Best Deal Sourcing Resources

October 16, 2023

by a searcher from Rice University - Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business in Houston, TX, USA

Hi Everyone,

Curious as to what you feel has been worth it when sourcing your deals? It could be software, cold outreaches, etc., however, I'd love to understand more in depth what has been worth your time and what hasn't in detail. If you searched for items off market, how did you get those emails/lists? If you went on market, did you work on relationships with brokers and sent them materials (could you share the materials?). Thanks in advance!

Reply by a searcher
from The University of Chicago in Chicago, IL, USA

I ran a traditional, industry-focused search and spent 90%+ of my sourcing time on direct outreach and/or warm intros through network/river guides. For direct outreach, I primarily used LinkedIn, conference/industry association websites, and PPP loan data to find companies. For contact info I used a combination of RocketReach and freelancers on Upwork to find/scrub. Many more recent searchers use Grata, and some traditional search investors can get you a discount, but I'm not as familiar with that tool.

Reply by a searcher
from Gonzaga University in Seattle, WA, USA

Hey Alexa, personally for me, i use referenceUSA, which is a free resource from public library. You can export information about the owner contact information. From there I either send out a direct email or sometime I mail out a letter which has a higher chance of them opening it.

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