How we work

We typically use seller financing to purchase businesses. Seller financing means the current owner lets us pay for the business over time, instead of us using a traditional bank loan. It’s a simple, flexible way to sell without listing the business publicly or going through a long financing process.

For the seller, it offers real benefits: ongoing passive income, extra profit from interest, potential tax advantages, and a longer-term connection to the business they built.

This approach lets the seller move on confidently, knowing their business is in good hands — and we get to keep growing great companies while honoring the legacy they’ve built.

Customers smiling at Groundhouse Coffee

Our Acquisition Process

  • We have an informal conversation with you to learn more about your business. We love to hear the history, the vision, and the dreams for the future. We just love talking to business owners and there is absolutely no obligation from anyone to move forward from this part.

    This can be a single conversation or several, depending on how clear we both feel through the initial conversations.

  • We’ll sign an NDA (we take confidentiality seriously) and ask to explore a bit more about your business finances, margins, projections and debt.

    We’ll create an initial valuation of your business based on your Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE). We’ll apply an industry-standard multiple, adjusted for our level of interest.

    This step typically takes 2-4 weeks, depending on the complexity of your business.

  • If we like what we see during the evaluation stage, we’ll send you a term sheet. This is a nonbinding agreement that expresses our formal interest in your company, along with a potential selling price and terms for seller financing. This document also suggests a timeline for what’s next.

    If we’re interested in your business after Step 2, we don’t take long to send you this term sheet - just 1-3 business days.

    Although the term sheet is nonbinding and not final, we do try to go back and forth until we know we’re in the right ballpark in terms of sales price.

  • We want to know about the business inside and out, including a full list of your inventory, assets, and debts. Sometimes we or you will choose to hire a valuation firm during this period if we’re not confident in the initial valuation.

    This typically lasts 30-90 days.

  • After due diligence, we’ll renegotiate the initial term sheet if needed, then work up documents for the final sale of the business. We’ll agree on a closing date and the ownership transition process. Ownership of the business will transfer at the closing date.

    This step can be days or months, depending on how long it takes us to come to agreement on the sales agreement and business factors for either you or us to find an ideal time.

Business owners we’re looking for

  • Business woman at white board

    Entrepreneur

    You’ve launched something great and you’re ready for your next adventure!

  • Small town main street

    Maxed Out

    You still love your business, but feel like you’ve taken it as far as you can by yourself.

  • business man

    Exiting

    You’re nearing retirement and want someone who will take care of your legacy and your employees.

  • Business Woman

    Top Talent

    Your business might not be the most natural fit to our portfolio, but you personally are at the top of your field. Occasionally, we’ll make an acqui-hire.

Our Baseline Purchasing Criteria

Alignment

The business either already aligns with our people-first mission or has direct synergies with other businesses in our portfolio.

Cashflow

There’s enough free cashflow to service the seller financing, operate the business, and generate revenue for the holding company.

Opportunity

There is a clear opportunity for us to grow the business by leveraging our holding company team and expertise.