Exploring alternatives to SBA financing for deals in the $3M - $10M EV range

Member resources:

Frequent asked questions:

What is Searchfunder.com?

Searchfunder.com is an online community of searchers, investors, lenders, brokers and other professionals. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder account to help them network, hire, and mentor others.

What are the benefits of membership?

In addition to accessing the most active online network of business buyers, Searchfunder licenses research that is simply not cost effective for individuals. Access over 15,000 industry reports and 50,000 transaction financials. You also get monthly credits for contact information for your company sourcing campaign with the option to purchase more at drastically discounted rates. Searchfunder has pre-purchased access from these data providers in order to empower individual buyers and to help searchers level the playing field versus private equity.

Do you have deals?

While we are primarily a buy-side network, we do have hundreds of brokers that regularly post deals to the community.

Can I find an internship on Searchfunder?

Absolutely! We have the industry's largest intern job board. If you are considering a search, the first step is to help another business buyer so you can hit the ground running.

What does it cost?

Searchfunder is a subscription service. We offer flexible monthly, annual and lifetime memberships.

Monthly

$79 / month

Annual

$19 / month

Lifetime

$432 / once

Those who maintain an account with us for over 4 continuous years are permanently added to the community without the need for a membership.

Do I need an MBA to join?

While a large number of our members come from dedicated programs at Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, and other top programs, searching is no longer reserved for the elite. With the current abundance of dry powder in private equity, and an increasing number of business owners reaching retirement age, good deals rarely go unfunded.

Post a question, deal, job, etc...

Make a post...

Complete registration to post.

by a searcher from The University of Texas at El Paso - College of Business Administration
in Austin, TX, USA

9mos ago

Exploring alternatives to SBA financing for deals in the $3M - $10M EV range

Hi everyone, I’m currently evaluating different financing options for an acquisition and wanted to tap into the community’s expertise. While SBA financing is the common route, I’m also interested in learning more about alternatives such as: i)Conventional / traditional bank debt ii) Non-SBA acquisition loans (i.e. direct lenders, mezzanine, private credit, other non-SBA loans) iii) Other creative lending structures I’d love to connect with anyone who has experience securing these types of loans, as well as loan brokers or funding providers who specialize in them. Appreciate any insights, introductions, or resources you can share! Thanks, Oscar

6 Likes

354 Views

reply by a searcher 9mos ago
from University of Virginia in Virginia Beach, VA, USA

With a minority equity raise and less leverage (eg 1-2x EBITDA), and especially if there is real estate involved, the traditional banks might be interested in conventional loans. That's mainly what I'm looking at right now.

reply by a searcher 9mos ago
from Bates College in Washington, DC, USA

Banks providing conventional/traditional term debt to searchers in this size range include Parkside Financial, AvidBank, and BankProv, among many others. Check the bank sponsors of the search fund conferences for other names that are providing term debt to traditional search funds without the PG's. Happy to connect you with my loan officers at Parkside if helpful.