Deal Fact Sheet — raw data
Every real number behind the "How We Work" board — for writing short-form videos. Companion to the board; not for public posting as-is.
Redaction note: real names, the company, the broker, the bank and the location are withheld here too. Every number below is the actual deal data. Two financing structures are listed because two real documents exist — our internal model vs. the bank's issued term sheet.
~60 days
First call → under contract
$2.7M
Business revenue / yr (peak)
2.43×
Price ÷ SDE multiple
1 · The buyer (buy-box)
| Background | IT / software engineering & operations, 15+ years |
| Target owner income | ~$250,000 / year |
| Liquidity available | ~$170,000 (≈$45K cash + ~$150K retirement) |
| Credit | 700+ |
| Sectors targeted | Drywall / interior finishing, HVAC, plumbing, fencing, painting, manufacturing, landscaping, construction services |
| Price band | $1M – $5M · SBA-financeable |
| Intent | Owner-operator; own equity (no dilution); open to multiple acquisitions |
| Onboarded | May 15, 2026 |
2 · Sourcing funnel (how much we did)
| Stage | Number |
|---|
| Listings screened across all markets | 336 |
| Marketplaces monitored (daily) | 16 |
| Fit the buy-box | ~95 |
| Applied to (under his name) | 65 |
| Follow-ups per applied deal | 4–5× (weekly, May 29 → Jul 31) |
| CIMs / memoranda received | 25 |
| Shortlisted | 9 |
| Fully analyzed (full model + report) | 5 |
| Under contract | 1 |
3 · The 5 deals we fully analyzed
| Sector | Memorandum |
|---|
| Drywall & interior finishing (the one) | 15-page CIM |
| Design / manufacturing | 39-page CIM |
| Consulting services | 36-page CIM |
| Lab-equipment services | 8-page CIM |
| Furniture & fixture retail | teaser |
4 · The target business (numbers)
| Sector | Drywall & interior-finishing contractor |
| Revenue / year | ~$2.3M – $2.7M (2022 peak ~$2.72M; 2025 ~$2.51M) |
| SDE (normalized) | $412,000 |
| SDE per year, 2021–2025 | $334K – $492K range |
| SDE + owner write-offs | $455,000 (write-offs added back: $43,000) |
| Years in business | 25+ |
| Team | 4 full-time + 3 finishers + subcontractors; owner-operated |
| Customer concentration | Top customer ≈ 20% of revenue |
| Location | Northwest Indiana (withheld publicly) |
5 · The deal & LOI
| Purchase price (100% equity) | $1,000,000 |
| Implied multiple | 2.43× SDE |
| LOI signed | June 16, 2026 |
| LOI accepted | July 1, 2026 |
| Offers made to get here | 1 |
| Status | Under contract · in due diligence · ~60 days to close |
6a · Financing — our model (from the analysis)
| Component | Terms |
|---|
| SBA 7(a) loan — 80% | $800,000 @ 11% · 10 yr |
| Seller financing — 10% | $100,000 @ 6% · 3 yr |
| Buyer equity injection — 10% | $100,000 |
| Loan debt service (yearly) | $132,240 |
| Seller-note debt service (yearly) | $36,506 |
| Total debt service (yearly) | $168,746 |
| DSCR | 2.44 (2.70 with write-offs) |
| Profit with write-offs | $286,254 |
| Yearly cash flow after debt | $243,254 ($143,000 after a manager hire) |
6b · Financing — the bank's issued term sheet (SBA 7a)
| Business purchase | $1,000,000 |
| Total project cost | $1,112,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loan | $950,000 |
| Line of credit | $150,000–$250,000 (+ working capital) |
| Cash injection (10%) | $112,000 |
| Seller note | $50,000 @ 4.5% |
| Interest rate | WSJ Prime + 2.75% (~9.5%) · 10 yr |
| Working capital needed (our finding) | ~$150K – $200K |
| Buyer's funding sources | $20K 401(k) loan · $40K+ HELOC · $50K+ cash · $17K Roth (backup); no gifts/rollovers |
7 · Due-diligence work
| On-site owner interview | 230 questions, 11 sections |
| Due-diligence report | 16 pages, 13 sections |
| Diligence call | 1:35:49 (96 min) + a 31-min Q&A call |
| On-site visit | July 14, 2026 |
| Two-year forward model | $2.74M Y1 revenue modelled |
| Quality of earnings | Two (external provider + buyer's CPA cousin) |
| Key catches | Working-capital gap ($50K → ~$150–200K) · add-backs scrubbed · payroll misclassification · prior-buyer bank file · customer concentration · contract protections |
8 · Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
|---|
| May 15, 2026 | Onboarded · buyer profile built |
| June 2026 | Sourcing, applications, CIMs, analysis at volume |
| June 16, 2026 | LOI signed (accepted July 1) |
| July 14, 2026 | On-site visit with the seller |
| July 24, 2026 | 96-minute diligence call |
| July 30, 2026 | Bank term-sheet review |
| Now | In due diligence · ~60 days to close |
| Total | First call → under contract in ~60 days |