As an active search fund investor (7 deals in 2020), I'm often asked by searchers what questions they should be able to answer for investors.

As such, I thought I'd write a quick blog post with my perspective.

Here are 10 questions that you should be able to answer:
-Where did you find the deal? Why is the owner willing to sell?
-What does the business do? What are the headwinds/tailwinds of the industry?
-What is the competition? Why does your company "win"?
-What are the growth levers on the business?
-How many employees? What is the transition plan? Who are the key employees?
-What in your background makes you a great fit to run this business?
-What is the price? What is the EBIDTA multiple? How much debt (bank and seller)?
-Who are you using for your deal team (legal, bank, diligence)?
-How much are you raising? What are the deal terms?
-Where are you in the process? IOI stage? LOI stage? Close date?
-What is your plan to return my capital? Exit strategy? Recap? Long-term hold & dividends

You don't have to all the answers now but you should have a thoughtful answer on how you will "get to an answer" and the timeline to get there.

If you'd like more "Tips for Self-Funded Searchers from an Investor" check out my recent webinar at Searchfunder (redacted) and email me for a copy of the updated slides redacted ). Sign-up for my monthly musings at bit.ly/etamusings

And comment below with questions that should be added to the list.