Has anyone acquired a business that was listed online?

July 10, 2019

by a searcher from University of Wisconsin - Madison in Chicago, IL, USA

I'm particularly curious about generalist sites like bizbuysell.com or on a business broker's own website.

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Reply by a searcher
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Queens, NY, USA

I am about to close on a business that was listed in BizBuySell. Full disclosure - I do not have a traditional search fund. I am acquiring a healthcare business on behalf of a family-owned healthcare business in more of a permanent capital structure. I would consider the deal I am closing to be on the expensive side, but it does have strategic advantages that will make it a nice platform. In general, I think that the effort-to-value ratio on BizBuySell is horrible. Truly a needle-in-a-haystack-type exercise. A few pieces of general advice that I can offer: 1.) Never browse BizBuySell passively for opportunities. This will kill your time and be low yield. 2.) If you have a specific type of business you are looking for, spend 5 minutes searching BizBuySell for that type of business. You might get lucky. This is what happened in my scenario that I mentioned above. 3.) I haven't done this personally, but I would imagine that an intern or virtual assistant combined with some automated filters could comb through BizBuySell for opportunities. If you go this route, treat it as a low-yield, top-of-funnel activity. Best of luck!

Reply by a professional
from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Hi Carlos, here's a similar question that was posted a year ago that may be of value to you: https://www.searchfunder.com/post/anyone-have-success-with-bizbuysellcom

If you're looking at the online brokered approach, you'll find a lot of clutter on sites like BIzBuySell. As most searchers can attest, it can be an inefficient and time sucking approach to finding a company. This is exactly why we started PrivSource.com. Our goal is to help searchers and lower market PE professionals find those diamonds in the rough.

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