CoLaborator has evolved quite a bit since my earlier posts around manufacturing collaboration, Capital Backstop concepts, healthcare infrastructure, and acquisition sourcing. One of the things I have been testing is whether it is possible to build a small, controlled portfolio of current business owners, active operators, companies and strategic partners that can create value for one another before there is necessarily a formal acquisition or investment involved. That has developed into what we now call the CoLaborator Strategic Collaboration Pilot. The Pilot currently includes participants across areas such as: - manufacturing and commercial growth - engineering and product development - manufacturing readiness and sourcing - product development and manufacturing support - logistics and acquisition-platform development - acquisition-oriented operators and growth partners - current operating leadership and succession Each participant has a detailed anonymized profile that explains what they do, what they may be looking for, where they could add value, and what kinds of situations may create a fit. The profiles intentionally use identifiers such as OPR-001, ENG-001, PDM-001 and SEL-001 rather than broadly disclosing identities. The idea is simple: Provide enough information to understand the capability and potential fit, while protecting information that does not need to be disclosed until there is a real reason to do so. We are now beginning to move from just building the profiles to trying to create actual collaborations and real partnerships in a win-win fashion. One recent example is PDM-001, a participant with capabilities across product development, manufacturing, assembly, sourcing, packaging, rework and fulfillment. CoLaborator has now formalized a commercial relationship with that participant so that when relevant customer or manufacturing opportunities arise, there is already a structure in place for us to work together. That is the direction I want the Pilot to keep moving. Not just: “Who is in the network?” But: “What can these owners, operators, companies and strategic partners actually create for one another?” We are also building a private digital Pilot Portfolio so participants and selected prospective participants can see how the portfolio is growing, review the existing profiles, and identify collaboration angles that may not be obvious at first. Over time, I can see this becoming useful for: - customer and channel opportunities - supplier and manufacturing relationships - growth and operating partnerships - succession situations - acquisition opportunities - product-line opportunities - logistics and supply-chain relationships - strategic partnerships - capital participation where appropriate - participant referrals into the broader portfolio I am intentionally keeping the group small while the model is still being tested. The people I am most interested in surfacing from SearchFunder right now are current business owners and active operators, especially those who may have a real operating company, capability, customer need, supplier need, succession situation, expansion plan, or acquisition-related opportunity that could benefit from the broader portfolio. Searchers and aspiring operators can still be relevant, but the current priority is adding more real operating companies and owner-led businesses that create additional opportunities for everyone already participating. If you are a current owner, operator, manufacturer, strategic partner, investor, or someone working around lower-middle-market businesses and you think you may fit into a portfolio like this, I would be interested in starting a dialogue. Likewise, if you know someone who may want to take a look at the Portfolio before deciding whether participation makes sense, feel free to DM me. Virgil Andry Founder & CEO CoLaborator, Inc. theCoLaborator.com