Buy-Side Proprietary Search Providers - Insights

September 02, 2025

by a searcher from University of Richmond in Richmond, VA, USA

I’m helping out with a quick review of a buy-side agreement for a searcher looking to engage a service to conduct a proprietary search for them. I’ve seen a handful of these types of agreements but most of my clients conduct their own self-funded searches without engaging a third party provider. Would love to hear any insights on what is market and/or recommended options. I’m not a huge fan of these setups so I’m entering this with a healthy dose of skepticism for the product. Thanks

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Reply by a searcher
from University of Colorado at Boulder in Norfolk, VA, USA

I decided to engage with Calder Capital for my search and couldn't be more pleased. From a time vs. money perspective, they have accomplished more in the first 3 weeks of my search than I could have on my own in 2 months. Although they aren't cheap, in the big picture I believe they are easily the most efficient and effective use of my funds. Plus, if you go with their top tier plan, the money invested up front in monthly search fee ultimately gets wrapped into the acquisition funding so the out-of-pocket $ comes back when the deal closes.

Reply by a searcher
in Westborough, MA, USA

I used a buy-side firm in 2018 to purchase my cleaning company - actually, technically a marketing, sales, and management firm for commercial cleaning accounts, given we sub all the work out. I never would've found this company without them, on top of all the hand-holding they provided for a corporate executive entering his 50s, moving into ownership, and not knowing anything about the process. Sites like this were not around, and very little info on ETAs. The work they put in was well worth the 5% success fee.

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