The deal: established DTC brand, ~$8.5M TTM revenue, asking $3.5M. Seller is motivated and has already offered $1.5M+ in seller financing (over 40% of the deal), and has signaled openness to carrying even more if needed. He's explicitly told me: tell us what you can do at closing and we'll work to make it fit. Where I'm stuck: I don't have $2M+ in cash for closing, and I'm hitting friction on the lending side. SBA wants a 10% equity injection plus a separate personal liquidity reserve (on top of the injection) that can't be satisfied by business cash, even with a seller standby note covering part of the injection. I've also been exploring non-SBA private credit (FLEX-style products) but running into similar liquidity requirements there too. What I'm looking for: - Anyone who's structured a deal with a highly motivated seller carrying 50%+ of the purchase price — how did you solve the remaining cash-at-close gap? - Equity partners or co-investors who'd consider a deal like this (happy to share more detail directly) - Any lenders/structures that work well specifically when seller carry is already large and the seller is flexible on terms Open to ideas, partners, or just being told what I'm missing. Appreciate any input.