From Wall Street to Main Street: Why Search Funds and Local Businesses Are the Next Great Investment Frontier

For decades, institutional investors chased the shiny object: venture-backed tech, pre-IPO momentum, growth-at-all-costs. But beneath the surface, a quieter, more resilient revolution is taking shape — one built not on unicorns, but on unit economics.

A new asset class is emerging in plain sight: Main Street small businesses, acquired and led by a new generation of entrepreneurs, capitalized through search funds, backed by SBA leverage, and made visible by technology.

Forget software valuations and speculative multiples.

This is the decade of HVAC, logistics, plumbing, and precision machining. Of elder care, B2B services, waste management, and local contracting. These aren’t legacy holdovers — they’re high-margin, high-demand, and often irreplaceable.

And the best part? You don’t need to run one. You just need to invest in the right operators, supported by the right infrastructure.

Let’s break down the five macro trends shaping this moment — and how you can get exposure through Clearly Acquired’s Catalyst Fund, a next-generation vehicle designed to make Main Street investable at scale.

📜 1. Policy Is Reorienting Toward America First

We’re entering a new policy era where sovereignty, resilience, and domestic production are the name of the game.

Whether it’s reshoring manufacturing, rebuilding domestic supply chains, or revitalizing American entrepreneurship, federal and state governments are turning inward — not in isolation, but in defense of economic self-reliance.

Key Policy Signals:

• Inflation Reduction Act (IRA): Prioritizes U.S.-based clean energy and manufacturing.
• CHIPS Act: Revives American semiconductor production.
• SBA Enhancements: Expands loan programs to increase small business access to capital.
• Buy American Orders: Shift procurement toward domestic suppliers and service providers.

The message is clear: Small business is national strategy.

This alignment is critical because it means the U.S. government is not just tolerating small business growth — it’s incentivizing and underwriting it. Smart investors are positioning themselves accordingly.

💵 2. SBA Lending Has Democratized Acquisition Capital

Traditionally, buying a business required large amounts of upfront capital or private bank relationships. Today, SBA-backed acquisition loans have changed the game — creating low-risk, high-leverage opportunities for new owners and their investors.

Why It Matters:

• Up to 90% financing available, often with 10–12 year repayment terms
• Backed by the U.S. government, which guarantees up to 75% of the loan
• Fixed or floating rates significantly lower than private debt
• Fully amortizing — no balloon payments, no refinancing risk

SBA lending isn’t just accessible. It’s durable. Even in rising rate environments or tight capital markets, SBA loan demand has remained strong because of its unmatched terms.

For investors, this unlocks a powerful capital stack:

• Sponsor equity (10–15%)
• SBA or bank debt (70–80%)
• Seller notes or mezzanine fill the rest

With the right operators and underwriting, that stack creates strong cash-on-cash yields, with downside protection and government-guaranteed leverage. It’s one of the most asymmetric finance tools in the market — and it’s hiding in plain sight.

📈 3. Investors Are Shifting Capital Toward the Lower Middle Market

Private equity has long targeted businesses with $10M+ EBITDA, but over the last decade, there’s been a growing migration downstream — toward smaller, fragmented, niche businesses where multiples are lower, risks are known, and upside is operational.

Consider the Trends:

• Over 60% of PE deals now occur under $5M EBITDA
• The median acquisition multiple in this space remains between 3x–5x SDE
• Institutional capital (family offices, private credit, search funds) is increasingly flowing into this segment

But the opportunity isn’t just about multiples. It’s about inefficiencies.

Main Street businesses are often:

• Poorly marketed or underpriced
• Operated without modern tech, SOPs, or CRM systems
• Sitting on under-leveraged customer bases and regional brand equity

For capable operators, these companies are ripe for transformation — and for investors, they offer equity-like upside with real asset backing.

🧠 4. Technology Has Made Main Street Scalable and Transparent

Until recently, investing in small business was slow, opaque, and relationship-driven. Today, technology platforms like Clearly Acquired are turning it into a repeatable, data-rich process that rivals institutional investing.

