Search Update - September Recap

As September wraps up, I wanted to share a brief update on my search: what’s happening, what’s working, what I’m adjusting, and what I’m looking forward to as we head into October. Search Status This month was steady and productive. I added a strong volume of new opportunities, continued to strengthen broker relationships, and made progress on proprietary outreach. Although, I also learned some hard lessons on pacing and discipline with my email strategy. Pipeline Snapshot 54 new deals were added over the last four weeks. I’m calibrating to a sustainable pace of ~15 deals/week (not 20). I need bandwidth to form sharper views on value and decide faster—not just feed the top of the funnel. A big reason I missed out on some opportunities was timing—many were already under LOI or contract by the time I saw them. I’m looking at building a simple scraping tool to pull new broker/deal site listings daily so I can spot them earlier. Common pass reasons: - Valuation gaps - Too small after determining true EBITDA → Many listings present SDE as “cash flow,” but I’m burdening SDE for replacement compensation, necessary operational expenditures, and for maintenance CapEx to get a closer approximation of EBITDA and a better estimate of true cash flow. After those adjustments and a market-rate multiple, valuations are often below seller/broker expectations. Some buyers will pay more; that’s not the game I’m playing. I intend to pay a fair price for a good business. What’s Working The brokered side of sourcing is still performing well. I’ve built strong relationships with intermediaries, and several are actively looking for ways to place me into deals. Owners I’ve spoken with have been highly receptive—some even willing to take meaningful discounts to work together, though those businesses ultimately weren’t fits. On LinkedIn, the initial connection acceptance rate has been lower than I’d like, but once an owner does connect, the reply rate has been strong—about 30%. I believe adding a short, authentic, owner-focused note with each connection request will improve acceptance and help me unlock more of that engagement. What I’m Adjusting The biggest adjustment this month is around email deliverability. My outbound campaign launched too aggressively from my main domain, a7legacy.com, before trust had been built. I have hypothesized that Gmail and Outlook flagged the pattern as spam: low engagement (2% opens), high volume from a new domain, missing legitimacy markers like a List-Unsubscribe header and custom tracking domain, and a poor volume-to-domain age profile. Even though my SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup was correct, the result was downgraded reputation and even one-to-one messages landing in junk. The fix is straightforward but will take time: - Protect a7legacy.com for brand communications only. - Spin up new outreach domains with a disciplined warm-up (20–30/day, focus on positive replies, no blasts). - Expect inboxing to stabilize again within 2–4 weeks. This has been a leadership reminder for me: if you don’t have time to do it right the first time, when are you going to have time to go back and do it again? The most expensive thing I lost was time. Direct mail is on hold until email deliverability is back on track. I’m also recalibrating sourcing volume—closer to 15 deals per week rather than pushing for 20+—so that I have more bandwidth to develop sharper perspectives on valuation and move faster on decisions. I don’t need to be wrapped around the axle with IOIs and LOIs every time; sometimes a quick, digestible note with a valuation range is the right move. Looking Ahead October will focus on rebuilding email outreach, refining sourcing pace, and moving faster to valuation alignment. I’ll also be testing tools to help reduce the “already under LOI” problem, while keeping direct mail ready to launch once inbox placement is stable. How you can help (my only ask) If you see a business in WA or FL that provides essential goods/services and generates $750k-3mm in EBITDA or pre-tax profit, I’d greatly appreciate an introduction. Thanks for your continued support—your feedback and introductions truly move the needle. Alex