Business Brokers No Longer Willing to Work with Searchfunders

May 08, 2025

by an intermediary from University of Arizona in Denver, CO, USA

Just a little input here which might be helpful to the audience. There is a groundswell of experienced Business Brokers who no longer have a desire to speak with Searchfunders. From experience I can tell you that far too many come unprepared and unwilling to share their proof of funds. Brokers do not want to have to sell not only the Searchfunder but their investors. If you are unwilling to share your proof of funds it is because you likely do not have the funds to complete the deal. Further, far too many of the audience are deluding themselves thinking that they are a strong buyer when they have virtually zero leadership or management experience. I'm sorry to be the messenger on this but thought you should know. At our firm we will not even accept an NDA unless it is accompanied by a resume and proof of funds. I hope that those who are totally serious about buying a business will come prepared. The market is so hot right now that Brokers do not have time to waste, theirs or their clients.

Reply by a searcher
from INSEAD in San Francisco, CA, USA

There’s a saying about throwing stones in glass houses that feels relevant here. While I agree that some searchers come unprepared, the broker side of the table isn’t exactly spotless either. In my own experience, I’ve seen brokers carelessly CC my financials to unrelated third parties, and in one case, a broker, angry that I wouldn’t provide a full PFS on top of a POF screenshot (which alone covered 20% of the purchase price), sent me an example PFS to “educate me,” accidentally leaving in the prior client’s SSN, account numbers, and name. He was later removed from the deal by his own firm’s founder. There are excellent brokers out there, but unfortunately, some seem more like failed realtors cosplaying as business experts. The wave of startups trying to modernize this space speaks volumes about how outdated and opaque much of the industry has become. If we want to talk about raising the bar, let’s raise it on both sides.

Reply by an intermediary
from University of Tennessee in Denver, CO, USA

These are fair points, but I see it from a slightly different perspective. Every buyer class (and for that matter, every class of sellers and intermediaries) has its bad actors. I take my job of delivering the right buyer and terms to my clients very seriously, and I see buyer qualification as a critical part of the intermediary job. I find it pretty easy to weed out low quality buyers, "searchfunder" or otherwise, and I'm happy to do so on behalf of my clients. On an altogether separate point, I am a firm believer in the ETA movement. I think it is great for our country. One of my favorite things about it is the fierce competition and quick feedback cycle. It's a wild west system that elevates the best to the top and shows the worst the door. On every side, I really think this is all just a part of the game, whether you are complaining about bad brokers or bad buyers. If you don't like the game, there are plenty of other options.

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