What's one thing you kicked yourself for not having ready sooner?

searcher profile

October 31, 2025

by a searcher from Harvard University - Harvard Business School in Washington, DC, USA

I'm about a month into a self-funded search. The basics are in place, and I know plenty of work lies ahead before I find a deal worth pulling the trigger on. I'm not chasing perfection, but my working assumption is that even good-enough deals are rare, and that edge comes from being bale to move fast when one appears. Forget podcasts and book lists - that's covered. I'm after the stuff that only experience teaches: the "wish I'd done that one quiet Thursday afternoon in month 2 or 3" kind of prep that would've saved you a ton of stress - or even a lost deal - once things got serious and you had to move fast. What's one thing you kicked yourself for not having ready sooner?
14
47
1,146
Replies
47
commentor profile
Reply by an intermediary
from Concordia University in Montreal, QC, Canada
As a broker I see PLENTY of searchers. My number 1 concern is ALWAYS "do they have the money?". Secure funding as job one, whether thats your own bank account, investors who have already committed capital or bank facilities you can tap - get anything that demonstrates you can actually fund a deal. Comfort letters stating pledged money. Being mindful that often pledged money is to the person, but not the deal...which introduces another layer of scepticism. And get that BEFORE you put forward an LOI to be the most competitive. If you're fortunate enough to have your LOI chosen, you are essentually locking in the sellers to exclusivity with you. If that deal falls through because you cannot bring the funds, the seller loses a LOT of leverage with the next buyer. As such, without strong comfort that the money can flow, its a real uphill battle to actually sign an LOI from a searcher in the deals I run. However.....take that as a data point for negotiation.....if you DO manage to get you LOI signed, then the sellers either A) don't have a lot of other options, or B) your bid might have been a little too generous. Do what you will with that guidance. I hope that helps.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Columbia University in New York, NY, USA
Creating my own AI agents to handle my deal sourcing saved me probably hundreds of hours in the past few months, have no idea how I survived this process before without them.
commentor profile
+45 more replies.
Join the discussion