Main Street To Mid-Street Acquisition & Financing News

Expert insights, funding strategies, and practical guidance for securing capital, financing growth, and navigating business acquisitions. Whether you're raising capital for expansion, restructuring debt, or exploring your first acquisition, our blog provides the knowledge and resources to help you succeed.

Growth
August 5, 2025

Why the Uptick in Upstream PE and M&A Signals a Loosening Market for Main Street Deals

Upstream private equity and mega-deal activity is surging, signaling renewed market confidence. As institutional capital flows, it typically migrates downstream, creating opportunities for Main Street buyers, sellers, and investors. Improved financing conditions and rising sentiment suggest that the next wave of lower-middle-market M&A could already be forming.

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Growth
August 5, 2025

How Machine Learning Detects Fraud in SMB Deals

Machine learning is revolutionizing fraud detection for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by analyzing massive amounts of transaction data in real time to identify anomalies and emerging fraud patterns. Unlike manual reviews, these systems can process thousands of transactions in milliseconds, adapt automatically to new threats, and significantly reduce false positives. By combining supervised, unsupervised, and hybrid models, SMBs can better protect deals, cut operational costs, and respond faster to evolving fraud tactics.

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Growth
August 4, 2025

Accounting Reimagined: How Crete is Transforming Local CPA Firms with Venture-Backed AI Innovation

Accounting is entering a new era. Thrive Capital-backed Crete Professionals Alliance is transforming local CPA firms with a $500 million acquisition strategy powered by AI and founder-led operations. This model blends the trust of local expertise with the efficiency and scalability of technology, reshaping the future of professional services.

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Growth
August 4, 2025

Top 5 Industries for SMB Buyers in 2025

In 2025, SMB buyers are finding the best acquisition opportunities in five fast-growing sectors: AI and Automation, Digital Health and Telemedicine, E-Commerce, Green and Clean Energy, and Professional & Technical Services. These industries balance profitability, scalability, and recurring revenue potential, catering to different capital requirements and risk levels. Buyers targeting these sectors can leverage market momentum, technological trends, and government incentives to drive long-term growth and strong returns.

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Growth
August 4, 2025

Strategic Alliances: Key Opportunities for SMBs

Strategic alliances allow SMBs to grow faster by accessing new markets, sharing resources, and reducing risks without the cost of full acquisitions. These partnerships can accelerate innovation and expansion, but they require careful partner selection, clear agreements, and proactive risk management. Leveraging technology and platforms like Clearly Acquired can streamline partner discovery, deal management, and financing for successful collaborations.

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Growth
August 3, 2025

10 Best Invoice Factoring Companies for SMBs 2025

Invoice factoring is a fast, debt-free way for SMBs to turn unpaid invoices into immediate cash, helping to smooth out cash flow without taking on new loans. In 2025, the best factoring companies stand out for fast funding, high advance rates, flexible contracts, and transparent fees, making them essential partners in a tight credit market. Choosing the right provider can keep your business running smoothly and positioned for growth despite delayed customer payments.

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Growth
August 3, 2025

Checklist for SMBs Hiring in a Tight Labor Market

Small and midsize businesses are facing a tight labor market, with most struggling to find qualified candidates and retain top talent. To compete, SMBs need to focus on clearly defining critical roles, offering competitive compensation with non-monetary perks, speeding up their hiring process, and leveraging technology like applicant tracking systems. Streamlined onboarding, continuous training, and employee engagement programs can then help improve retention and build a stronger long-term workforce.

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Growth
August 2, 2025

Fed Holds Rates: What It Means for M&A and Business Buying in 2025

The Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates at 4.25–4.50% impacts debt financing, valuations, and the timing of mergers and acquisitions. Buyers face a tight but stable lending environment, while sellers are increasingly open to creative deal structures. If rate cuts arrive in Q4 2025, business buyers and investors who prepare now can capture opportunities before competition and valuations rise.

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Growth
August 2, 2025

The Origin of Search Funds: From Stanford Experiment to Billion-Dollar Asset Class

Search funds began as a Stanford GSB experiment in the 1980s, giving ambitious entrepreneurs a path to ownership without starting from scratch. By raising small pools of capital to acquire profitable small businesses, searchers have built a global, billion-dollar asset class. This article explores the model’s origin, evolution, and why it’s now a mainstream path to entrepreneurship.

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Growth
August 2, 2025

Best Practices for Application Standardization in M&A

Application standardization during M&A streamlines technology, reduces costs, and minimizes security risks by consolidating redundant systems and aligning software with deal objectives. Starting early with application inventories, risk assessments, and prioritization ensures smoother integrations and protects deal value. Companies that combine clear planning, AI tools, and expert advisory support are far more likely to capture post-merger synergies and avoid costly disruptions.