Here’s What’s Changed:

• AI and API-based underwriting streamline deal analysis and lender matches
• Pipeline tools organize deal flow, diligence, and correspondence
• Data rooms and performance tracking enable real-time post-close monitoring
• KYC/AML + Plaid integrations improve prequalification and verification

We’re now in an era where small businesses can be sourced, funded, operated, and benchmarked with the same rigor as real estate or SaaS — just with less hype and more cash flow.

That infrastructure is what makes the Catalyst Fund possible: without it, you’d need a dedicated team to do diligence on dozens of deals. With it, we can deploy capital intelligently into a diversified portfolio of operator-led acquisitions — and scale it over time.

👷 5. A New Generation Is Choosing Ownership Over Employment

We are witnessing the rise of the entrepreneurial middle class — professionals who are skipping the startup or corporate route to become small business owners through acquisition.

Known as searchers, these individuals typically:

• Have strong professional backgrounds (MBA, military, finance, consulting)
• Want autonomy, cash flow, and community impact — not just a paycheck
• Are willing to relocate, roll up their sleeves, and lead operationally

But they need more than ambition. They need capital, coaching, and deal flow.

That’s where platforms like Clearly Acquired — and investor vehicles like the Catalyst Fund — come in. By co-investing with pre-vetted operators, investors get access to high-quality human capital and the upside of small business equity — without having to run the business themselves.

🚀 Introducing the Catalyst Fund: Co-Invest in America's Best Small Businesses

At Clearly Acquired, we saw these trends converging early. So we built the Catalyst Fund — a new kind of investment vehicle for the new small business economy.

Here’s what makes it unique:

• Diversified Exposure: Gain access to a portfolio of small businesses across verticals like contracting, home services, specialty manufacturing, and B2B services.
• Operator-Led: We invest in people first. Every portfolio company is run by a vetted operator who’s committed to growth, excellence, and long-term ownership.
• SBA-Leveraged Returns: We use SBA and bank financing to magnify returns responsibly, with clear debt coverage and downside protections.
• Tech-Driven Diligence: Our platform underwrites hundreds of deals monthly using integrated lender feedback, financial modeling, and AI-enhanced tools.
• Skin in the Game: Our team co-invests alongside LPs. We’re not just raising money — we’re building and owning with you.

Investors gain:

• Cash-flowing equity
• Portfolio transparency
• Exposure to real assets in real communities
• A hedge against inflation and market volatility

📎 Learn more or request access:
👉 clearlyacquired.com/platform-users/catalyst-fund

🧠 Search Funds: The Best Kept Secret in Private Equity

Search funds are exploding in popularity for a reason: they sit at the intersection of traditional investing and entrepreneurial leadership.

By backing a single operator — or investing in a fund of operators — you get:

• High alignment (the operator typically owns equity and works full time)
• Operational leverage (small improvements create big EBITDA gains)
• Strategic options (add-on acquisitions, exit optionality, or perpetual cash flow)

And thanks to SBA lending and technology, these once-hard-to-access opportunities are now accessible, trackable, and scalable.

📌 Final Takeaway: The Next Decade Belongs to Main Street

While institutions chase the next decacorn, the savviest capital allocators are looking down — not in status, but in scale. They're realizing:

• 💡 Cash flow beats speculation
• 🧱 Boring is beautiful
• 📦 Businesses that ship, dig, heat, and fix are the foundation of the real economy

With policy, capital, talent, and tech all converging on Main Street, this is no longer a niche — it’s the most overlooked opportunity in modern private investing.

At Clearly Acquired, we’re not just building a platform. We’re building a movement — and the Catalyst Fund is your way in.

📝 Ready to Invest in America’s Best Small Businesses?

If you're an accredited investor looking for:

• Durable yield
• Strategic exposure
• Real businesses with real operators

Then we invite you to learn more about the Catalyst Fund, our team, and how we’re backing the next generation of small business owners across the country.

🔗 clearlyacquired.com/platform-users/catalyst-fund

Because the next great investment opportunity isn’t on Wall Street.
It’s on Main Street — and it’s already underway.

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