SF Bay Area Acquirers Under $5M - How did you find the deal?

🔍 SF Bay Area acquirers — how did you find your deal? (Sub-$5M) Quick context on me: I've been searching for 7–8 months. Got deep into a deal, went under LOI, and had the seller walk away. Here's what I've experienced so far: - High-quality deals under $5M are genuinely rare - Brokers tend to shortlist cash buyers, and in a couple of cases I've seen them complicate the dynamics rather than help For those of you who've acquired a sub-$5M business in the Bay Area, I'd love to hear from you: 1️⃣ How did you source your deal? Was it broker-listed, direct outreach, referral, industry network, or something else entirely? 2️⃣ What did the process actually look like? The Bay Area market feels unique — curious how others navigated it. 3️⃣ Buy-side brokers / deal finders — Did you work with anyone on the buy-side who helped you find or source deals? Would you recommend them? This is an area I'm actively exploring. 4️⃣ Platforms — I'm currently on BizBuySell, Dealstream, and Axial. Are there other platforms or communities you found valuable that I might be missing? 5️⃣ The sub-$5M question — Is there a point where it makes more sense to move up-market, partner with a fundless sponsor, or work with a searcher-friendly PE firm? Did you find deal quality or broker professionalism meaningfully better above $5M? What do you know now that you wish you'd known earlier? Appreciate any honest perspective. 🙏