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Growth
August 2, 2025

5 Steps to Define Workplace Values Post-Acquisition

Defining workplace values post-acquisition is essential to prevent cultural clashes, employee turnover, and workflow disruptions. By assessing existing cultures, engaging leadership and employees, and embedding clear, actionable core values into daily operations, companies can build a unified culture that drives retention, collaboration, and long-term success. Organizations that actively manage cultural integration see significantly higher merger success rates compared to those that do not.

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Growth
August 1, 2025

How to Analyze Customer Base Overlap in Acquisitions

Analyzing customer base overlap in acquisitions helps identify shared customers, potential cross-selling opportunities, and market expansion risks. By collecting clean data, segmenting customers, and measuring overlap, buyers can uncover growth opportunities while anticipating challenges like cannibalization or retention issues. This insight guides integration strategies and maximizes the value of the combined customer base.

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Acquire Quality. Fund Growth. Close with Confidence.

As an AI-driven Business Acquisition Marketplace and Financing Platform, we are on a mission to simplify and accelerate the MainStreet to MidStreet lending and acquisition ecosystem.

We specialize in technology that supports price discovery, identity verification and financial qualification, and buy-side tools to help searchers source and manage deal flow, make offers, secure lending/financing solutions, and close with confidence.

illustration of team with digital platform

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions by users that are looking to buy businesses on Clearly Acquired:

How can I show business owners I'm a legitimate buyer and that I'm interested?

With a Clearly Verified account, you can instill confidence in other users, brokers and sellers that you are, who you say you are, when you "verify" your identify.  This is the key to instilling confidence in the users on the platform,  gaining traction and getting instant access to financials, supporting data and insight to quickly move to making an offer or moving on.   This will save you months of wasted time and expedite the closing of a sale.

How are my finances verified?

Using financial technology the Clearly Acquired Platform safely and securely verifies your finances, to help sellers understand your closing capability and help lenders expedite your financing. Additionally, the buy-side deal room will help you get your documentation in order, to prepare you for the debt and equity financing you will need to close your acquisition.

Can I get in touch with advisors to help support me in this process?

The Clearly Acquired team is here to support you on your business acquisition or business sale journey. That said, the platform is designed to connect you with a community of users, who are identify verified, which include: investors, lenders, advisors, brokers, consultants, and other buyers who are looking for partners.  

What is a Deal Hub?

The Deal Hub is the central repository for all transaction-related activities on our business acquisition platform. It serves as a secure and organized space where buyers and sellers can access critical information and manage the entire acquisition process efficiently. The Deal Hub is divided into two main components: the Data Room and the Deal Rooms.

Data Room: The Data Room is a secure, virtual storage space where sellers can upload and share essential documents related to their business. This includes financial statements, legal contracts, operational reports, and other due diligence materials. Buyers can access these documents to conduct thorough evaluations and make informed decisions. The Data Room ensures that all sensitive information is protected and only accessible to authorized parties.

Deal Rooms: The Deal Rooms are dedicated spaces for each business listing where buyers and sellers can collaborate and negotiate terms. Each Deal Room is equipped with tools for real-time communication, document sharing, and tracking the progress of the deal. This streamlined environment facilitates transparent and efficient interactions, helping to expedite the acquisition process and ensuring that both parties are aligned at every stage.

The Deal Hub's comprehensive and secure infrastructure simplifies the complexities of business acquisitions, providing a seamless experience for all users involved.

What is Plaid?

Plaid is a financial technology company that provides a secure and seamless way to connect and interact with financial institutions. It enables applications to access users' financial data with their consent, facilitating a wide range of services such as identity verification, account authentication, and transaction history retrieval. Plaid's robust API infrastructure ensures high security, reliability, and compliance with regulatory standards.

By integrating Plaid, Clearly Acquired can offer a secure, efficient, and reliable method for identity verification, building trust among users and ensuring the integrity of the acquisition process.

I am new to the idea of business acquisition, where can I get more information on how to get started?

Make sure to check out our Educational Course on Business Acquisition that is offered in our paid plans for buyers: From Purchase to Profit: Mastering the Art of Business Acquisition.

This Membership Course for buyers is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the business acquisition process successfully. Whether you're a first-time buyer or an experienced entrepreneur, our course equips you with the tools and insights needed to make informed decisions and achieve your acquisition goals. Join us and embark on your journey to buying a business with Clearly Acquired.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

Create Your Account. Get Verified. Start Searching.

1

Create an account

Every day, lenders, investors, brokers, and sellers come to Clearly Acquired looking for qualified operators like you. Creating an account and getting verified helps you stand out and build trust.

2

Build your profile

Build your profile to get matched with capital and opportunities. Showcase your expertise and resume, to connect with the right capital and acquisition partners—making every opportunity count.

3

Search & Connect

Browse Verified listings, source off-market deals, & manage deal flow with powerful tools to underwrite opportunities, and connect with capital to streamline the entire acquisition and funding process

Join the Clearly Acquired Search Community

Create Your Profile & Get Verified for Free