In the last two decades, tech founders had Y Combinator—an engine for startup creation, funding, and exponential scale. But where do operators go when they want to build real wealth through ownership—not invention?
That’s where we come in.
At Clearly Acquired, we’ve created the first tech-enabled, capital-backed ecosystem for Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA). We're not just helping people buy businesses—we're equipping mid-career professionals and seasoned operators with the platform, strategy, capital, and team to acquire, operate, and scale high-margin, cash-flowing companies.
We're building the Y Combinator of ETA—not for software startups, but for America’s next great business owners.
The Macro Opportunity
- $10 trillion in small business assets will change hands in the next decade as Baby Boomers retire.
- 2.3 million businesses, mostly SMBs, are projected to transition by 2035, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Over 90% of these businesses have no formal succession plan.
- The average U.S. small business generates $1.2M in revenue and $250K–$500K in owner earnings.
- Simultaneously, over 4,000 search funds have been raised globally—double the number from five years ago—according to the Stanford Search Fund Study (2022).
- Search fund-backed acquisitions have outperformed private equity, generating IRRs of 32.6% on average and a 5.5x multiple on invested capital.
This is not a trend—it’s a tectonic shift.
We're witnessing the institutionalization of Main Street M&A.
Two Journeys. One Destination: Ownership
🔹 For Mid-Career Professionals:
You’ve built a great résumé—Director, VP, Principal Consultant.
You’ve earned $200K+ annually, maybe more.
But after a decade or two of building someone else’s dream, something’s missing:
- You want control over your time and future.
- You want equity in what you build.
- You want freedom—and you don’t want to start from scratch.
Buying a business through ETA is your fastest route to all three.
Whether you’re in tech, finance, ops, or consulting, you already have the leadership and management experience to run a profitable small business. What you need is a proven playbook to source, finance, and execute your first acquisition.
This is where search funds meet real-world operators.
You’re not leaving the corporate world—you’re graduating from it.
🔹 For Existing Operators:
You’ve already built something valuable—a $1M+, cash-flowing business with happy customers and loyal employees.
But you’re running into the limits of organic growth:
- Marketing gets expensive.
- Hiring slows you down.
- Inflation crushes margin.
- Expansion feels like starting over.
That’s why the savviest operators are shifting from “scale” to “acquire.”
With the right acquisition strategy, you can:
- Add new verticals or services.
- Expand geographically.
- Absorb competitors or legacy brands.
- Gain operational leverage through roll-ups.
You’re not just running a business anymore.
You’re building a portfolio—and we’re your M&A engine.
What Clearly Acquired Delivers
We combine best-in-class technology, operator advisory, and capital access in a single, vertically integrated platform. We make ETA repeatable—whether it’s your first deal or your fifth.
🔹 1. Search Accelerator
Our signature program helps you define a clear acquisition thesis—aligned to your life goals, strengths, and financial targets.
For mid-career professionals, that might mean a solo acquisition with SBA leverage.
For operators, it might mean a bolt-on, market expansion, or a vertical integration.
We then help you:
- Create target lists
- Launch direct outreach
- Vet inbound deals
- Track everything through a purpose-built search CRM
You don’t chase deals—you design your search and drive inbound interest.
🔹 2. Outsourced Search (Done-For-You)
If you’re too busy to run the search yourself, we’ll do it for you.
Perfect for:
- Executives focused on capital allocation
- Operators managing day-to-day business
- Funds looking to execute on a multi-acquisition roll-up strategy
We become your deal team:
We source, screen, negotiate, model, and bring you pre-diligenced opportunities that match your criteria and capital stack.
🔹 3. 1-on-1 M&A Advisory
We’ve closed over $250M in small business acquisitions across industries like home services, healthcare, manufacturing, professional services, and tech-enabled agencies.
Our M&A advisors are real operators and dealmakers—not theoreticians.
We help you:
- Navigate seller psychology
- Package your offer for lenders
- Underwrite cash flow and debt service
- Structure deals with seller notes, earnouts, equity rolls, and more
We’re your buy-side braintrust—on call, on your side, all the way to close.
🔹 4. Financing Marketplace
We maintain the most comprehensive real-time map of lenders in the ETA space.
Our software instantly matches your deal with lenders based on:
- Industry preferences
- DSCR thresholds
- Loan size
- Geography
- Collateral and seller financing requirements
Whether you’re pursuing SBA 7(a), SBA 504, conventional, mezzanine, or equipment loans—we know who funds what, when, and how fast.
We also place:
- Lines of credit
- Working capital
- Debt consolidation
- Partner buyouts
- Seller-financed roll-ups
We’ve brokered over $100M in small business financing and built the tools to do it faster, cleaner, and at scale.
🔹 5. Catalyst Funds
We don’t just support buyers—we bet on them.
Our Catalyst Fund selectively invests in operators executing high-quality deals on our platform.
We co-invest equity to help you close larger deals, create win-win cap tables, and retain control without giving up majority ownership.
We back business buyers like VCs back tech founders.
But you’re buying cash flow, not burning it.
Who We Serve
Our community includes:
- Mid-career professionals (ages 30–55) transitioning into ownership
- Existing business owners building regional roll-ups or multi-location brands
- Searchers funded by friends, family, or self-capital
- High-net-worth individuals looking to acquire operating companies
- Fundless sponsors and micro-PE firms
- Strategic operators seeking bolt-ons and tuck-ins
Our Belief
Ownership is the most powerful form of leverage.
It compounds time, money, skills, and relationships over decades.
And in ETA, ownership is accessible. No code. No pitch deck. Just cash flow, debt leverage, and operational know-how.
We believe:
- Real entrepreneurs don’t always start from scratch.
- The American Dream is still alive—in buying great businesses.
- Operators deserve capital, structure, and a team—just like founders get.
If You’re Serious About Buying or Scaling a Business—This is Your Edge
🚀 We give you the tools
💸 We connect you to the capital
🧠 We bring you the team
📈 You close the deal—and build long-term wealth
Ready to find your next move?
🔗 Join the Accelerator
📞 Talk to an advisor
📩 Get plugged into our deal and lender network
Clearly Acquired.
Find. Fund. Close. Grow.
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