, and revenue distributions.
- Federal Reserve Economic Data for prevailing rate environment underwriting.
Standards & Reference Bodies
- AICPA for Quality of Earnings methodology and CPA standards governing transaction-related financial work.
- FINRA Rules and Guidance for understanding when a transaction crosses into broker-dealer territory.
- NACVA business valuation credentialing body and standards (CVA designation).
- USPAP — Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice for valuation engagement standards.
- Investopedia — EBITDA reference page for definitional alignment with our glossary.
- Harvard Business Review — Mergers and Acquisitions archive on integration and post-close value creation.
For deeper transaction-specific data, the GF Data and PitchBook private-company transaction databases publish quarterly multiple ranges by industry size band that we cross-reference against our own pipeline benchmarks. Owners considering a sale should also review the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report (free, annual) for current cost-of-capital and lender appetite data across the lower middle market. Buyers underwriting search-fund or holdco theses commonly pair Stanford GSB's Search Fund Study with the IBBA Market Pulse report, which tracks multiples for sub-$50M transactions quarterly. None of these sources replace deal-specific advisory, but they give owners and operators the same reference points professional acquirers are using on the other side of the table.
Related WETYR Resources
Every WETYR resource ladders into a structured engagement framework. Whether you are diagnosing readiness, modeling a number, or preparing for a specific transaction phase, the resources below cover the most common owner and operator workflows. All tools are free; all guides are operator-written; all engagements start with a confidential conversation.
Engagement Pillars
Decision Tools
Operator-Written
Glossary & FAQ
Checklists & Templates
Niche Coverage
If you are not sure where to start, the Exit Readiness Score takes about four minutes and produces a one-page diagnostic on the value drivers most likely to compress your multiple. From there the natural next step is either a long-form guide covering your specific situation, a focused glossary term lookup, or a confidential introductory call with our team to discuss whether WETYR's advisory or operator-buyer engagement is a fit. Our team responds to every inbound inquiry within one business day.