Originated, By DealGen Partners
Issue No. 15
sponsored by DealGen Partners:
A quick intro, for anyone new here.
I'm Joe Zanca, and I run DealGen Partners. We outsource business development for private equity firms, family offices, and qualified buyers. We work as a partner, not as a vendor. In plain terms, we become your deal origination engine.
The work speaks for itself. On average, our clients are under LOI within the first 90 to 120 days. And we stand behind it: we'll bring you 10 qualified deals within the first four months, or we work for free until we hit that number.
So if you're looking for a new platform company to buy, or one of your existing platforms is looking to grow through acquisition, let's talk. We'll get into the industry, do a little market mapping, and start putting together a qualified list of targets.
Reach out to me directly at [email protected]
"It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent." — Charlie Munge
Looking to buy or exit? Let's talk, Schedule a call
Most exits don't die because of the market. They die by the seller's own hand.
After years of watching deals come together and fall apart in the lower middle market, I've noticed the missteps aren't random. They're the same seven, over and over. So I borrowed an old framework. The seven deadly sins of M&A.
Pride is overestimating what the company is worth and anchoring to a number no buyer will pay. Sloth is failing to prepare, showing up to diligence with messy books and no story. Greed is chasing the highest bidder instead of the right buyer. Wrath is letting emotion drive the decisions, taking a tough diligence question personally and blowing up the room.
Envy is comparing your deal to someone else's. Your buddy's multiple has nothing to do with your business. Gluttony is wanting it all, top price, full cash at close, zero transition, no rollover, and losing the deal trying to get it. And lust is falling for the first buyer who shows interest without ever testing the market.
None of these require intelligence to avoid. They require honesty and preparation, usually years before the process starts.
If you are open to reviewing some of the recent deals we've found, or search thesis' we've put together, lets schedule a call today.
The sellers who get great outcomes aren't smarter than everyone else. They just commit fewer sins. Munger was right. You don't have to be brilliant. You have to be consistently not stupid, and in M&A that discipline is worth millions.
I broke all seven down in a short video if you want the three-minute version click here
Which one of the seven would bite you if a buyer called tomorrow?
This is the part of the newsletter where we open up the board.
Every idea you'll find here is a search we'd happily run with the right partner. An idea earns its spot one of two ways. Either it's a space where we're seeing strong deal flow right now and we're looking for a buyer to chase it with us — or it's a market we've watched fragment, where we see a real opportunity to build something through consolidation.
Feel free to click around and browse our idea database. If one of them fits what you're after, reach out and let's run it together.
If any of this resonates, I'd love to compare notes. schedule a call
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In case you missed it:
Issue No. 12 — They stopped writing checks to PE
Issue No. 13 — He thought selling meant selling everything
Issue No. 14 — Story Time: the client who told us to stop